Habakkuk 3:4

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

2O Yhwh, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Yhwh, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy. 3God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power. 5Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet. 6He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.

Habakkuk 3:4 word by word

וְנֹ֙גַהּ֙ כָּא֣וֹר תִּֽהְיֶ֔ה קַרְנַ֥יִם מִיָּד֖וֹ ל֑וֹ וְשָׁ֖ם חֶבְי֥וֹן עֻזּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

• brightnessנֹ֫גַהּnôgahh · brightnessH5051
• was as the lightאוֹר'ôr · lightH216
• he had hornsקֶ֫רֶןqeren · hornH7161
• out of his handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• the hidingחֶבְיוֹןchebyôn · hidingH2253
• of his powerעֹז‛ôz ‛ôz · strengthH5797

Cross-references for Habakkuk 3:4

• Exodus 13:21And Yhwh went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
• Exodus 14:20And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
• Nehemiah 9:12Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.
• Psalms 104:2Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
• Isaiah 60:19The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but Yhwh shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
• Matthew 17:2And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
• 1 Timothy 6:16Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
• Revelation 21:23And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
• Revelation 22:5And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
• Job 26:14Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?
• Proverbs 18:10The name of Yhwh is a strong tower: the righteous runneth 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

• God
• Horn
• Readings, Select

In the dictionaries

• Arrow
• Hiding
• Joy
• Meat
• Poetry
• Psalms
• Remember
• Wrath
• Bush, Burning
• Habakkuk

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