Habakkuk 3:14

Habakkuk 3:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.
• New International Version (NIV)With his own spear you pierced his head when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though about to devour the wretched who were in hiding.
• English Standard Version (ESV)You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter me, rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You thrust through with his own arrows The head of his villages. They came out like a whirlwind to scatter me; Their rejoicing was like feasting on the poor in secret.

Context of Habakkuk 3:14

12In indignation You marched through the earth; In anger You trampled and threshed the nations. 13You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For the salvation and rescue of Your anointed [people Israel]. You struck the head from the house of the wicked To lay him open from the thigh to the neck. Selah (pause, and calmly think of that). With the enemy’s own spears, You pierced The head of his hordes. They stormed out to scatter us, Rejoicing like those Who secretly devour the oppressed [of Israel]. 15You have trampled on the sea with Your horses, On the surge of many waters. 16I heard and my whole inner self trembled; My lips quivered at the sound. Decay and rottenness enter my bones, And I tremble in my place. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, For the people to arise who will invade and attack us.

Habakkuk 3:14 word by word

נָקַ֤בְתָּ בְמַטָּיו֙ רֹ֣אשׁ פְּרָזָ֔יו יִסְעֲר֖וּ לַהֲפִיצֵ֑נִי עֲלִ֣יצֻתָ֔ם כְּמוֹ־לֶאֱכֹ֥ל עָנִ֖י בַּמִּסְתָּֽר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thou didst strike throughנָקַבnâqab · to pierceH5344
• with his stavesמַטֶּהmaţţeh maţţâh · tribe: arrowH4294
• the headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• of his villagesפֶּ֫רֶזpârâz · warriorH6518
• they came out as a whirlwindסָעַרsâ‛ar · to rageH5590
• to scatterפּוּץpûts · to scatterH6327
• me: their rejoicingעֲלִיצוּת‛ălîytsûth · exultationH5951
• as to devourאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• the poorעָנִי‛ânîy · afflictedH6041
• secretlyמִסְתָּרmistâr · hidingH4565

Cross-references for Habakkuk 3:14

• Exodus 11:4Then Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘At midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt,
• Exodus 12:12For I [the Lord] will pass through the land of Egypt on this night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and animal; against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments [exhibiting their worthlessness]. I am the Lord.
• Exodus 14:17As for Me, hear this: I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will go in [the sea] after them; and I will be glorified and honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and his war-chariots and his horsemen.
• Psalms 78:50He leveled a path for His anger [to give it free run]; He did not spare their souls from death, But turned over their lives to the plague.
• Psalms 83:9Deal with them as [You did] with Midian, As with Sisera and Jabin at the brook of Kishon,
• Exodus 14:5When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, “What is this that we have done? We have let Israel go from serving us!”
• Exodus 15:9The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be satisfied against them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall dispossess them and drive them out.’
• Psalms 83:2For behold, Your enemies are in tumult, And those who hate You have raised their heads [in hatred of You].
• Psalms 118:10All nations encompassed me; In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.
• Acts 4:27For in this city there were gathered together against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
• Daniel 11:40“At the end time the king of the South will push and attack him (the Antichrist), and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots and horsemen and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overwhelm them and pass through.
• Zechariah 9:14Then the Lord will be seen [hovering] over them [protecting His people], And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord God will blow the trumpet And will march in the windstorms of the south.
• Exodus 1:10Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, so that they will not multiply and in the event of war, join our enemies, and fight against us and escape from the land.”
• Psalms 10:8He lurks in ambush in the villages; In hiding places he kills the innocent; He lies in wait for the unfortunate [the unhappy, the poor, the helpless].
• Psalms 64:2Hide me from the secret counsel and conspiracy of the ungodly, From the scheming of those who do wrong,

Commentaries on Habakkuk 3:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14Thou didst strike through - The Hebrew will bear this sense: "Thou hast pierced amidst their tribes the head of their troops," referring to Pharaoh and his generals, who came like a whirlwind to fall upon the poor Israelites, when they appeared to be hemmed in by sea, and no place for their escape. If we follow the common reading, it seems to intimate that the troops of Pharaoh, in their confusion (for God shone out upon them from the cloud) fell foul of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages - The destruction comes not upon himself only, but upon the whole multitude of his subjects; and this not by any mere act of divine might, but “with his own staves,” turning upon him the destruction which he prepared for others. So it often was of old. When the Midianites and Amalekites and the children of the east Judges 6:3-4 wasted Israel in the days of Gideon “the Lord set every man‘s…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-15Verses 3-15 God's people, when in distress, and ready to despair, seek help by considering the days of old, and the years of ancient times, and by pleading them with God in prayer. The resemblance between the Babylonish and Egyptian captivities, naturally presents itself to the mind, as well as the possibility of a like deliverance through the power of Jehovah. God appeared in his glory. All the powers of nature are shaken, and the course of nature…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-15The Lord acts as a divine warrior for his people, using his power to save them. This picture of God as a divine warrior appears in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old Testament, it is seen in Israel’s escape from Egypt and their journey to Mount Sinai (Exodus 15:1–18). It also appears as Israel approached the promised land from the south and during their early victories in the land (for example, Judges 5:4–5; Psalms 18:8–16…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. strike ... with his staves--with the "wicked" (Ha 3:13) foe's own sword (Maurer translates, "spears") (Jud 7:22). head of his villages--Not only kings were overthrown by God's hand, but His vengeance passed through the foe's villages and dependencies. A just retribution, as the foe had made "the inhabitants of Israel's villages to cease" (Jud 5:7). Grotius translates, "of his warriors"; Gesenius, "the chief of his captains." to scatter me--Israel…Read the comment

Topics related to Habakkuk 3:14

• Poor

In the dictionaries

• Arrow
• Hiding
• Joy
• Meat
• Poetry
• Psalms
• Remember
• Wrath
• Habakkuk
• Intercession

Commentaries on Habakkuk 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings