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

12You marched across the earth with fury; You threshed the nations in wrath. 13You went forth for the salvation of Your people, to save Your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked and stripped him from head to toe. Selah With his own spear You pierced his head, when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though ready to secretly devour the weak. 15You trampled the sea with Your horses, churning the great waters. 16I heard and trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Decay entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress to come upon the people who invade us.

Habakkuk 3:14 word by word

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

• With his own spearמַטֶּהmaţţeh maţţâh · tribe: arrowH4294
• You piercedנָקַבnâqab · to pierceH5344
• his headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• when his warriorsפֶּ֫רֶזpârâz · warriorH6518
• stormed outסָעַרsâ‛ar · to rageH5590
• to scatter usפּוּץpûts · to scatterH6327
• gloatingעֲלִיצוּת‛ălîytsûth · exultationH5951
• as though readyכְּמוֹkemô kâmô · likeH3644
• to secretlyמִסְתָּרmistâr · hidingH4565
• devourאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• the weakעָנִי‛ânîy · afflictedH6041

Cross-references for Habakkuk 3:14

• Exodus 11:4So Moses declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt,
• Exodus 12:12On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.
• Exodus 14:17And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. Then I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army and chariots and horsemen.
• Psalms 78:50He cleared a path for His anger; He did not spare them from death but delivered their lives to the plague.
• Psalms 83:9Do to them as You did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon,
• Exodus 14:5When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.”
• Exodus 15:9The enemy declared, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword; my hand will destroy them.’
• Psalms 83:2See how Your enemies rage, how Your foes have reared their heads.
• Psalms 118:10All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
• Acts 4:27In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed.
• Daniel 11:40At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, invading many countries and sweeping through them like a flood.
• Zechariah 9:14Then the LORD will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will sound the ram’s horn and advance in the whirlwinds of the south.
• Exodus 1:10Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”
• Psalms 10:8He lies in wait near the villages; in ambush he slays the innocent; his eyes watch in stealth for the helpless.
• Psalms 64:2Hide me from the scheming of the wicked, from the mob of workers of iniquity,

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