Habakkuk 1:13-15

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Habakkuk 1:13 tn Heb “[you] are too pure of eyes.” God’s “eyes” here signify what he looks at with approval. His “eyes” are “pure” in that he refuses to tolerate any wrongdoing in his presence.
2. Habakkuk 1:13 tn Heb “to see.” Here “see” is figurative for “tolerate,” “put up with.”
3. Habakkuk 1:13 tn Heb “to look at.” Cf. NEB “who canst not countenance wrongdoing”; NASB “You can not look on wickedness with favor.”
4. Habakkuk 1:13 tn Heb “Why do you look at treacherous ones?” The verb בָּגַד (bagad, “be treacherous”) is often used of those who are disloyal or who violate agreements. See S. Erlandsson, TDOT 1:470-73.
5. Habakkuk 1:13 tn Or “swallow up.”
6. Habakkuk 1:13 tn Heb “more innocent than themselves.”
7. Habakkuk 1:14 tn The Hebrew word רֶמֶשׂ (remesh) usually refers to animals that creep, but here the referent seems to be marine animals that glide through the water (note the parallelism in the previous line). See also Ps 104:25.
8. Habakkuk 1:15 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Babylonian tyrant) has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. NASB “The Chaldeans”; NIV “The wicked foe”; NRSV “The enemy”). Babylonian imperialism is here compared to a professional fisherman who repeatedly brings in his catch and has plenty to eat.
9. Habakkuk 1:15 tn Apparently two different types of fishing nets are referred to here. The חֵרֶם (kherem, “throw net”) was used by fishermen standing on the shore (see Ezek 47:10), while the מִכְמֶרֶת (mikhmeret, “dragnet”) was used by men in a boat. See R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 165.
10. Habakkuk 1:15 tn Heb “and he gathers.”
11. Habakkuk 1:15 tn Heb “Therefore he is happy and rejoices.” Here two synonyms are joined for emphasis.