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Minor Prophets · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Habakkuk 3

A prophet questions violence and learns watchful trust while waiting for justice.

Old Testament

Habakkuk 3

1A prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet, set to victorious music.

2LORD, I have heard of your fame. I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Renew your work in the middle of the years. In the middle of the years make it known. In wrath, you remember mercy.

3God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and his praise filled the earth.

4His splendor is like the sunrise. Rays shine from his hand, where his power is hidden.

5Plague went before him, and pestilence followed his feet.

6He stood, and shook the earth. He looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains were crumbled. The age-old hills collapsed. His ways are eternal.

7I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction. The dwellings of the land of Midian trembled.

8Was the LORD displeased with the rivers? Was your anger against the rivers, or your wrath against the sea, that you rode on your horses, on your chariots of salvation?

9You uncovered your bow. You called for your sworn arrows. Selah. You split the earth with rivers.

10The mountains saw you, and were afraid. The storm of waters passed by. The deep roared and lifted up its hands on high.

11The sun and moon stood still in the sky at the light of your arrows as they went, at the shining of your glittering spear.

12You marched through the land in wrath. You threshed the nations in anger.

13You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the land of wickedness. You stripped them head to foot. Selah.

14You pierced the heads of his warriors with their own spears. They came as a whirlwind to scatter me, gloating as if to devour the wretched in secret.

15You trampled the sea with your horses, churning mighty waters.

16I heard, and my body trembled. My lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness enters into my bones, and I tremble in my place because I must wait quietly for the day of trouble, for the coming up of the people who invade us.

17For even though the fig tree doesn’t flourish, nor fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield no food, the flocks are cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls,

18yet I will rejoice in the LORD. I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

19GOD, the Lord, is my strength. He makes my feet like deer’s feet, and enables me to go in high places. For the music director, on my stringed instruments.

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

A prophet questions violence and learns watchful trust while waiting for justice. Read Habakkuk 3 within the complete Habakkuk overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Habakkuk 3

Habakkuk 3 contains 19 verses and about 434 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “A prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet, set to victorious music.” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 19 closes: “GOD, the Lord, is my strength. He makes my feet like deer’s feet, and enables me to go in high places. For the music director, on my stringed instruments.” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include salvation, wrath, selah, earth, went, feet. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Habakkuk 3

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Habakkuk 3:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer