Was Yahweh displeased with the rivers? Was your anger against the rivers, or your wrath against the sea, that you rode on your horses, on your chariots of salvation?
Parallel Translations
-
Was Yahweh displeased with the rivers? Was your anger against the rivers, or your wrath against the sea, that you rode on your horses, on your chariots of salvation?
-
Was the LORD displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation?
-
Is it, O LORD, that against the rivers, is it that Thine anger is kindled against the rivers, or Thy wrath against the sea? that Thou dost ride upon Thy horses, upon Thy chariots of victory?
Cross-references (20)
Passages linked to Habakkuk 3:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 68:17 The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands. The Lord is among them, from Sinai, into the sanctuary.
- Deuteronomy 33:26-27 “There is no one like God, Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens for your help, in his excellency on the skies. The eternal God is your dwelling place. Underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrust out the enemy from before you, and said, ‘Destroy!’
- Exodus 14:21-22 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. The children of Israel went into the middle of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand, and on their left.
- Psalms 18:10 He rode on a cherub, and flew. Yes, he soared on the wings of the wind.
- Psalms 114:3 The sea saw it, and fled. The Jordan was driven back.
- Psalms 114:5 What was it, you sea, that you fled? You Jordan, that you turned back?
- Isaiah 50:2 Why, when I came, was there no one? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it can’t redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea. I make the rivers a wilderness. Their fish stink because there is no water, and die of thirst.
- Joshua 3:16-17 the waters which came down from above stood, and rose up in one heap a great way off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those that went down toward the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people passed over near Jericho. The priests who bore the ark of Yahweh’s covenant stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the nation had passed completely over the Jordan.
- Psalms 68:4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name! Extol him who rides on the clouds: to Yah, his name! Rejoice before him!
- Psalms 104:3 He lays the beams of his rooms in the waters. He makes the clouds his chariot. He walks on the wings of the wind.
- Isaiah 19:1 The burden of Egypt. “Behold, Yahweh rides on a swift cloud, and comes to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt will melt within it.
- Nahum 1:4 He rebukes the sea, and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers. Bashan languishes, and Carmel; and the flower of Lebanon languishes.
- Habakkuk 3:15 You trampled the sea with your horses, churning mighty waters.
- Mark 4:39 He awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
- Exodus 7:20 Moses and Aaron did so, as Yahweh commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
- Psalms 45:4 In your majesty ride on victoriously on behalf of truth, humility, and righteousness. Let your right hand display awesome deeds.
- Revelation 6:2 And behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow. A crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.
- Revelation 16:12 The sixth poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates. Its water was dried up, that the way might be prepared for the kings that come from the sunrise.
- Revelation 19:11 I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes war.
- Revelation 19:14 The armies which are in heaven followed him on white horses, clothed in white, pure, fine linen.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain The Prophet here applies the histories to which he…
The Prophet here applies the histories to which he has already referred, for the purpose of strengthening the hope of the faithful; so that they might know these to be so many proofs and pledges of God’s favor towards them, and that they might thus cheerfully look for his aid, and not succumb to temptation in their adversities. When he asks, was God angry with the rivers and the sea, he no doubt intended in this way to awaken the thoughts of the faithful, that they might consider the design of God in the works which he had already mentioned; for it would have been unreasonable that God should show his wrath against rivers and the sea; why should he be angry with lifeless elements? The Prophet then shows that God had another end in view when he dried the sea, when he stopped the course of Jordan, and when he gave other evidences of his power. Doubtless God did not regard the sea and the rivers; for that would have been unreasonable. It then follows that these changes were testimonies of God’s favor towards his Church: and hence the Prophet subjoins, that God rode on his horses, and that his chariots were for salvation to his people. We now perceive the Prophet’s meaning, which interpreters have not understood, or at least have not explained.
We now, then, see why the Prophet puts these questions: and a question has much more force when it refers to what is in no way doubtful. What! can God be angry with rivers? Who can imagine God to be so unreasonable as to disturb the sea and to change the nature of things, when a certain order has been established by his own command? Why should he dry the sea, except he had something in view, even the deliverance of his Church? except he intended to save his people from extreme danger, by stretching forth his hand to the Israelites, when they thought themselves utterly lost? He therefore denies, that when God dried the Red Sea, and when he stopped the flowing of Jordan, he had put forth his power against the sea or against the river, as though he was angry with them. The design of God, says the Prophet, was quite another; for God rode on his horses, that is, he intended to show that all the elements were under his command, and that for the salvation of his people. That God, then, might be the redeemer of his Church, he constrained Jordan to turn back its course, he constrained the Red Sea to make a passage for his miserable captives, who would have otherwise been exposed to the slaughter of their enemies. There was indeed no hope of saving Israel, without a passage being suddenly opened to them through the Red Sea.
Read full note →
Hence all these miracles were designed to show that God had become the redeemer of his Church, and had put forth his power for the salvation of those whom he had taken under his protection: and it is easy from this fact to conclude, that the same help ought to be expected from God by posterity; for God was not induced by some sudden impulse to change the nature of things, but exhibited a proof of his favor: and his grace is perpetual, and flows in an even course, though not according to the apprehension of men; for it suffers some interruptions, because God exercises the faithful under the cross; yet his goodness never ceases. It hence follows that the faithful are to entertain hope; for God, when he pleases, and when he sees it expedient, will really show the same power which was formerly exhibited to the fathers. It now follows—
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain And so didst use all the elements as instruments…
And so didst use all the elements as instruments for the destruction of thine enemies.
Meaning, that God was not angry with the waters, but that by this means he would destroy his enemies, and deliver his Church.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Hab 3:8 Was the LORD displeased against the rivers?…
Hab 3:8 Was the LORD displeased against the rivers? [was] thine anger against the rivers? [was] thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses [and] thy chariots of salvation?
Ver. 8. Was the Lord displeased against the rivers?] As Xerxes, that brutish man, was against the Hellespont, for battering his bridge of boats, beating it and casting a pair of fetters into it? Was God thus angry against Jordan and against the Red Sea? No such matter. If God seem angry at any time against the reasonless or lifeless creatures, it is for a punishment of man’s sin. But here his end and purpose was to show that he did ride upon those horses and chariots (the rivers and sea) for the salvation of his people. He did so when time was, and that he will do so again, when time shall serve, this question in the text shows that there is no question to be made of it.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The prophet recalls to memory the miraculous dividing of…
The prophet recalls to memory the miraculous dividing of the Red Sea and Jordan, when God divided them to make a passage for his people, when by a miracle he made the devouring element to be a safeguard to his people, when it was not displeasure against the sea or the river, but favour to Israel, that moved him to do this. The prophet repeats the question, to impress the mind of the captive Jews with deeper apprehensions of the mercy of their God.
The rivers: see Nah 1:4.
Read full note →
The sea; the Red Sea.
Didst ride, as a general at the head of his army, leading them forward on some great exploit. Upon thine horses; alluding to the manner of men, with whom horses are of greatest, strongest, and stateliest preparations against an enemy; but these were not designed against the sea as against an enemy.
