Habakkuk 1:6

1:6 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 1:15

1:15 The Babylonian tyrant ⁵  pulls them all up with a fishhook;

he hauls them in with his throw net. ⁶ 

When he catches ⁷  them in his dragnet,

he is very happy. ⁸ 

Habakkuk 3:14

3:14 You pierce the heads of his warriors ⁹  with a spear. ¹⁰ 

They storm forward to scatter us; ¹¹ 

they shout with joy as if they were plundering the poor with no opposition. ¹² 

[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.”

[1:15]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he gathers.”

[1:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “Therefore he is happy and rejoices.” Here two synonyms are joined for emphasis.

[3:14]  ⁹ tn Some take “warriors” with the following line, in which case one should translate, “you pierce [his] head with a spear; his warriors storm forward to scatter us” (cf. NIV). The meaning of the Hebrew term פְּרָזוֹ (pÿrazo), translated here “his warriors,” is uncertain.

[3:14]  ¹⁰ tc Heb “his shafts.” Some emend to “your shafts.” The translation above assumes an emendation to מַטֶּה (matteh, “shaft, spear”), the vav-yod (ו-י) sequence being a corruption of an original he (ה).

[3:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “me,” but the author speaks as a representative of God’s people.

[3:14]  ¹² tn Heb “their rejoicing is like devouring the poor in secret.”