Discovery BoxHabakkuk 1:3
Context1:3 Why do you force me to witness injustice? 1
Why do you put up with wrongdoing? 2
Destruction and violence confront 3 me;
conflict is present and one must endure strife. 4
Habakkuk 2:1
Context2:1 I will stand at my watch post;
I will remain stationed on the city wall. 5
I will keep watching, so I can see what he says to me
and can know 6 how I should answer
when he counters my argument. 7
Habakkuk 1:1
Context1:1 The following is the message 8 which God revealed to Habakkuk the prophet: 9
Habakkuk 1:5
Context1:5 “Look at the nations and pay attention! 10
You will be shocked and amazed! 11
For I will do something in your lifetime 12
that you will not believe even though you are forewarned. 13
Habakkuk 3:7
Context3:7 I see the tents of Cushan overwhelmed by trouble; 14
the tent curtains of the land of Midian are shaking. 15
Habakkuk 2:19
Context2:19 The one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’ is as good as dead 16 –
he who says 17 to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’
Can it give reliable guidance? 18
It is overlaid with gold and silver;
it has no life’s breath inside it.
Habakkuk 2:4
Context2:4 Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion, 19
but the person of integrity 20 will live 21 because of his faithfulness. 22
Habakkuk 1:6
Context1:6 Look, I am about to empower 23 the Babylonians,
that ruthless 24 and greedy 25 nation.
They sweep across the surface 26 of the earth,
seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.
Habakkuk 2:13
Context2:13 Be sure of this! The Lord who commands armies has decreed:
The nations’ efforts will go up in smoke;
their exhausting work will be for nothing. 27
Habakkuk 3:3
Context3:3 God comes 28 from Teman, 29
the sovereign 30 one from Mount Paran. 31 Selah. 32
His splendor covers the skies, 33
his glory 34 fills the earth.
Habakkuk 3:10
Context3:10 When the mountains see you, they shake.
The torrential downpour sweeps through. 35
The great deep 36 shouts out;
it lifts its hands high. 37
Habakkuk 1:13
Context1:13 You are too just 38 to tolerate 39 evil;
you are unable to condone 40 wrongdoing.
So why do you put up with such treacherous people? 41
Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour 42 those more righteous than they are? 43
[1:3] 1 tn Heb “Why do you make me see injustice?”
[1:3] 2 tn Heb “Why do you look at wrongdoing?”
[1:3] 4 tn Heb “and there is conflict and strife he lifts up.” The present translation takes the verb יִשָּׂא (yisa’) in the sense of “carry, bear,” and understands the subject to be indefinite (“one”).
[2:1] 5 sn Habakkuk compares himself to a watchman stationed on the city wall who keeps his eyes open for approaching messengers or danger.
[2:1] 6 tn The word “know” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[2:1] 7 tn Heb “concerning my correction [or, “reproof”].”
[1:1] 9 tn Heb “The burden” (so KJV, ASV). The Hebrew term מַשָּׂא (masa’), usually translated “oracle” (NAB, NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “utterance” (BDB 672 s.v. III מַשָּׂא), in prophetic literature is a technical term introducing a message from the
[1:1] 10 tn Heb “The message [traditionally, “burden”] which Habakkuk the prophet saw.”
[1:5] 13 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] 14 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] 15 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] 16 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.”
[3:7] 17 tn Heb “under trouble I saw the tents of Cushan.”
[3:7] 18 tn R. D. Patterson takes תַּחַת אֲוֶן (takhat ’aven) in the first line as a place name, “Tahath-Aven.” (Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah [WEC], 237.) In this case one may translate the verse as a tricolon: “I look at Tahath-Aven. The tents of Cushan are shaking, the tent curtains of the land of Midian.”
[2:19] 21 tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who says.” On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.
[2:19] 22 tn The words “he who says” in the translation are supplied from the previous parallel line.
[2:19] 23 tn Though the Hebrew text has no formal interrogative marker here, the context indicates that the statement should be taken as a rhetorical question anticipating the answer, “Of course not!” (so also NIV, NRSV).
[2:4] 25 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] 26 tn Or “righteous.” The oppressed individuals mentioned in 1:4 are probably in view here.
[2:4] 27 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] 28 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
[1:6] 29 tn Heb “raise up” (so KJV, ASV).
[1:6] 30 tn Heb “bitter.” Other translation options for this word in this context include “fierce” (NASB, NRSV); “savage” (NEB); or “grim.”
[1:6] 31 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] 32 tn Heb “the open spaces.”
[2:13] 33 tn Heb “Is it not, look, from the
[3:3] 37 tn In vv. 3-15 there is a mixture of eleven prefixed verbal forms (without vav [ו] consecutive or with vav conjunctive), sixteen suffixed forms, and three prefixed forms with vav consecutive. All of the forms are best taken as indicating completed action from the speaker’s standpoint (all of the prefixed forms being regarded as preterites). The forms could be translated with the past tense, but this would be misleading, for this is not a mere recital of God’s deeds in Israel’s past history. Habakkuk here describes, in terms reminiscent of past theophanies, his prophetic vision of a future theophany (see v. 7, “I saw”). From the prophet’s visionary standpoint the theophany is “as good as done.” This translation uses the English present tense throughout these verses to avoid misunderstanding. A similar strategy is followed by the NEB; in contrast note the NIV and NRSV, which consistently use past tenses throughout the section, and the NASB, which employs present tenses in vv. 3-5 and mostly past tenses in vv. 6-15.
[3:3] 38 sn Teman was a city or region in southern Edom.
[3:3] 39 tn Or traditionally, “holy one.” The term קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, “holy [one]”) here refers to God’s sovereignty. See v. 3b.
[3:3] 40 sn The precise location of Mount Paran is unknown, but like Teman it was located to the southeast of Israel. Habakkuk saw God marching from the direction of Sinai.
[3:3] 41 tn Selah. The meaning of this musical term (which also appears in vv. 9, 13, and in the Psalms as well) is unknown.
[3:3] 43 tn Heb “praise.” This could mean that the earth responds in praise as God’s splendor is observed in the skies. However, the Hebrew term תְּהִלָּה (tÿhillah, “praise”) can stand by metonymy for what prompts it (i.e., fame, glory, deeds).
[3:10] 41 tn Heb “a heavy rain of waters passes by.” Perhaps the flash floods produced by the downpour are in view here.
[3:10] 42 sn The great deep, which is to be equated with the sea (vv. 8, 15), is a symbol of chaos and represents the Lord’s enemies.
[3:10] 43 sn Lifting the hands here suggests panic and is accompanied by a cry for mercy (see Ps 28:2; Lam 2:19). The forces of chaos cannot withstand the Lord’s power revealed in the storm.
[1:13] 45 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] 46 tn Heb “to see.” Here “see” is figurative for “tolerate,” “put up with.”
[1:13] 47 tn Heb “to look at.” Cf. NEB “who canst not countenance wrongdoing”; NASB “You can not look on wickedness with favor.”
[1:13] 48 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.
