Habakkuk 3:12

Translations

Modern

You marched across the earth with fury; You threshed the nations in wrath.

Traditional

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

Literal

In wrath You marched through the land, in anger You trampled the nations.

Latin

In fremitu conculcabis terram; in furore obstupefacies gentes.

Original

Hebrew

English

You marched across the earth with fury; You threshed the nations in wrath.

Notes

Habakkuk 3:8–15

The Lord acts as a divine warrior for his people, using his power to save them. This picture of God as a divine warrior appears in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

In the Old Testament, it is seen in Israel’s escape from Egypt and their journey to Mount Sinai (Exodus 15:1–18). It also appears as Israel approached the promised land from the south and during their early victories in the land (for example, Judges 5:4–5; Psalms 18:8–16; 77:16–20).

A key New Testament example of this theme appears in Revelation, where Christ comes as a warrior to defeat evil and bring final justice (Revelation 19:11–21).

Habakkuk 3:3–15

The prophet praises God's power to save. These two praise sections (Habakkuk 3:3–7 and 3:8–15) poetically reflect on Israel's exodus. Although Habakkuk focuses on God's redemption of his people, his imagery sometimes includes ideas from ancient Near Eastern stories about the gods. For example:

pestilence and plague (Habakkuk 3:5)
river and sea (Habakkuk 3:8)
sun and moon (Habakkuk 3:11)

This imagery reminds Habakkuk's original audience that the Lord alone is the one true God who rules over all these things.

Habakkuk 3:1–19

Habakkuk’s prophecy concludes with a prayer that has the style and language of a psalm (a song of prayer).

Theme notes and profiles

Human Confusion and God’s Purpose

Events

Prophecies of Habakkukc. 607 BC

Related verses

Jeremiah 51:33
For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “The Daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trampled. In just a little while her harvest time will come.”
Micah 4:12–13
But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD or understand His plan, for He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
Amos 1:3
This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron.
Nehemiah 9:22–24
You gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner of the land. So they took the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and of Og king of Bashan.
Psalm 78:55
He drove out nations before them and apportioned their inheritance; He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
Joshua 6:1–12
Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
Numbers 21:23–35
But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. Instead, he gathered his whole army and went out to confront Israel in the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel.
Psalm 44:1–3
For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us the work You did in their days, in the days of old.
Acts 13:19
And having vanquished seven nations in Canaan, He gave their land to His people as an inheritance.
Isaiah 41:15
Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff.

Glossary

Book of Habakkuk Habakkuk (Person) Selah Shiggaion, Shigionoth

Topics

The Heathen: God: Punishes Threshing of the Judgments of God

Habakkuk 3:12

Translations?

Original?

Notes?

Events?

Related verses?

Glossary?

Topics?