Thy chariots of salvation: but with these horses are joined (for the decorum of the figure) chariots, that are chariots of salvation for his people: cheer up then, the Lord hath the same love and power still.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? was thine…
Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers?.... Referring, as is commonly thought, either to the rivers in Egypt turned into blood, which was one of the plagues of that land, Exo 7:20 when the resentment of the Lord was not so much against them as against the Egyptians; and as a punishment of them for drowning the infants of the Israelites in them, and in order to obtain the dismissal of his people from that land: or else to the river Jordan, called "rivers", because of the largeness of it, and the abundance of water in it; against which the Lord was not angry, when he divided the waters of it, which was done only to make a passage through it for his people into the land of Canaan, Jos 3:16,
was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation? the Red sea, when a strong east wind was sent, and divided the waters of it, which was no mark of displeasure against that; but for the benefit of the people of Israel, that they might pass through it as on dry land; and for the destruction of Pharaoh and his hosts, who, entering into it with his horses and chariots, were drowned; the Lord coming forth against him, riding on his horses and chariots, the pillar of fire and cloud, by which he defended Israel, and through which he looked, and discomfited the host of the Egyptians, and wrought salvation for his people; see Exo 14:19 with which compare Psa 114:3. The clouds are the chariots of the Lord, Psa 104:3 so angels, who are sometimes signified by horses and chariots, Psa 18:10 Zac 1:8 and here they may design the angels of Michael, or Christ, Rev 12:7 the Christian emperors, Constantine and Theodosius, whom the Lord raised up, and made use of as instruments to demolish Paganism, establish Christianity, and deliver and save his people from their persecutors, who came in like a flood upon them; and who, for their number and force, were comparable to rivers, yea, to the sea; and upon whom the Lord showed some manifest tokens of his wrath and displeasure; so people, tongues, and nations, are compared to many waters, Rev 17:15 and monarchs and their armies, Isa 8:7 and the Targum here interprets the rivers of kings and their armies: and it may be observed that some parts of the Roman empire are signified by the sea, and rivers and fountains of waters, on which the blowing of the second and third trumpets brought desolation; as the antichristian states are described by the same, on which the second and third vials of God's wrath will be poured, when he will indeed be displeased and angry with the rivers and the sea, figuratively understood, Rev 8:8.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The sea - The Red Sea. Ride - As…
The sea - The Red Sea. Ride - As a general in the head of his army. Upon thine horses - Alluding to the manner of men. Salvation - No; but he came to save his people.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 8. Was the Lord displeased against the rivers?]…
Verse 8. Was the Lord displeased against the rivers?] Floods; here is a reference to the passage of the Red Sea. The Lord is represented as heading his troops, riding in his chariot, and commanding the sea to divide, that a free passage might be left for his army to pass over.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Hab 3:8-10. Was the Lord, &c. — After the…
Hab 3:8-10. Was the Lord, &c. — After the description of Jehovah, given in the preceding verses, the first of his wonderful works, recounted by the prophet, is the passage through the Red sea, where he represents the Lord as appearing at the head of the Israelites in his chariot of war, with his bow drawn in his hand, to rescue them from their cruel oppressors the Egyptians, and to give them the land of Canaan, according to the oath which he sware unto them, Hab 3:8-9. The next is his giving them water to drink in the wilderness, where the mountains moved at his presence. The next, his passage over Jordan, where the waters, testifying their ready obedience to his will, opened to the right and left to make way for his people to pass through. The next, his interposition at Joshua’s engagement with the Amorites, when the sun and moon stood still to give them time to discomfit their enemies, Hab 3:9-11. The last wonderful works which the prophet recounts were performed after this engagement, when Jehovah marched before them to execute vengeance on the Canaanites, and to protect the Israelites; destroying utterly the princes of Canaan and their states, at a time when they made sure of Israel for their prey; and giving his own people entire possession of their country, from the river Jordan on the east, to the Mediterranean sea on the west, Hab 3:12-15. — Green.
