Habakkuk 3:1-7

God's Deliverance of His People

1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.

2 LORD, I have ¹heard the report about You and I ²fear. O LORD, ³revive ⁴Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember ⁵mercy.

3 God comes from ⁶Teman, And the Holy One from Mount ⁷Paran. Selah. His ⁸splendor covers the heavens, And the ⁹earth is full of His praise.

4 His ¹⁰radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His ¹¹power.

5 Before Him goes ¹²pestilence, And ¹³plague comes after Him.

6 He stood and surveyed the earth; He looked and ¹⁴startled the nations. Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed. His ways are ¹⁵everlasting.

7 I saw the tents of Cushan under ¹⁶distress, The tent curtains of the land of ¹⁷Midian were trembling.

Habakkuk 3:1-7 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.

Cross References

• 1. Job 42:5
• 2. Psalms 119:120; Jeremiah 10:7
• 3. Psalms 71:20; Psalms 85:6
• 4. Psalms 44:1-8; Habakkuk 1:5
• 5. Numbers 14:19; 2 Samuel 24:15-17; Isaiah 54:8
• 6. Jeremiah 49:7; Amos 1:12; Obadiah 9
• 7. Genesis 21:21; Deuteronomy 33:2
• 8. Psalms 113:4; Psalms 148:13
• 9. Psalms 48:10
• 10. Psalms 18:12
• 11. Job 26:14
• 12. Exodus 12:29, 30; Numbers 16:46-49
• 13. Numbers 11:1-3; Psalms 18:12, 13
• 14. Job 21:18; Psalms 35:5
• 15. Habakkuk 1:12
• 16. Exodus 15:14-16
• 17. Numbers 31:7, 8; Judges 7:24, 25; Judges 8:12

Footnotes

• [a]. I.e. a highly emotional poetic form
• [b]. Or "Your report"
• [c]. Or "I stand in awe of Your work, O LORD"; In the midst of the years revive it,"
• [d]. Or "compassion"
• [e]. Lit "at His feet"
• [f]. Lit "bowed;" or "sank down"