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 3:9

3:9 Your bow is ready for action; ³ 

you commission your arrows. ⁴  Selah.

You cause flash floods on the earth’s surface. ⁵ 

Habakkuk 1:6

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

that ruthless ⁷  and greedy ⁸  nation.

They sweep across the surface ⁹  of the earth,

seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.

Habakkuk 2:8

2:8 Because you robbed many countries, ¹⁰ 

all who are left among the nations ¹¹  will rob you.

You have shed human blood

and committed violent acts against lands, cities, ¹²  and those who live in them.

Habakkuk 2:17

2:17 For you will pay in full for your violent acts against Lebanon; ¹³ 

terrifying judgment will come upon you because of the way you destroyed the wild animals living there. ¹⁴ 

You have shed human blood

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

Habakkuk 3:6

3:6 He takes his battle position ¹⁵  and shakes ¹⁶  the earth;

with a mere look he frightens ¹⁷  the nations.

The ancient mountains disintegrate; ¹⁸ 

the primeval hills are flattened.

He travels on the ancient roads. ¹⁹ 

[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.”

[3:9]  ¹ tn Heb “[into] nakedness your bow is laid bare.”

[3:9]  ² tn Heb “sworn in are the arrow-shafts with a word.” The passive participle of שָׁבַע (shava’), “swear an oath,” also occurs in Ezek 21:23 ET (21:28 HT) referencing those who have sworn allegiance. Here the Lord’s arrows are personified and viewed as having received a commission which they have vowed to uphold. In Jer 47:6-7 the Lord’s sword is given such a charge. In the Ugaritic myths Baal’s weapons are formally assigned the task of killing the sea god Yam.

[3:9]  ³ tn Heb “[with] rivers you split open the earth.” A literal rendering like “You split the earth with rivers” (so NIV, NRSV) suggests geological activity to the modern reader, but in the present context of a violent thunderstorm, the idea of streams swollen to torrents by downpours better fits the imagery.

[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.”

[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.

[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.”

[3:6]  ¹ tn Heb “he stands.”

[3:6]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “makes [the nations] jump [in fear].”

[3:6]  ⁴ tn Or “crumbled,” broke into pieces.”

[3:6]  ⁵ 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 Lord taking the same route as in the days of Moses and Deborah (see Deut 33:2; Judg 5:4). See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 154.