Habakkuk 3:13-19

13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, For the salvation of thine anointed; Thou didst smite off the head from the house of the wicked, Laying bare the foundation even to the neck. Selah.

14 Thou didst strike through with his own spears the head of his leaders: They came out as a whirlwind to scatter me, Whose exulting was as to devour the afflicted secretly.

15 Thou didst walk through the sea with thy horses, The heap of great waters.

16 I heard, and my belly trembled; My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in my place, That I might rest in the day of distress, When their invader shall come up against the people.

17 For though the fig-tree shall not blossom, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labour of the olive-tree shall fail, And the fields shall yield no food; The flock shall be cut off from the fold, And there shall be no herd in the stalls:

18 Yet I will rejoice in Jehovah, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

19 Jehovah, the Lord, is my strength, And he maketh my feet like hinds' [feet], And he will make me to walk upon my high places. To the chief Musician. On my stringed instruments.

Habakkuk 3:13-19 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]. Others read 'the leaders of his hordes.'
• [b]. Or 'his overcomer.'
• [c]. Or 'when he that rusheth in troops upon us shall come up against the people.' Cf. Gen. 49.19.
• [d]. Jehovah Adonai: see Ezek. 2.4.