English Standard Version
Habakkuk 3:4
4His brightness was like the light; rays flashed from his hand; and there he veiled 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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)His brightness was like the light; He had rays flashing from His hand, And there His power was hidden.
- New Living Translation (NLT)His coming is as brilliant as the sunrise. Rays of light flash from his hands, where his awesome power is hidden.
Context of Habakkuk 3:4
2O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy. 3God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His splendor covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. His brightness was like the light; rays flashed from his hand; and there he veiled his power. 5Before him went pestilence, and plague followed at his heels. 6He stood and measured the earth; he looked and shook the nations; then the eternal mountains were scattered; the everlasting hills sank low. His were the everlasting ways.
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 13:21And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
- Exodus 14:20coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.
- Nehemiah 9:12By a pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go.
- Psalms 104:2covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent.
- Isaiah 60:19The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.
- Matthew 17:2And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
- 1 Timothy 6:16who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
- Revelation 21:23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
- Revelation 22:5And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
- Job 26:14Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?"
- Proverbs 18:10The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries