Discovery BoxHabakkuk 1:6
Context1:6 Look, I am about to empower 1 the Babylonians,
that ruthless 2 and greedy 3 nation.
They sweep across the surface 4 of the earth,
seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.
Habakkuk 1:10
Context1:10 They mock kings
and laugh at rulers.
They laugh at every fortified city;
they build siege ramps 5 and capture them.
Habakkuk 2:3
Context2:3 For the message is a witness to what is decreed; 6
it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out. 7
Even if the message 8 is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently; 9
for it will certainly come to pass – it will not arrive late.
Habakkuk 3:6
Context3:6 He takes his battle position 10 and shakes 11 the earth;
with a mere look he frightens 12 the nations.
The ancient mountains disintegrate; 13
the primeval hills are flattened.
He travels on the ancient roads. 14
[1:6] 1 tn Heb “raise up” (so KJV, ASV).
[1:6] 2 tn Heb “bitter.” Other translation options for this word in this context include “fierce” (NASB, NRSV); “savage” (NEB); or “grim.”
[1:6] 3 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] 4 tn Heb “the open spaces.”
[1:10] 5 tn Heb “they heap up dirt.” This is a reference to the piling up of earthen ramps in the process of laying siege to a fortified city.
[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.”
[3:6] 14 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] 15 tn Heb “makes [the nations] jump [in fear].”
[3:6] 16 tn Or “crumbled,” broke into pieces.”
[3:6] 17 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
