Discovery BoxHabakkuk 1:14
Context1:14 You made people like fish in the sea,
like animals in the sea 1 that have no ruler.
Habakkuk 1:17
Context1:17 Will he then 2 continue to fill and empty his throw net? 3
Will he always 4 destroy 5 nations and spare none? 6
Habakkuk 2:4
Context2:4 Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion, 7
but the person of integrity 8 will live 9 because of his faithfulness. 10
Habakkuk 3:17
Context3:17 When 11 the fig tree does not bud,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
when the olive trees do not produce, 12
and the fields yield no crops; 13
when the sheep disappear 14 from the pen,
and there are no cattle in the stalls,
Habakkuk 1:5-6
Context1:5 “Look at the nations and pay attention! 15
You will be shocked and amazed! 16
For I will do something in your lifetime 17
that you will not believe even though you are forewarned. 18
1:6 Look, I am about to empower 19 the Babylonians,
that ruthless 20 and greedy 21 nation.
They sweep across the surface 22 of the earth,
seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.
Habakkuk 1:12-13
Context1:12 Lord, you have been active from ancient times; 23
my sovereign God, 24 you are immortal. 25
Lord, you have made them 26 your instrument of judgment. 27
Protector, 28 you have appointed them as your instrument of punishment. 29
1:13 You are too just 30 to tolerate 31 evil;
you are unable to condone 32 wrongdoing.
So why do you put up with such treacherous people? 33
Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour 34 those more righteous than they are? 35
Habakkuk 2:3
Context2:3 For the message is a witness to what is decreed; 36
it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out. 37
Even if the message 38 is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently; 39
for it will certainly come to pass – it will not arrive late.
Habakkuk 2:6
Context2:6 “But all these nations will someday taunt him 40
and ridicule him with proverbial sayings: 41
‘The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead 42
(How long will this go on?) 43 –
he who gets rich by extortion!’ 44
[1:14] 1 tn The Hebrew word רֶמֶשׂ (remesh) usually refers to animals that creep, but here the referent seems to be marine animals that glide through the water (note the parallelism in the previous line). See also Ps 104:25.
[1:17] 3 tn Heb “Will he then empty his throw net?” The words “continue to fill and” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[1:17] 6 tn Or “without showing compassion.”
[2:4] 3 tn The meaning of this line is unclear, primarily because of the uncertainty surrounding the second word, עֲפְּלָה (’apÿlah). Some read this as an otherwise unattested verb עָפַל (’afal, “swell”) from which are derived nouns meaning “mound” and “hemorrhoid.” This “swelling” is then understood in an abstract sense, “swell with pride.” This would yield a translation, “As for the proud, his desires are not right within him” (cf. NASB “as for the proud one”; NIV “he is puffed up”; NRSV “Look at the proud!”). A multitude of other interpretations of this line, many of which involve emendations of the problematic form, may be found in the commentaries and periodical literature. The present translation assumes an emendation to a Pual form of the verb עָלַף (’alaf, “be faint, exhausted”). (See its use in the Pual in Isa 51:20, and in the Hitpael in Amos 8:13 and Jonah 4:8.) In the antithetical parallelism of the verse, it corresponds to חָיָה (khayah, “live”). The phrase לֹא יָשְׁרָה נַפְשׁוֹ בּוֹ (lo’ yoshrah nafsho bo), literally, “not upright his desire within him,” is taken as a substantival clause that contrasts with צַדִּיק (tsadiq, “the righteous one”) and serves as the subject of the preceding verb. Here נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is understood in the sense of “desire” (see BDB 660-61 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ for a list of passages where the word carries this sense).
[2:4] 4 tn Or “righteous.” The oppressed individuals mentioned in 1:4 are probably in view here.
[2:4] 5 tn Or “will be preserved.” In the immediate context this probably refers to physical preservation through both the present oppression and the coming judgment (see Hab 3:16-19).
[2:4] 6 tn Or “loyalty”; or “integrity.” The Hebrew word אֱמוּנָה (’emunah) has traditionally been translated “faith,” but the term nowhere else refers to “belief” as such. When used of human character and conduct it carries the notion of “honesty, integrity, reliability, faithfulness.” The antecedent of the suffix has been understood in different ways. It could refer to God’s faithfulness, but in this case one would expect a first person suffix (the original form of the LXX has “my faithfulness” here). Others understand the “vision” to be the antecedent. In this case the reliability of the prophecy is in view. For a statement of this view, see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 111-12. The present translation assumes that the preceding word “[the person of] integrity” is the antecedent. In this case the
[3:17] 5 tn Heb “the produce of the olive disappoints.”
[1:5] 5 tn Or “look among the nations and observe.” The imperatival forms in v. 5 are plural, indicating that the Lord’s message is for the whole nation, not just the prophet.
[1:5] 6 tn The Hebrew text combines the Hitpael and Qal imperatival forms of the verb תָּמַה (tamah, “be amazed”). A literal translation might read, “Shock yourselves and be shocked!” The repetition of sounds draws attention to the statement. The imperatives here have the force of an emphatic assertion. On this use of the imperative in Hebrew, see GKC 324 §110.c and IBHS 572-73 §34.4c.
