Habakkuk 1:9

1:9 All of them intend ¹  to do violence;

every face is determined. ² 

They take prisoners as easily as one scoops up sand. ³ 

Habakkuk 2:5

2:5 Indeed, wine will betray the proud, restless man! ⁴ 

His appetite ⁵  is as big as Sheol’s; ⁶ 

like death, he is never satisfied.

He gathers ⁷  all the nations;

he seizes ⁸  all peoples.

Habakkuk 2:20

2:20 But the Lord is in his majestic palace. ⁹ 

The whole earth is speechless in his presence!” ¹⁰ 

Habakkuk 2:8

2:8 Because you robbed many countries, ¹¹ 

all who are left among the nations ¹²  will rob you.

You have shed human blood

and committed violent acts against lands, cities, ¹³  and those who live in them.

Habakkuk 1:15

1:15 The Babylonian tyrant ¹⁴  pulls them all up with a fishhook;

he hauls them in with his throw net. ¹⁵ 

When he catches ¹⁶  them in his dragnet,

he is very happy. ¹⁷ 

Habakkuk 2:6

The Proud Babylonians are as Good as Dead

2:6 “But all these nations will someday taunt him ¹⁸ 

and ridicule him with proverbial sayings: ¹⁹ 

‘The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead ²⁰ 

(How long will this go on?) ²¹  –

he who gets rich by extortion!’ ²² 

Habakkuk 2:17

2:17 For you will pay in full for your violent acts against Lebanon; ²³ 

terrifying judgment will come upon you because of the way you destroyed the wild animals living there. ²⁴ 

You have shed human blood

and committed violent acts against lands, cities, and those who live in them.

Habakkuk 2:19

2:19 The one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’ is as good as dead ²⁵  –

he who says ²⁶  to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’

Can it give reliable guidance? ²⁷ 

It is overlaid with gold and silver;

it has no life’s breath inside it.

Habakkuk 1:10-11

1:10 They mock kings

and laugh at rulers.

They laugh at every fortified city;

they build siege ramps ²⁸  and capture them.

1:11 They sweep by like the wind and pass on. ²⁹ 

But the one who considers himself a god will be held guilty.” ³⁰ 

Habakkuk 2:7

2:7 Your creditors will suddenly attack; ³¹ 

those who terrify you will spring into action, ³² 

and they will rob you. ³³ 

Habakkuk 2:14

2:14 For recognition of the Lord’s sovereign majesty will fill the earth

just as the waters fill up the sea. ³⁴ 

Habakkuk 1:3

1:3 Why do you force me to witness injustice? ³⁵ 

Why do you put up with wrongdoing? ³⁶ 

Destruction and violence confront ³⁷  me;

conflict is present and one must endure strife. ³⁸ 

Habakkuk 2:13

2:13 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. ³⁹ 

Habakkuk 1:12

Habakkuk Voices Some Concerns

1:12 Lord, you have been active from ancient times; ⁴⁰ 

my sovereign God, ⁴¹  you are immortal. ⁴² 

Lord, you have made them ⁴³  your instrument of judgment. ⁴⁴ 

Protector, ⁴⁵  you have appointed them as your instrument of punishment. ⁴⁶ 

Habakkuk 2:16

2:16 But you will become drunk ⁴⁷  with shame, not majesty. ⁴⁸ 

Now it is your turn to drink and expose your uncircumcised foreskin! ⁴⁹ 

The cup of wine in the Lord’s right hand ⁵⁰  is coming to you,

and disgrace will replace your majestic glory!

Habakkuk 2:18

2:18 What good ⁵¹  is an idol? Why would a craftsman make it? ⁵² 

What good is a metal image that gives misleading oracles? ⁵³ 

Why would its creator place his trust in it ⁵⁴ 

and make ⁵⁵  such mute, worthless things?

Habakkuk 3:2

3:2 Lord, I have heard the report of what you did; ⁵⁶ 

I am awed, ⁵⁷  Lord, by what you accomplished. ⁵⁸ 

In our time ⁵⁹  repeat those deeds; ⁶⁰ 

in our time reveal them again. ⁶¹ 

But when you cause turmoil, remember to show us mercy! ⁶² 

Habakkuk 3:16

Habakkuk Declares His Confidence

3:16 I listened and my stomach churned; ⁶³ 

the sound made my lips quiver.

My frame went limp, as if my bones were decaying, ⁶⁴ 

and I shook as I tried to walk. ⁶⁵ 

I long ⁶⁶  for the day of distress

to come upon ⁶⁷  the people who attack us.

[1:9]  ¹ tn Heb “come.”

[1:9]  ² tn Heb “The totality of their faces is to the east” (or “is forward”). The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מְגַמַּת (megammat) is unclear. For a discussion of options see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 93. NEB has “a sea of faces rolls on”; NIV “their hordes advance like a desert wind”; NRSV “with faces pressing forward.”

