Amplified Bible
Habakkuk 3:4
4His brightness is like the sunlight; He has [bright] rays flashing from His hand, And there [in the sunlike splendor] is the hiding place of His power.
Habakkuk 3:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.
- New International Version (NIV)His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden.
- English Standard Version (ESV)His brightness was like the light; rays flashed from his hand; and there he veiled his power.
- New King James Version (NKJV)His brightness was like the light; He had rays flashing from His hand, And there His power was hidden.
Context of Habakkuk 3:4
2O Lord, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath [earnestly] remember compassion and love. 3God [approaching from Sinai] comes from Teman (Edom), And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah (pause, and calmly think of that). His splendor and majesty covers the heavens And the earth is full of His praise. His brightness is like the sunlight; He has [bright] rays flashing from His hand, And there [in the sunlike splendor] is the hiding place of His power. 5Before Him goes the pestilence [of judgment as in Egypt], And [the burning] plague [of condemnation] follows at His feet [as in Sennacherib’s army]. 6He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations, Yes, the eternal mountains were shattered, The ancient hills bowed low and collapsed. His ways are eternal.
Read all of Habakkuk 3Habakkuk 3:4 word by word
וְנֹ֙גַהּ֙ כָּא֣וֹר תִּֽהְיֶ֔ה קַרְנַ֥יִם מִיָּד֖וֹ ל֑וֹ וְשָׁ֖ם חֶבְי֥וֹן עֻזּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Habakkuk 3:4
- Exodus 13:21The [presence of the] Lord was going before them by day in a pillar (column) of cloud to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, so that they could travel by day and by night.
- Exodus 14:20So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. It was a cloud along with darkness [even by day to the Egyptians], but it gave light by night [to the Israelites]; so one [army] did not come near the other all night.
- Nehemiah 9:12And with a pillar of cloud You led them by day, And with a pillar of fire by night To light the way for them In which they were to go.
- Psalms 104:2[You are the One] who covers Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretches out the heavens like a tent curtain,
- Isaiah 60:19The sun will no longer be your light by day, Nor shall the bright glow of the moon give light to you, But the Lord will be an everlasting light for you; And your God will be your glory and splendor.
- Matthew 17:2And His appearance changed dramatically in their presence; and His face shone [with heavenly glory, clear and bright] like the sun, and His clothing became as white as light.
- 1 Timothy 6:16He alone possesses immortality [absolute exemption from death] and lives in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal power and dominion! Amen.
- Revelation 21:23And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon to give light to it, for the glory (splendor, radiance) of God has illumined it, and the Lamb is its lamp and light.
- Revelation 22:5And there will no longer be night; they have no need for lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign [as kings] forever and ever.
- Job 26:14Yet these are just the fringes of His ways [mere samples of His power], The faintest whisper of His voice! Who can contemplate the thunder of His [full] mighty power?”
- Proverbs 18:10The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs to it and is safe and set on high [far above evil].
Commentaries on Habakkuk 3:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4He had horns coming out of his hand - קרנים karnayim, rays. His hand - his power - was manifested in a particular place, by the sudden issuing out of pencils of rays, which diverged in coruscations of light, so as to illuminate the whole hemisphere. Yet "there was the hiding of his power." His Majesty could not be seen, nor any kind of image, because of the insufferable splendor. This may either refer to the lightnings on Mount Sinai or to the brightness…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4and His brightness - that wherein God dwelleth Ezekiel 10:4, “the brightness of the Lord‘s glory,” before which darkness fleeth Psalm 18:12, “was as the light,” or as the sun. Out of the midst of the darkness, wherewith God, as it were Exodus 19:9, Exodus 19:16; Exodus 20:21, hid Himself, the brightness of the “inapproachable Light” wherein “He dwelleth,” gleams forth Exodus 24:10, bright as the brightest “light” gathered into one, which man knows of and…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. 4like the sunlight: The Lord, who appeared on Mount Sinai and filled the southern land with glory, now fills the heavens with splendor.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. as the light--namely, of the sun (Job 37:21; Pr 4:18). horns--the emblem of power wielded by "His hand" [Ludovicus De Dieu]. "Rays" emanating from "His hand," compared by the Arabs to the horns of the gazelle (compare "hind of the morning," Psa 22:1, title, Margin). The Hebrew verb for to "emit rays," is from the root meaning "horns" (Ex 34:29, 30, 35) [Grotius]. The rays are His lightnings (Psa 18:8), [Maurer]. there--in that "brightness." In it…Read the comment
Topics related to Habakkuk 3:4
In the dictionaries
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
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