Habakkuk 3

Habakkuk 3

1A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk according to Shigionoth.

The Prophet’s Prayer

2O Lord , I have heard of your renown,[#Job 42.5, 6; Ps 85.6; 119.120; Isa 54.8; Jer 10.7]

and I stand in awe, O Lord , of your work.

In our own time revive it;

in our own time make it known;

in wrath may you remember mercy.

3God came from Teman,[#Deut 33.2; Ps 48.10; 113.4; Am 1.12]

the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah

His glory covered the heavens,

and the earth was full of his praise.

4The brightness was like the sun;[#Job 26.14; Ps 18.12]

rays came forth from his hand,

where his power lay hidden.

5Before him went pestilence,[#Ex 12.29, 30; Num 16.46–49]

and plague followed close behind.

6He stopped and shook the earth;[#Ps 35.5; Mic 5.8]

he looked and made the nations tremble.

The eternal mountains were shattered;

along his ancient pathways

the everlasting hills sank low.

7I saw the tents of Cushan under affliction;

the tent curtains of the land of Midian trembled.

8Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord ,[#Ex 7.19, 20; Deut 33.26; Ps 68.17; #3.8 Or against River]

or your anger against the rivers

or your rage against the sea,

when you drove your horses,

your chariots to victory?

9You brandished your naked bow;[#Gen 26.3; Deut 7.8; Ps 78.16]

sated were the arrows at your command. Selah

You split the earth with rivers.

10The mountains saw you and writhed;[#Ex 14.22; Ps 114.3–8]

a torrent of water swept by;

the deep gave forth its voice.

The sun raised high its hands;

11the moon stood still in its exalted place,[#Josh 10.12–14; Ps 18.12–14]

at the light of your arrows speeding by,

at the gleam of your flashing spear.

12In fury you marched on the earth;[#Ps 68.7; Isa 41.15; Jer 51.33]

in anger you trampled nations.

13You came forth to save your people,[#Ex 15.2; Ps 68.19, 20; 110.6; Ezek 13.14]

to save your anointed.

You crushed the head of the wicked house,

laying it bare from foundation to roof. Selah

14You pierced with their own arrows the head of his warriors,[#3.14 Heb his; #3.14 Gk Vg Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain]

who came like a whirlwind to scatter us,

gloating as if ready to devour the poor who were in hiding.

15You trampled the sea with your horses,[#Ex 15.8; Ps 77.19]

churning the mighty waters.

16I hear, and I tremble within;[#Jer 5.15; 23.9]

my lips quiver at the sound.

Rottenness enters into my bones,

and my steps tremble beneath me.

I wait quietly for the day of calamity

to come upon the people who attack us.

Trust and Joy in the Midst of Trouble

17Though the fig tree does not blossom[#Jer 5.17; Joel 1.18]

and no fruit is on the vines;

though the produce of the olive fails

and the fields yield no food;

though the flock is cut off from the fold

and there is no herd in the stalls,

18yet I will rejoice in the Lord ;[#Ps 46.1–5; Isa 12.2; 61.10]

I will exult in the God of my salvation.

19God , the Lord, is my strength;[#Deut 33.29; 2 Sam 22.34; Ps 18.33]

he makes my feet like the feet of a deer

and makes me tread upon the heights.

To the leader: with stringed instruments.

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, copyright © 2021 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Published by: National Council of the Churches of Christ