Habakkuk 1:15

1:15 The Babylonian tyrant ¹  pulls them all up with a fishhook;

he hauls them in with his throw net. ² 

When he catches ³  them in his dragnet,

he is very happy. ⁴ 

Habakkuk 3:16

Habakkuk Declares His Confidence

3:16 I listened and my stomach churned; ⁵ 

the sound made my lips quiver.

My frame went limp, as if my bones were decaying, ⁶ 

and I shook as I tried to walk. ⁷ 

I long ⁸  for the day of distress

to come upon ⁹  the people who attack us.

[1:15]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Babylonian tyrant) has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. NASB “The Chaldeans”; NIV “The wicked foe”; NRSV “The enemy”). Babylonian imperialism is here compared to a professional fisherman who repeatedly brings in his catch and has plenty to eat.

[1:15]  ² tn Apparently two different types of fishing nets are referred to here. The חֵרֶם (kherem, “throw net”) was used by fishermen standing on the shore (see Ezek 47:10), while the מִכְמֶרֶת (mikhmeret, “dragnet”) was used by men in a boat. See R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 165.

[1:15]  ³ tn Heb “and he gathers.”

[1:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “Therefore he is happy and rejoices.” Here two synonyms are joined for emphasis.

[3:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “my insides trembled.”

[3:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “decay entered my bones.”

[3:16]  ⁷ tc Heb “beneath me I shook, which….” The Hebrew term אֲשֶׁר (’asher) appears to be a relative pronoun, but a relative pronoun does not fit here. The translation assumes a reading אֲשֻׁרָי (’ashuray, “my steps”) as well as an emendation of the preceding verb to a third plural form.

[3:16]  ⁸ tn The translation assumes that אָנוּחַ (’anuakh) is from the otherwise unattested verb נָוָח (navakh, “sigh”; see HALOT 680 s.v. II נוח; so also NEB). Most take this verb as נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”) and translate, “I wait patiently” (cf. NIV).

[3:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “to come up toward.”