Habakkuk 3:5

Plague goes before him; pestilence ¹  marches right behind him. ² 

Plague went before him; pestilence followed his steps.

Before Him goes pestilence, And plague comes after Him.

Pestilence marches before him; plague follows close behind.

Plague marches before him, pestilence at his heels!

Before him went disease, and flames went out at his feet.

Before him went pestilence, and plague followed close behind.

Before Him went pestilence, And fever followed at His feet.

Plague goes before him; pestilence ¹  marches right behind him. ² 

¹ tn Because of parallelism with the previous line, the meaning “pestilence” is favored for רֶשֶׁף (reshef) here, but usage elsewhere suggests a destructive bolt of fire may be in view. See BDB 958 s.v.

sn There are mythological echoes here, for in Canaanite literature the god Resheph aids Baal in his battles. See J. Day, “New Light on the Mythological Background of the Allusion to Resheph in Habakkuk III 5,” VT 29 (1979): 353-55.

² tn Heb “goes out at his feet.”