Habakkuk 3

¹A Prayer of Habakkuk the Prophet on Behalf of Those Who Are Ignorant.

²Lord, I heard what has been said about you, and I was afraid. Lord, your work, in the midst of years, revive it. In the midst of years, you will make it known. When you have become angry, you will remember mercy.

³God will come from the south, and the Holy One from mount Pharan. His glory has covered the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise.

⁴His brightness shall be like the light; horns are in his hands. There, his strength has been hidden.

⁵Death will go forth before his face. And the devil shall depart before his feet.

⁶He stood, and measured the earth. He looked, and dissolved the Gentiles. And the mountains of ages past have been shattered. The hills of the world became curved by the journeys of his eternity.

⁷I saw the tents of Ethiopia for their iniquity; the tent-skins of the land of Midian will be thrown into confusion.

⁸Could you have been angry with the rivers, Lord? Or was your fury within the rivers, or your indignation in the sea? He will ascend upon your horses, and your four-horse chariots are salvation.

⁹Being stirred up, you will take up your bow, the oaths you have spoken to the tribes. You will split apart the Rivers of the earth.

¹⁰They saw you, and the mountains grieved. The great body of waters crossed over. The abyss uttered its voice. The pinnacle lifted up its hands.

¹¹The sun and the moon have stood firm in their dwelling place; with the light of your arrows, they shall go forth in the splendor of your flashing spear.

¹²With a roar, you will trample the earth. In your fury, you will cause the nations to be stupefied.

¹³You have gone forth for the salvation of your people, for salvation with your Christ. You struck the head of the house of the impious. You have laid bare his foundation all the way to the neck.

¹⁴You have cursed his scepters, the head of his warriors, those who approached like a whirlwind so as to scatter me. Their exultation was like one who devours the poor in secret.

¹⁵You made a way in the sea for your horses, in the mud of great waters.

¹⁶I heard, and my stomach became troubled. My lips trembled at the voice. Let decay enter into my bones and gush forth from within me. Then I may rest in the day of tribulation, so that I may ascend to our people well-prepared.

¹⁷For the fig tree will not flower, and there will be no bud on the vines. The labor of the olive tree will be misleading, and the farmland will produce no food. The sheep will be cut off from the sheepfold, and there will be no herd at the manger.

¹⁸But I will rejoice in the Lord; and I will exult in God my Jesus.

¹⁹The Lord God is my strength. And he will set my feet like those of the stag. And he, the victor, will lead me beyond my high places while singing psalms.

Habakkuk 3

¹A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.

²O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.

³God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.

⁴And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.

⁵Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet.

⁶He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.

⁷I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

⁸Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation?

⁹Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.

¹⁰The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high.

¹¹The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.

¹²Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger.

¹³Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.

¹⁴Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.

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

¹⁶When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops.

¹⁷Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

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

¹⁹The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.