Habakkuk 3:5

3:5 Plague goes before him;

pestilence ¹  marches right behind him. ² 

Habakkuk 3:11

3:11 The sun and moon stand still in their courses; ³ 

the flash of your arrows drives them away, ⁴ 

the bright light of your lightning-quick spear. 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.

[3:5]  ¹ tn Because of parallelism with the previous line, the meaning “pestilence” is favored for רֶשֶׁף (reshef) here, but usage elsewhere suggests a destructive bolt of fire may be in view. See BDB 958 s.v.

[3:5]  ² tn Heb “goes out at his feet.”

[3:11]  ³ tn Heb “in their lofty dwelling places.”

[3:11]  ⁴ tn Or “at the light of your arrows they vanish.”

[3:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “at the brightness of the lightning of your spear.”

[1:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “raise up” (so KJV, ASV).

[1:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “bitter.” Other translation options for this word in this context include “fierce” (NASB, NRSV); “savage” (NEB); or “grim.”

[1:6]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “the open spaces.”