Habakkuk 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 

You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows. Selah You split the earth with rivers;

Your bow was made bare, The rods of chastisement were sworn. Selah. You cleaved the earth with rivers.

You were commanding your weapons of power! You split open the earth with flowing rivers!

You unfurled your bow and let loose a volley of arrows. You split Earth with rivers.

Your bow was quite uncovered. Selah. By you the earth was cut through with rivers.

You brandished your naked bow, sated were the arrows at your command. Selah You split the earth with rivers.

Your bow was made quite ready; Oaths were sworn over Your arrows. Selah You divided the earth with rivers.

Your bow is ready for action; ¹  you commission your arrows. ²  Selah. You cause flash floods on the earth’s surface. ³ 

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 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.

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 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.