Was the Lord displeased against the rivers — Can it be imagined, that when God caused the Red sea to be dry in the midst of it, and the waters of the river Jordan to stop, it was done out of displeasure against the waters? Surely not. But it was done out of God’s singular care of, and regard for, his people, for whose deliverance he appeared in as illustrious a manner, as if he had been seen riding in the clouds, (here termed his horses,) and carried upon the wings of the wind as in a chariot: see notes on Deu 33:26; Psa 104:3; Isa 19:1. Thy bow was made quite naked — Or, Thou didst lay bare thy bow, to fight for Israel; that is, thou didst fight for Israel, as evidently as if thou hadst been seen with a bow in thy hand; according to the oath, &c. — That thou mightest fulfil the oaths and promises which thou hadst made, to give the tribes of Israel full possession of Canaan. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers — Thou didst cleave the hard rocks, and the earth about them, and make the waters to run down in great streams, like rivers, which followed them a great part of their journey. The mountains saw thee, and they trembled — Mount Sinai, and the hills adjoining, felt the effects of thy presence. The overflowing of the water passed by — Or, hasted away, as Green renders it. “At the season when the Israelites passed over Jordan, this river over-flowed its banks; but as soon as the priests who bare the ark entered into it, the waters, rearing themselves upon the right hand and upon the left, parted asunder with a mighty noise; here nobly described by the deep uttering its voice, and lifting up its hands on high:” see Jos 3:15-16.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? - The…
Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? - The prophet asks the question thrice, as to the two miracles of the dividing of the Red Sea and the Jordan River, thereby the more earnestly declaring, that God meant somewhat by these acts and beyond them. He asks, as Daniel Dan 7:16. and Zechariah asked, what was the truth of the things which they saw. God’s defilings with His former people were as much ensamples of what should be with us 1Co 10:11. as the visions shown to the prophets. Hereafter too, there shall be Luk 21:25; Rev 8:6 “signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;” there shall be deepening plagues upon the sea and the rivers and fountains of waters; and every living soul in the sea shall die Rev 16:3. But God’s purpose therein aforetime was not as to the sea or the rivers, but for the salvation of His elect; so shall it be to the end. Mighty as may be the “mighty waves of the sea” which lift themselves up against the Lord, “mightier on high is the Lord” Psa 93:4. Jerome: “As Thou didst dry up the Jordan and the Red Sea, fighting for us; for Thou wert not wroth with the rivers or the sea, nor could things without sense offend Thee; so now mounting Thy chariots, and taking Thy bow, Thou wilt give salvation to Thy people; and the oaths which Thou swarest to our fathers and the tribes, Thou wilt fulfill forever.”
Thou didst ride upon Thy horses - as though God set His army Psa 103:12. “the Hosts which do His pleasure,” against the armies of earth, as the prophet’s servant had his eyes opened to see 2Ki 6:15. “the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” Jerome: “Yet amidst so many thousands of horses and chariots, there was no rider; He was the Rider and Ruler of those horses, of whom the Psalmist says Psa 80:1. ‘Thou that sittest above the Cherubim, shew Thyself.’ With such horses and such chariots was Elijah also taken up into Heaven.”
Read full note →
And Thy chariots of salvation - literally “Thy chariots are salvation.” Not, as in human armies, except as far as they are the armies of God, to destruction. The end of God’s armies, His visitations and judgments, is the salvation of His elect, even while they who are inwardly dead, perish outwardly also. Nor, again, do they prepare for the deliverance for which He intends them. With God, to will is to do. His chariots are salvation. His help is present help. His chariots are the tokens and channels of His Presence to aid. And so, they who bore His “Name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel, chosen vessels” to bear it, are, in a yet fuller sense, His chariots, which are salvation. Jerome said that they “are holy souls, upon which the word of God cometh, to save them and others by them Son 1:9.. ‘I have compared thee,’ saith the Spouse, ‘to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots.’ However holy the soul, yet compared to God, it is like the chariot of Pharaoh; and a beast, yet still a beast, before Thee.” Psa 73:23.. Yet such an one, as endowed with might and ready obedience, and swiftness and nobleness to bear the Word of God, and through His might whom they bore, not their own, nor making it their own, bearing down everything which opposed itself.
Cyril: “The object of the prophet, is to show that the second dispensation is better and more glorious, and of incomparably better things than the old. For of old He led Israel forth, through the bodily service of Moses, changing into blood the rivers of Egypt, and doing signs and wonders; then dividing the Red Sea, and carrying over the redeemed, and choking in the waters the most warlike of the Egyptians. But when the only-begotten Word of God became Man, He withdrew the whole human race under heaven from the tyranny of Satan, not changing rivers into blood, nor pouring forth His anger upon waters, nor dividing waves of the sea, nor bringing destruction upon people, but rather destroying the murderous Serpent himself, and taking away the sin which had been invented by him and for him, and loosing the unconquered might of death, and calling all to the knowledge of God, through the holy apostles, who, running forth their course under the whole heaven and bearing about the name of Christ, were very rightly had in admiration.