[1:9]  ³ tn Heb “and he gathers like sand, prisoners.”

[2:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “Indeed wine betrays a proud man and he does not dwell.” The meaning of the last verb, “dwell,” is uncertain. Many take it as a denominative of the noun נָוָה (navah, “dwelling place”). In this case it would carry the idea, “he does not settle down,” and would picture the drunkard as restless (cf. NIV “never at rest”; NASB “does not stay at home”). Some relate the verb to an Arabic cognate and translate the phrase as “he will not succeed, reach his goal.”

[2:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “who opens wide like Sheol his throat.” Here נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is understood in a physical sense, meaning “throat,” which in turn is figurative for the appetite. See H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 11-12.

[2:5]  ⁶ sn Sheol is the proper name of the subterranean world which was regarded as the land of the dead. In ancient Canaanite thought Death was a powerful god whose appetite was never satisfied. In the OT Sheol/Death, though not deified, is personified as greedy and as having a voracious appetite. See Prov 30:15-16; Isa 5:14; also see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 168.

[2:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “he gathers for himself.”

[2:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “he collects for himself.”

[2:20]  ⁷ tn Or “holy temple.” The Lord’s heavenly palace, rather than the earthly temple, is probably in view here (see Ps 11:4; Mic 1:2-3). The Hebrew word ֹקדֶשׁ (qodesh, “holy”) here refers to the sovereign transcendence associated with his palace.

[2:20]  ⁸ tn Or “Be quiet before him, all the earth!”

[2:8]  ¹⁰ tn Or “nations.”

[2:8]  ¹¹ tn Or “peoples.”

[2:8]  ¹² tn Heb “because of the shed blood of humankind and violence against land, city.” The singular forms אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”) and קִרְיָה (qiryah, “city”) are collective, referring to all the lands and cities terrorized by the Babylonians.

[1:15]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and he gathers.”

[1:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Therefore he is happy and rejoices.” Here two synonyms are joined for emphasis.

[2:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Will not these, all of them, take up a taunt against him…?” The rhetorical question assumes the response, “Yes, they will.” The present translation brings out the rhetorical force of the question by rendering it as an affirmation.

[2:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and a mocking song, riddles, against him? And one will say.”

[2:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who increases [what is] not his.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “woe,” “ah”) was used in funeral laments and carries the connotation of death.

[2:6]  ¹⁹ tn This question is interjected parenthetically, perhaps to express rhetorically the pain and despair felt by the Babylonians’ victims.

[2:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and the one who makes himself heavy [i.e., wealthy] [by] debts.” Though only appearing in the first line, the term הוֹי (hoy) is to be understood as elliptical in the second line.

[2:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for the violence against Lebanon will cover you.”

[2:17]  ²⁰ tc The Hebrew appears to read literally, “and the violence against the animals [which] he terrified.” The verb form יְחִיתַן (yÿkhitan) appears to be a Hiphil imperfect third masculine singular with third feminine plural suffix (the antecedent being the animals) from חָתַת (khatat, “be terrified”). The translation above follows the LXX and assumes a reading יְחִתֶּךָ (yÿkhittekha, “[the violence against the animals] will terrify you”; cf. NRSV “the destruction of the animals will terrify you”; NIV “and your destruction of animals will terrify you”). In this case the verb is a Hiphil imperfect third masculine singular with second masculine singular suffix (the antecedent being Babylon). This provides better symmetry with the preceding line, where Babylon’s violence is the subject of the verb “cover.”

[2:19]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn The words “he who says” in the translation are supplied from the previous parallel line.

[2:19]  ²⁴ 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).

[1:10]  ²⁵ 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.

[1:11]  ²⁸ tn The precise meaning of v. 11a is uncertain. The present translation assumes the first line further describes the Babylonian hordes, comparing them to a destructive wind. Another option is to understand רוּחַ (ruakh) as “spirit,” rather than “wind,” and take the form וְאָשֵׁם (vÿ’ashem) with what precedes (as suggested by the scribal punctuation). Repointing this form as a geminate verb from שָׁמַם (shamam, “be astonished”), one could then translate the line, “The spirit passed on and departed, and I was astonished.” In this case the line would describe the cessation of the divine revelation which began in v. 5. For a detailed defense of this view, see J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 97-100.

[1:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and guilty is the one whose strength is his god.” This assumes that אָשֵׁם (’ashem) is a predicate adjective meaning “guilty” and that it relates to what follows.

[2:7]  ³¹ tn Heb “Will not your creditors suddenly rise up?” The rhetorical question assumes the response, “Yes, they will.” The present translation brings out the rhetorical force of the question by rendering it as an affirmation.

[2:7]  ³² tn Heb “[Will not] the ones who make you tremble awake?”

