New English Translation
Habakkuk 3:4
4He is as bright as lightning; a two-pronged lightning bolt flashes from his hand. This is the outward display of 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.
- 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 of what you did; I am awed, Lord, by what you accomplished. In our time repeat those deeds; in our time reveal them again. But when you cause turmoil, remember to show us mercy! 3God comes from Teman, the sovereign one from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the skies, his glory fills the earth. He is as bright as lightning; a two-pronged lightning bolt flashes from his hand. This is the outward display of his power. 5Plague goes before him; pestilence marches right behind him. 6He takes his battle position and shakes the earth; with a mere look he frightens the nations. The ancient mountains disintegrate; the primeval hills are flattened. He travels on the ancient roads.
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 13:21Now the Lord was going before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel day or night.
- Exodus 14:20It came between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp; it was a dark cloud and it lit up the night so that one camp did not come near the other the whole night.
- Nehemiah 9:12You guided them with a pillar of cloud by day and with a pillar of fire by night to illumine for them the path they were to travel.
- Psalms 104:2He covers himself with light as if it were a garment. He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain,
- Isaiah 60:19The sun will no longer supply light for you by day, nor will the moon’s brightness shine on you; the Lord will be your permanent source of light – the splendor of your God will shine upon you.
- Matthew 17:2And he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
- 1 Timothy 6:16He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen.
- Revelation 21:23The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God lights it up, and its lamp is the Lamb.
- Revelation 22:5Night will be no more, and they will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.
- Job 26:14Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! How faint is the whisper we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?”
- Proverbs 18:10The name of the Lord is like a strong tower; the righteous person runs to it and is set safely on high.
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
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