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 3:7
Context3:7 I see the tents of Cushan overwhelmed by trouble; 5
the tent curtains of the land of Midian are shaking. 6
Habakkuk 3:10
Context3:10 When the mountains see you, they shake.
The torrential downpour sweeps through. 7
The great deep 8 shouts out;
it lifts its hands high. 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 1:13
Context1:13 You are too just 14 to tolerate 15 evil;
you are unable to condone 16 wrongdoing.
So why do you put up with such treacherous people? 17
Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour 18 those more righteous than they are? 19
Habakkuk 2:1
Context2:1 I will stand at my watch post;
I will remain stationed on the city wall. 20
I will keep watching, so I can see what he says to me
and can know 21 how I should answer
when he counters my argument. 22
Habakkuk 3:6
Context3:6 He takes his battle position 23 and shakes 24 the earth;
with a mere look he frightens 25 the nations.
The ancient mountains disintegrate; 26
the primeval hills are flattened.
He travels on the ancient roads. 27
[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”).
[3:7] 5 tn Heb “under trouble I saw the tents of Cushan.”
[3:7] 6 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.”
[3:10] 9 tn Heb “a heavy rain of waters passes by.” Perhaps the flash floods produced by the downpour are in view here.
[3:10] 10 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] 11 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.
[1:5] 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.”
[1:13] 17 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] 18 tn Heb “to see.” Here “see” is figurative for “tolerate,” “put up with.”
[1:13] 19 tn Heb “to look at.” Cf. NEB “who canst not countenance wrongdoing”; NASB “You can not look on wickedness with favor.”
[1:13] 20 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] 22 tn Heb “more innocent than themselves.”
[2:1] 21 sn Habakkuk compares himself to a watchman stationed on the city wall who keeps his eyes open for approaching messengers or danger.
[2:1] 22 tn The word “know” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[2:1] 23 tn Heb “concerning my correction [or, “reproof”].”
[3:6] 26 tn This verb has been traditionally understood as “measure” (from מוּד, mud), but the immediately following context (vv. 6b-7) favors the meaning “shake” from מָוד (mavd; see HALOT 555 s.v.).
[3:6] 27 tn Heb “makes [the nations] jump [in fear].”
[3:6] 28 tn Or “crumbled,” broke into pieces.”
[3:6] 29 tn Heb “ancient ways [or, “doings”] are his.” The meaning of this line is unclear. Traditionally it has been translated, “his ways are eternal.” However, in this context (see vv. 3, 7) it is more likely that the line speaks of the
