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Habakkuk’s Prayer

Chapter 3

Canticle

What follows is a prayer of the prophet Habakkuk, accompanied by a plaintive tune.

Lord, I have heard of your renown;
    your work, O Lord, fills me with awe.
Make it live once again in our own time;
    in the course of the years make it known,
    and in your wrath remember to have compassion on us.
God comes from Teman,
    the Holy One from Mount Paran.
His radiance covers the heavens,
    and with his glory the earth is filled.
His splendor is like that of the sunrise;
    rays shine forth from his hand
    where his power lies hidden.
Pestilence goes before him,
    and plague follows close behind.
When he stands up, the earth trembles;
    at his glance the nations panic.
The eternal mountains are shattered;
    along his ancient pathways,
    the age-old hills bow down.
The tents of the Ethiopians are in distress;
    the dwellings of the land of Midian are trembling.
Are you angry with the rivers, O Lord?
    Or is your wrath directed against the streams,
    or your rage against the sea,
that your horses are mounted
    and you drive your chariots to victory?
You uncover your bow
    and fill your quiver with arrows;
    into rivers you split the earth.
10 At the sight of you the mountains tremble;
    a torrent of water rushes by
    and the ocean thunders aloud.
11 At the glint of your flying arrows
    and the gleam of your flashing spear,
the sun forgets to rise
    and the moon remains motionless in the heavens.
12 In fury you stride across the earth;
    in anger you trample the nations.
13 You go forth to deliver your people,
    to save your anointed one.
You shatter the house of the wicked,
    laying bare its foundations to the bedrock.
14 You pierced with your arrows
    the leader of those warriors
who stormed toward us like a whirlwind,
    ready to devour the wretched who were in hiding.
15 You trampled the sea with your horses,
    churning the mighty abyss.
16 I hear, and my body trembles;
    my lips quiver at the sound.
Decay afflicts my bones,
    and my legs tremble beneath me.
I wait calmly for the day of disaster
    that will dawn on the people who attack us.
17 Even though the fig tree does not blossom
    and there is no fruit on the vines,
even though the olive crop will fail
    and the orchards will yield no food,
even though the flock is cut off from the fold
    and there is no herd in the stalls,
18 I will continue to rejoice in the Lord,
    and exult in the God of my salvation.
19 The Lord God is my strength;
    he makes my feet as swift as those of a deer
    and enables me to tread on the heights.

Habakkuk’s Prayer

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.[a](A)

Lord, I have heard(B) of your fame;
    I stand in awe(C) of your deeds, Lord.(D)
Repeat(E) them in our day,
    in our time make them known;
    in wrath remember mercy.(F)

God came from Teman,(G)
    the Holy One(H) from Mount Paran.[b](I)
His glory covered the heavens(J)
    and his praise filled the earth.(K)
His splendor was like the sunrise;(L)
    rays flashed from his hand,
    where his power(M) was hidden.
Plague(N) went before him;
    pestilence followed his steps.
He stood, and shook the earth;
    he looked, and made the nations tremble.
The ancient mountains crumbled(O)
    and the age-old hills(P) collapsed(Q)
    but he marches on forever.(R)
I saw the tents of Cushan in distress,
    the dwellings of Midian(S) in anguish.(T)

Were you angry with the rivers,(U) Lord?
    Was your wrath against the streams?
Did you rage against the sea(V)
    when you rode your horses
    and your chariots to victory?(W)
You uncovered your bow,
    you called for many arrows.(X)
You split the earth with rivers;
10     the mountains saw you and writhed.(Y)
Torrents of water swept by;
    the deep roared(Z)
    and lifted its waves(AA) on high.

11 Sun and moon stood still(AB) in the heavens
    at the glint of your flying arrows,(AC)
    at the lightning(AD) of your flashing spear.
12 In wrath you strode through the earth
    and in anger you threshed(AE) the nations.
13 You came out(AF) to deliver(AG) your people,
    to save your anointed(AH) one.
You crushed(AI) the leader of the land of wickedness,
    you stripped him from head to foot.
14 With his own spear you pierced his head
    when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,(AJ)
gloating as though about to devour
    the wretched(AK) who were in hiding.
15 You trampled the sea(AL) with your horses,
    churning the great waters.(AM)

16 I heard and my heart pounded,
    my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
    and my legs trembled.(AN)
Yet I will wait patiently(AO) for the day of calamity
    to come on the nation invading us.
17 Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    and the fields produce no food,(AP)
though there are no sheep in the pen
    and no cattle in the stalls,(AQ)
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,(AR)
    I will be joyful in God my Savior.(AS)

19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;(AT)
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    he enables me to tread on the heights.(AU)

For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.

Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 3:1 Probably a literary or musical term
  2. Habakkuk 3:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the middle of verse 9 and at the end of verse 13.