[1:5] 7 tc Heb “for a work working in your days.” Following the LXX reading, some supply a first person singular pronoun with the participle פֹּעֵל (po’el). Ellipsis of a first singular pronoun before participles is relatively rare (see GKC 360 §116.s); perhaps an original אֲנֹכִי (’anoki; or אֲנִי, ’aniy) followed the initial כִּי (ki) and was omitted by homoioteleuton.
[1:5] 8 tn Heb “you will not believe when it is told.” In this context the force of כִּי (ki) may be “when,” “if,” or “even though.”
[1:6] 6 tn Heb “raise up” (so KJV, ASV).
[1:6] 7 tn Heb “bitter.” Other translation options for this word in this context include “fierce” (NASB, NRSV); “savage” (NEB); or “grim.”
[1:6] 8 tn Heb “hasty, quick.” Some translate here “impetuous” (so NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “rash,” but in this context greed may very well be the idea. The Babylonians move quickly and recklessly ahead in their greedy quest to expand their empire.
[1:6] 9 tn Heb “the open spaces.”
[1:12] 7 tn Heb “Are you not from antiquity, O
[1:12] 8 tn Heb “My God, my holy one.” God’s “holiness” in this context is his sovereign transcendence as the righteous judge of the world (see vv. 12b-13a), thus the translation “My sovereign God.”
[1:12] 9 tc The MT reads, “we will not die,” but an ancient scribal tradition has “you [i.e., God] will not die.” This is preferred as a more difficult reading that can explain the rise of the other variant. Later scribes who copied the manuscripts did not want to associate the idea of death with God in any way, so they softened the statement to refer to humanity.
[1:12] 10 tn Heb “him,” a collective singular referring to the Babylonians. The plural pronoun “them” has been used in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.
[1:12] 11 tn Heb “for judgment.”
[1:12] 12 tn Heb “Rock” or “Cliff.” This divine epithet views God as a place where one can go to be safe from danger. The translation “Protector” conveys the force of the metaphor (cf. KJV, NEB “O mighty God”).
[1:12] 13 tn Heb “to correct, reprove.”
[1:13] 8 tn Heb “[you] are too pure of eyes.” God’s “eyes” here signify what he looks at with approval. His “eyes” are “pure” in that he refuses to tolerate any wrongdoing in his presence.
[1:13] 9 tn Heb “to see.” Here “see” is figurative for “tolerate,” “put up with.”
[1:13] 10 tn Heb “to look at.” Cf. NEB “who canst not countenance wrongdoing”; NASB “You can not look on wickedness with favor.”
[1:13] 11 tn Heb “Why do you look at treacherous ones?” The verb בָּגַד (bagad, “be treacherous”) is often used of those who are disloyal or who violate agreements. See S. Erlandsson, TDOT 1:470-73.
[1:13] 13 tn Heb “more innocent than themselves.”
[2:3] 9 tn Heb “For the vision is still for the appointed time.” The Hebrew word עוֹד (’od, “still”) is better emended to עֵד (’ed, “witness”) in light of the parallelism (see the note on the word “turn out” in the following line). The “appointed time” refers to the time when the divine judgment anticipated in vv. 6-20 will be realized.
[2:3] 10 tn Heb “and a witness to the end and it does not lie.” The Hebrew term יָפֵחַ (yafeakh) has been traditionally understood as a verb form from the root פּוּחַ (puakh, “puff, blow”; cf. NEB “it will come in breathless haste”; NASB “it hastens toward the goal”) but recent scholarship has demonstrated that it is actually a noun meaning “witness” (cf. NIV “it speaks of the end / and will not prove false”; NRSV “it speaks of the end, and does not lie”). See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 106. “The end” corresponds to “the appointed time” of the preceding line and refers to the time when the prophecy to follow will be fulfilled.
[2:3] 11 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the message) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:3] 12 tn Heb “If it should delay, wait for it.” The Hebrew word חָזוֹן (khazon, “vision, message”) is the subject of the third person verbs in v. 3 and the antecedent of the pronominal suffix in the phrase “for it.”
[2:6] 10 tn Heb “Will not these, all of them, take up a taunt against him…?” The rhetorical question assumes the response, “Yes, they will.” The present translation brings out the rhetorical force of the question by rendering it as an affirmation.
[2:6] 11 tn Heb “and a mocking song, riddles, against him? And one will say.”
[2:6] 12 tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who increases [what is] not his.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe,” “ah”) was used in funeral laments and carries the connotation of death.
[2:6] 13 tn This question is interjected parenthetically, perhaps to express rhetorically the pain and despair felt by the Babylonians’ victims.
[2:6] 14 tn Heb “and the one who makes himself heavy [i.e., wealthy] [by] debts.” Though only appearing in the first line, the term הוֹי (hoy) is to be understood as elliptical in the second line.
