3:1 | This is a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet:* |
3:2 | Lord, I have heard the report of what you did;* I am awed,* Lord, by what you accomplished.* In our time* repeat those deeds;* in our time reveal them again.* But when you cause turmoil, remember to show us mercy!* |
3:3 | God comes* from Teman,* the sovereign* one from Mount Paran.* Selah.* His splendor covers the skies,* his glory* fills the earth. |
3:4 | He is as bright as lightning;* a two-pronged lightning bolt flashes from his hand.* This is the outward display of his power.* |
3:5 | Plague goes before him; pestilence* marches right behind him.* |
3:6 | He takes his battle position* and shakes* the earth; with a mere look he frightens* the nations. The ancient mountains disintegrate;* the primeval hills are flattened. He travels on the ancient roads.* |
3:7 | I see the tents of Cushan overwhelmed by trouble;* the tent curtains of the land of Midian are shaking.* |
3:8 | Is the Lord mad at the rivers? Are you angry with the rivers? Are you enraged at the sea?* Is this why* you climb into your horse-drawn chariots,* your victorious chariots?* |
3:9 | Your bow is ready for action;* you commission your arrows.* Selah. You cause flash floods on the earth’s surface.* |
3:10 | When the mountains see you, they shake. The torrential downpour sweeps through.* The great deep* shouts out; it lifts its hands high.* |
3:11 | The sun and moon stand still in their courses;* the flash of your arrows drives them away,* the bright light of your lightning-quick spear.* |
3:12 | You furiously stomp on the earth, you angrily trample down the nations. |
3:13 | You march out to deliver your people, to deliver your special servant.* You strike the leader of the wicked nation,* laying him open from the lower body to the neck.* Selah. |
3:14 | You pierce the heads of his warriors* with a spear.* They storm forward to scatter us;* they shout with joy as if they were plundering the poor with no opposition.* |
3:15 | But you trample on the sea with your horses, on the surging, raging waters.* |
3:16 | I listened and my stomach churned;* the sound made my lips quiver. My frame went limp, as if my bones were decaying,* and I shook as I tried to walk.* I long* for the day of distress to come upon* the people who attack us. |
3:17 | When* the fig tree does not bud, and there are no grapes on the vines; when the olive trees do not produce,* and the fields yield no crops;* when the sheep disappear* from the pen, and there are no cattle in the stalls, |
3:18 | I will rejoice because of* the Lord; I will be happy because of the God who delivers me! |
3:19 | The sovereign Lord is my source of strength.* He gives me the agility of a deer;* he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain.* (This prayer is for the song leader. It is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.)* |