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14 You pierce the heads of his warriors[a] with a spear.[b]
They storm forward to scatter us;[c]
they shout with joy as if they were plundering the poor with no opposition.[d]
15 But you trample on the sea with your horses,
on the surging, raging waters.[e]

Habakkuk Declares His Confidence

16 I listened and my stomach churned;[f]
the sound made my lips quiver.
My frame went limp, as if my bones were decaying,[g]
and I shook as I tried to walk.[h]
I long[i] for the day of distress
to come upon[j] the people who attack us.

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Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 3:14 tn Some take “warriors” with the following line, in which case one should translate, “you pierce [his] head with a spear; his warriors storm forward to scatter us” (cf. NIV). The meaning of the Hebrew term פְּרָזוֹ (perazo), translated here “his warriors,” is uncertain.
  2. Habakkuk 3:14 tc Heb “his shafts.” Some emend to “your shafts.” The translation above assumes an emendation to מַטֶּה (matteh, “shaft, spear”), the vav-yod (ו-י) sequence being derived from an original he (ה).
  3. Habakkuk 3:14 tn Heb “me,” but the author speaks as a representative of God’s people.
  4. Habakkuk 3:14 tn Heb “their rejoicing is like devouring the poor in secret.”
  5. Habakkuk 3:15 tn Heb “the foaming of the mighty [or “many”] waters.”
  6. Habakkuk 3:16 tn Heb “my insides trembled.”
  7. Habakkuk 3:16 tn Heb “decay entered my bones.”
  8. Habakkuk 3:16 tc Heb “beneath me I shook, which….” The Hebrew term אֲשֶׁר (’asher) appears to be a relative pronoun, but a relative pronoun does not fit here. The translation assumes a reading אֲשֻׁרָי (’ashuray, “my steps”) as well as an emendation of the preceding verb to a third plural form.
  9. Habakkuk 3:16 tn The translation assumes that אָנוּחַ (’anuakh) is from the otherwise unattested verb נָוָח (navakh, “sigh”; see HALOT 680 s.v. II נוח; so also NEB). Most take this verb as נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”) and translate, “I wait patiently” (cf. NIV).
  10. Habakkuk 3:16 tn Heb “to come up toward.”

14 With his own spear you pierced his head
    when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,(A)
gloating as though about to devour
    the wretched(B) who were in hiding.
15 You trampled the sea(C) with your horses,
    churning the great waters.(D)

16 I heard and my heart pounded,
    my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
    and my legs trembled.(E)
Yet I will wait patiently(F) for the day of calamity
    to come on the nation invading us.

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