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 march through the earth with fury. You trample the nations in anger. 13You go out to save your people, to save your anointed. You crush the leader of the wicked household, stripping him bare from head to toe. Selah You pierce the leader of his gang with his own arrows. His soldiers come like a violent storm to scatter me. They are arrogant like those who secretly eat up the poor. 15You march with your horses into the sea, into the mighty raging waters. 16I have heard, so there’s trembling within me. At the report my lips quivered. A rotten feeling has entered me. I tremble where I stand. I wait for the day of trouble to come to the people who will 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 11:4Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: About midnight I will go out among the Egyptians.
• Exodus 12:12“On that same night I will go throughout Egypt and kill every firstborn male, both human and animal. I will severely punish all the gods of Egypt, ⌞because⌟ I am the Lord.
• Exodus 14:17I am making the Egyptians so stubborn that they will follow the Israelites. I will receive honor because of what I will do to Pharaoh, his entire army, his chariots, and cavalry.
• Psalms 78:50He cleared a path for his anger. He did not spare them. He let the plague take their lives.
• Psalms 83:9Do to them what you did to Midian, to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.
• Exodus 14:5When Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) was told that the people had fled, he and his officials changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We’ve lost our slaves because we’ve let Israel go.”
• Exodus 15:9“The enemy said, ‘I’ll pursue them! I’ll catch up with them! I’ll divide the loot! I’ll take all I want! I’ll use my sword! I’ll take all they have!’
• Psalms 83:2Look, your enemies are in an uproar. Those who hate you hold their heads high.
• Psalms 118:10All the nations surrounded me, ⌞but armed⌟ with the name of the Lord, I defeated them.
• Acts 4:27“In this city Herod and Pontius Pilate made plans together with non-Jewish people and the people of Israel. They made their plans against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.
• Daniel 11:40“In the end times the southern king will attack him. The northern king will rush at him like a storm with chariots, horses, and many ships. He will invade countries, overwhelm them, and pass through their land.
• Zechariah 9:14The Lord will appear over them, and his arrow will go out like lightning. The Almighty Lord will blow the ram’s horn and will march in the storms from the south.
• Exodus 1:10We have to outsmart them, or they’ll increase in number. Then, if war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”
• Psalms 10:8He waits in ambush in the villages. From his hiding places he kills innocent people. His eyes are on the lookout for victims.
• Psalms 64:2Hide me from the secret plots of criminals, from the mob of troublemakers.

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