Habakkuk 1:8

1:8 Their horses are faster than leopards

and more alert ¹  than wolves in the desert. ² 

Their horses ³  gallop, ⁴ 

their horses come a great distance;

like a vulture ⁵  they swoop down quickly to devour their prey. ⁶ 

Habakkuk 3:19

3:19 The sovereign Lord is my source of strength. ⁷ 

He gives me the agility of a deer; ⁸ 

he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain. ⁹ 

(This prayer is for the song leader. It is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.) ¹⁰ 

[1:8]  ¹ tn Heb “sharper,” in the sense of “keener” or “more alert.” Some translate “quicker” on the basis of the parallelism with the first line (see HALOT 291 s.v. חדד).

[1:8]  ² tn Heb “wolves of the evening,” that is, wolves that prowl at night. The present translation assumes an emendation to עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “desert”). On this phrase see also Zeph 3:3.

[1:8]  ³ tn Or “horsemen,” “cavalry.”

[1:8]  ⁴ tn The precise nuance of the rare verb פָּוַשׁ (parash) is unclear here. Elsewhere it is used of animals jumping or leaping (see Jer 50:11; Mal 4:2).

[1:8]  ⁵ tn Or “eagle” (so NASB, NRSV). The term can refer to either eagles or vultures, but in this context of gruesome destruction and death “vulture” is preferred.

[1:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “they fly like a vulture/an eagle quickly to devour.” The direct object “their prey” is not included in the Hebrew text but is implied, and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:19]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps, “is my wall,” that is, “my protector.”

[3:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “he makes my feet like those of deer.”

[3:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “he makes me walk on my high places.”

[3:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “For the leader, on my stringed instruments.”