Habakkuk 3:12-19

12 In fury you trod the earth, in anger you trampled nations.

13 You came forth to save your people, to save your anointed. You crushed the head of the wicked house, laying it bare from foundation to roof. (Selah)

14 You pierced with their own arrows the head of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter us, gloating as if ready to devour the poor who were in hiding.

15 You trampled the sea with your horses, churning the mighty waters.

16 I hear, and I tremble within; 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.

17 Though the fig tree does not blossom, 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,

18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation.

19 God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and makes me tread upon the heights. To the leader: with stringed instruments.

Habakkuk 3:12-19 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO HABAKKUK 3

The title of this chapter is a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, composed after the manner of a psalm of David, and directed to the chief singer, Hab 3:1,19. The occasion of it is expressed, Hab 3:2 in which the prophet declares his concern for the work of the Lord, and the promotion of the kingdom and interest of Christ; and observes the various steps that were, or would be, taken for the advancement of it; for which he prays, and suggests that these would be after the manner of the Lord's dealing with the people of Israel, and settling them in the land of Canaan, Hab 3:3-15 and there being several things awful in this account, both with respect to the judgments of God on his enemies, and the conflicts and trials of his own people, it greatly affected the mind of the prophet, Hab 3:16 and yet, in the view of the worst, he expresses his strong faith in the Lord, as to better times and things, that would most assuredly come, Hab 3:17-19.

Footnotes

• [a]. Meaning of Heb uncertain
• [b]. Heb [his]
• [c]. Or [leader]
• [d]. Vg Compare Gk Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain
• [e]. Heb [me]
• [f]. Cn Compare Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
• [g]. Heb [my heights]
• [h]. Heb [my stringed]