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 angrily march across the earth. You knock down the armies of the nations, because you are so angry. 13You have marched out to rescue your people, and to save your special servant. You have knocked down the leader of the wicked nation. You have removed all his clothes, from head to foot. Selah. You threw his own spear into his head, and you destroyed his army. When his soldiers rushed out to attack us, they were laughing. They thought that they would easily win against us, as if we were poor, weak people. 15But you, Lord, marched across the sea with your horses. You made the waters of the sea shake. 16I listened to this and I was very afraid. My lips shook with fear when I heard the sound. My bones became weak. My legs would not let me walk. But I will be patient. I will wait for the day of trouble that will come. Yes, punishment will come to the people who are attacking 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 11:4So Moses went to the king and he said, ‘The Lord God says this: “At about midnight, I will travel through the whole country of Egypt.
• Exodus 12:12On the night that you eat the Passover meal, I will travel through the country of Egypt. I will kill every firstborn son and every firstborn male animal. I will punish all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.
• Exodus 14:17This is what I, the Lord, will do: I will cause the minds of the Egyptians to become hard. They will follow the Israelites into the sea to catch them. I will show how great I am when I win against Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, his horses and their riders.
• Psalms 78:50Nothing could stop his anger. He did not save them from death. He let bad disease kill them.
• Psalms 83:9God, punish them as you punished Midian. Do what you did to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon.
• Exodus 14:5Someone told the king of Egypt that the Israelites had run away. Then Pharaoh and his officers changed their minds about the Israelites. They said, ‘We have done a foolish thing. We have let the Israelites go. We have lost our slaves!’
• Exodus 15:9The enemy said, “We will go after them. We will catch them. We will destroy them with our swords. We will do whatever we want to them. We will take all their valuable things for ourselves.”
• Psalms 83:2Look! Your enemies are causing trouble. The people who hate you are ready to attack.
• Psalms 118:10All the nations were ready to attack me, but I turned them away by the power of the Lord.
• Acts 4:27Lord God, it has now happened like that. Herod and Pontius Pilate have met together here in Jerusalem. They met with Israelite people and with people of other nations. Together they made plans to kill your holy servant, Jesus. He is the one that you chose to be your Messiah.
• Daniel 11:40At the time of the end, the king of the south will attack him. The king of the north will fight against him very strongly. He will march out quickly with chariots and soldiers who ride on horses. He will also have many ships. His army will attack many countries. He will go through those countries like a strong flood of water.
• Zechariah 9:14Then the Lord will appear above his people. His arrows will be as fast as lightning in the sky. The Lord God will make a loud sound with a trumpet. He will march in a storm from the south to attack.
• Exodus 1:10We must find a clever way to stop them. If we do nothing, their families will become even bigger. Then, if there is a war, they will join our enemies and they will fight against us. That will give the Israelites a chance to leave our country.’
• Psalms 10:8He hides near the villages, so that he can jump out and catch people. He watches in secret to find a weak person that he can kill. He murders people who have done nothing wrong.
• Psalms 64:2When evil men think of ways to hurt me, hide me in a safe place. Those people work together as a group to do wicked things.

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