God’s Word Translation
Habakkuk 3:4
4His brightness is like the sunlight. Rays of light ⌞stream⌟ from his hand. That is where his power is hidden.
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
2Lord, I have heard the report about you. Lord, I fear your work. In the course of the years, renew it. In the course of the years, reveal it. In all this chaos, remember to be merciful. 3God comes from Teman. The Holy One comes from Mount Paran. Selah His splendor covers the heavens. His praise fills the earth. His brightness is like the sunlight. Rays of light ⌞stream⌟ from his hand. That is where his power is hidden. 5Diseases go ahead of him. Plagues follow after him. 6He stands and shakes the earth. He casts a glance and startles the nations. The oldest mountains break apart. The ancient hills sink. The ancient paths belong to him.
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 13:21By day the Lord went ahead of them in a column of smoke to lead them on their way. By night he went ahead of them in a column of fire to give them light so that they could travel by day or by night.
- Exodus 14:20between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp. The ⌞column of⌟ smoke was there when darkness came, and it lit up the night. Neither side came near the other all night long.
- Nehemiah 9:12You led them during the day by a column of smoke and during the night by a column of fire to give them light to see the way they should go.
- Psalms 104:2You cover yourself with light as though it were a robe. You stretch out the heavens as though they were curtains.
- Isaiah 60:19The sun will no longer be your light during the day, nor will the brightness of the moon give you light, But the Lord will be your everlasting light. Your God will be your glory.
- Matthew 17:2Jesus’ appearance changed in front of them. His face became as bright as the sun and his clothes as white as light.
- 1 Timothy 6:16He is the only one who cannot die. He lives in light that no one can come near. No one has seen him, nor can they see him. Honor and power belong to him forever! Amen.
- Revelation 21:23The city doesn’t need any sun or moon to give it light because the glory of God gave it light. The lamb was its lamp.
- Revelation 22:5There will be no more night, and they will not need any light from lamps or the sun because the Lord God will shine on them. They will rule as kings forever and ever.
- Job 26:14“These are only glimpses of what he does. We ⌞only⌟ hear a whisper of him! Who can understand the thunder of his power?”
- Proverbs 18:10The name of the Lord is a strong tower. A righteous person runs to 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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