[2:7]  ³³ tn Heb “and you will become their plunder.”

[2:14]  ³⁴ tn Heb “for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, just as the waters cover over the sea.”

[1:3]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Why do you make me see injustice?”

[1:3]  ³⁸ tn Heb “Why do you look at wrongdoing?”

[1:3]  ³⁹ tn Heb “are before.”

[1:3]  ⁴⁰ 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”).

[2:13]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Is it not, look, from the Lord of hosts that the nations work hard for fire, and the peoples are exhausted for nothing?”

[1:12]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Are you not from antiquity, O Lord?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, of course.” The present translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question, rendering it as an affirmation. When used in a temporal sense the phrase מִקֶדֶם (miqedem) means “from antiquity, ancient times,” often referring to earlier periods in Israel’s history. See its use in Neh 12:46; Pss 74:12; 77:11; Isa 45:21; 46:10; Mic 5:2.

[1:12]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “My God, my holy one.” God’s “holiness” in this context is his sovereign transcendence as the righteous judge of the world (see vv. 12b-13a), thus the translation “My sovereign God.”

[1:12]  ⁴⁵ tc The MT reads, “we will not die,” but an ancient scribal tradition has “you [i.e., God] will not die.” This is preferred as a more difficult reading that can explain the rise of the other variant. Later scribes who copied the manuscripts did not want to associate the idea of death with God in any way, so they softened the statement to refer to humanity.

[1:12]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “him,” a collective singular referring to the Babylonians. The plural pronoun “them” has been used in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.

[1:12]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “for judgment.”

[1:12]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “Rock” or “Cliff.” This divine epithet views God as a place where one can go to be safe from danger. The translation “Protector” conveys the force of the metaphor (cf. KJV, NEB “O mighty God”).

[1:12]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “to correct, reprove.”

[2:16]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “are filled.” The translation assumes the verbal form is a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of Babylon’s coming judgment, which will reduce the majestic empire to shame and humiliation.

[2:16]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “glory.”

[2:16]  ⁴⁸ tc Heb “drink, even you, and show the foreskin.” Instead of הֵעָרֵל (he’arel, “show the foreskin”) one of the Dead Sea scrolls has הֵרָעֵל (hera’el, “stumble”). This reading also has support from several ancient versions and is followed by the NEB (“you too shall drink until you stagger”) and NRSV (“Drink, you yourself, and stagger”). For a defense of the Hebrew text, see P. D. Miller, Jr., Sin and Judgment in the Prophets, 63-64.

[2:16]  ⁴⁹ sn The Lord’s right hand represents his military power. He will force the Babylonians to experience the same humiliating defeat they inflicted on others.

[2:18]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “of what value.”

[2:18]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “so that the one who forms it fashions it?” Here כִּי (ki) is taken as resultative after the rhetorical question. For other examples of this use, see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §450.

[2:18]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “or a metal image, a teacher of lies.” The words “What good is” in the translation are supplied from the previous parallel line. “Teacher of lies” refers to the false oracles that the so-called god would deliver through a priest. See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 126.

[2:18]  ⁵² tn Heb “so that the one who forms his image trusts in it?” As earlier in the verse, כִּי (ki) is resultative.

[2:18]  ⁵³ tn Heb “to make.”

[3:2]  ⁵² tn Heb “your report,” that is, “the report concerning you.”

[3:2]  ⁵³ tn Heb “I fear.” Some prefer to read, “I saw, Lord, what you accomplished” (cf. NEB).

[3:2]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “your work.”

[3:2]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “in the midst of years.” The meaning of the phrase, which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain (cf. NIV “in our day”; NEB, NASB “in the midst of the years”).

[3:2]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “revive it” (i.e., “your work”).

[3:2]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “make known.” The implied object is “your deeds”; the pronoun “them,” referring to “deeds” in the previous line, was employed in the translation to avoid redundancy. The suffix on the form חַיֵּיהוּ (khayyehu, “revive it”) does double duty in the parallelism.

[3:2]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “in turmoil remember [to show] compassion.”

[3:16]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “my insides trembled.”

[3:16]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “decay entered my bones.”

[3:16]  ⁵⁷ tc Heb “beneath me I shook, which….” The Hebrew term אֲשֶׁר (’asher) appears to be a relative pronoun, but a relative pronoun does not fit here. The translation assumes a reading אֲשֻׁרָי (’ashuray, “my steps”) as well as an emendation of the preceding verb to a third plural form.

[3:16]  ⁵⁸ tn The translation assumes that אָנוּחַ (’anuakh) is from the otherwise unattested verb נָוָח (navakh, “sigh”; see HALOT 680 s.v. II נוח; so also NEB). Most take this verb as נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”) and translate, “I wait patiently” (cf. NIV).

[3:16]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “to come up toward.”