English Standard Version ESV
New Living Translation NLT
1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.
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This prayer was sung by the prophet Habakkuk :
2 O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.
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I have heard all about you, LORD . I am filled with awe by your amazing works. In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by. And in your anger, remember your mercy.
3 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His splendor covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.
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I see God moving across the deserts from Edom, the Holy One coming from Mount Paran. His brilliant splendor fills the heavens, and the earth is filled with his praise.
4 His brightness was like the light; rays flashed from his hand; and there he veiled his power.
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His coming is as brilliant as the sunrise. Rays of light flash from his hands, where his awesome power is hidden.
5 Before him went pestilence, and plague followed at his heels.
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Pestilence marches before him; plague follows close behind.
6 He stood and measured the earth; he looked and shook the nations; then the eternal mountains were scattered; the everlasting hills sank low. His were the everlasting ways.
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When he stops, the earth shakes. When he looks, the nations tremble. He shatters the everlasting mountains and levels the eternal hills. He is the Eternal One!
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
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I see the people of Cushan in distress, and the nation of Midian trembling in terror.
8 Was your wrath against the rivers, O Lord? Was your anger against the rivers, or your indignation against the sea, when you rode on your horses, on your chariot of salvation?
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Was it in anger, LORD, that you struck the rivers and parted the sea? Were you displeased with them? No, you were sending your chariots of salvation!
9 You stripped the sheath from your bow, calling for many arrows. Selah You split the earth with rivers.
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You brandished your bow and your quiver of arrows. You split open the earth with flowing rivers.
10 The mountains saw you and writhed; the raging waters swept on; the deep gave forth its voice; it lifted its hands on high.
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The mountains watched and trembled. Onward swept the raging waters. The mighty deep cried out, lifting its hands in submission.
11 The sun and moon stood still in their place at the light of your arrows as they sped, at the flash of your glittering spear.
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The sun and moon stood still in the sky as your brilliant arrows flew and your glittering spear flashed.
12 You marched through the earth in fury; you threshed the nations in anger.
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You marched across the land in anger and trampled the nations in your fury.
13 You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying him bare from thigh to neck. Selah
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You went out to rescue your chosen people, to save your anointed ones. You crushed the heads of the wicked and stripped their bones from head to toe.
14 You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter me, rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.
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With his own weapons, you destroyed the chief of those who rushed out like a whirlwind, thinking Israel would be easy prey.
15 You trampled the sea with your horses, the surging of mighty waters.
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You trampled the sea with your horses, and the mighty waters piled high.
16 I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.
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I trembled inside when I heard this; my lips quivered with fear. My legs gave way beneath me, and I shook in terror. I will wait quietly for the coming day when disaster will strike the people who invade us.
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,
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Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
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yet I will rejoice in the LORD ! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
19 God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
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The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. (For the choir director: This prayer is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.