Habakkuk 3:9
Context3:9 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
Context3:11 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
1 tn Heb “[into] nakedness your bow is laid bare.”
2 tn 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
3 tn 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
4 tn Heb “in their lofty dwelling places.”
5 tn Or “at the light of your arrows they vanish.”
6 tn Heb “at the brightness of the lightning of your spear.”