Habakkuk 3:9

3:9 Your bow is ready for action;¹

you commission your arrows.² Selah.

You cause flash floods on the earth’s surface.³

Habakkuk 3:11

3:11 The sun and moon stand still in their courses;⁴

the flash of your arrows drives them away,⁵

the bright light of your lightning-quick spear.⁶

¹tn Heb “[into] nakedness your bow is laid bare.”

²tn Heb “sworn in are the arrow-shafts with a word.” The passive participle of שָׁבַע (shava’), “swear an oath,” also occurs in Ezek 21:23 ET (21:28 HT) referencing those who have sworn allegiance. Here the Lord’s arrows are personified and viewed as having received a commission which they have vowed to uphold. In Jer 47:6-7 the Lord’s sword is given such a charge. In the Ugaritic myths Baal’s weapons are formally assigned the task of killing the sea god Yam.

³tn Heb “[with] rivers you split open the earth.” A literal rendering like “You split the earth with rivers” (so NIV, NRSV) suggests geological activity to the modern reader, but in the present context of a violent thunderstorm, the idea of streams swollen to torrents by downpours better fits the imagery.

sn As the Lord comes in a thunderstorm the downpour causes streams to swell to river-like proportions and spread over the surface of the ground, causing flash floods.

⁴tn Heb “in their lofty dwelling places.”

⁵tn Or “at the light of your arrows they vanish.”

⁶tn Heb “at the brightness of the lightning of your spear.”