Habakkuk 3:12

3:12 You furiously stomp on the earth,

you angrily trample down the nations.

Habakkuk 3:7

3:7 I see the tents of Cushan overwhelmed by trouble; ¹ 

the tent curtains of the land of Midian are shaking. ² 

Habakkuk 2:17

2:17 For you will pay in full for your violent acts against Lebanon; ³ 

terrifying judgment will come upon you because of the way you destroyed the wild animals living there. ⁴ 

You have shed human blood

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

Habakkuk 2:8

2:8 Because you robbed many countries, ⁵ 

all who are left among the nations ⁶  will rob you.

You have shed human blood

and committed violent acts against lands, cities, ⁷  and those who live in them.

Habakkuk 1:6

1:6 Look, I am about to empower ⁸  the Babylonians,

that ruthless ⁹  and greedy ¹⁰  nation.

They sweep across the surface ¹¹  of the earth,

seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.

Habakkuk 3:13

3:13 You march out to deliver your people,

to deliver your special servant. ¹² 

You strike the leader of the wicked nation, ¹³ 

laying him open from the lower body to the neck. ¹⁴  Selah.

[3:7]  ¹ tn Heb “under trouble I saw the tents of Cushan.”

[3:7]  ² 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.”

[2:17]  ¹ tn Heb “for the violence against Lebanon will cover you.”

[2:17]  ² 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.”

[2:8]  ¹ tn Or “nations.”

[2:8]  ² tn Or “peoples.”

[2:8]  ³ 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.

[1:6]  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.”

[3:13]  ¹ tn Heb “anointed one.” In light of the parallelism with “your people” in the preceding line this could refer to Israel, but elsewhere the Lord’s anointed one is always an individual. The Davidic king is the more likely referent here.

[3:13]  ² tn Heb “you strike the head from the house of wickedness.”

[3:13]  ³ tn Heb “laying bare [from] foundation to neck.”