He saith then, O Lord, most worthy to be heard are those things, of which Thou hast Thyself been the Doer, and what Thou hast done anew is far better than what Thou didst through Moses. For Thou wilt not inflict wrath on rivers, nor show Thy might on the sea; not in these things will Thy divine and marvelous power gleam forth, but ‘Thou wilt ride upon Thy horses,’ and ‘Thy chariots are Salvation.’ What may these horses be? The blessed disciples, apostles and evangelists, they who took on them wholly the yoke of all His divine will, they, the noble, the obedient, ready for all things, whatsoever should please Him; who had Christ to sit upon them, whereof one is the blessed Paul, of whom Himself saith, Act 9:15 : ‘He is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My Name before the Gentiles.’ Of fiery speed were these Horses, encompassing the whole earth; so then the chariots of God are said to be ‘ten thousand times ten thousand’ Psa 68:17. For countless, each in their times, and after them, became leaders of the people, and subjected the neck of the understanding to the yoke of the Saviour, and bare about His glory throughout the whole earth, and rightly divided the word of truth, and subdued the whole earth, as with the speed of horsemen.”
His chariots are salvation - Cyril: “for they ran not in vain, but to save cities and countries and nations together, Christ overthrowing the empires of devils, who, so to speak, divided among themselves the whole earth, subduing its dwellers to their own will.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain With the rivers, &c. He alludes to the wonders…
With the rivers, &c. He alludes to the wonders wrought heretofore by the Lord in favour of his people Israel, when the waters of the rivers, viz., of Arnon and Jordan, and of the Red Sea, retired before their face; when he came as it were with his horses and chariots to save them; when he took up his bow for their defence, in consequence of the oath he had made to their tribes; when the mountains trembled, and the deep stood with its waves raised up in a heap, as with hands lifted up to heaven; when the sun and moon stood still at his command, &c., to comply with his anger, not against the rivers and sea, but against the enemies of his people. How much more will he do in favour of his Son, and against the enemies of his Church! (Challoner) --- Horses: the ark of the covenant. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Was the Lord displeased against the rivers?--"Was the cause…
Was the Lord displeased against the rivers?--"Was the cause of His dividing the Red Sea and Jordan His displeasure against these waters?" The answer to this is tacitly implied in "Thy chariots of salvation." "Nay; it was not displeasure against the waters, but His pleasure in interposing for His people's salvation" (compare Hab 3:10).
thy chariots--in antithesis to Thy foe, Pharaoh's chariots," which, notwithstanding their power and numbers, were engulfed in the waters of destruction. God can make the most unlikely means work for His people's salvation (Exo 14:7, Exo 14:9, Exo 14:23, Exo 14:25-28; Exo 15:3-8, Exo 15:19). Jehovah's chariots are His angels (Psa 68:17), or the cherubim, or the ark (Jos 3:13; Jos 4:7; compare Sol 1:9).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain Why did Jehovah manifest himself in terror? Hab_3:8-11.
Why did Jehovah manifest himself in terror? Hab_3:8-11.
In Hab_3:8 the poet inquires of Jehovah why all this was done; in 9-11 he continues the description; but throughout the whole section runs the question, Why?
Read full note →
Was Jehovah displeased against the rivers? — A literal translation of the first two lines is as follows, “Was displeasure against rivers, O Jehovah? was thy anger against the rivers?” Had they done anything to arouse the divine indignation? This is only a rhetorical question, for the singer knows well enough that a loftier motive impelled Jehovah (Hab_3:13).
The sea — Undoubtedly the Red Sea; the reference is again to events connected with the Exodus.
Ride upon… horses… chariots — Jehovah is pictured as a man of war advancing to battle; his horses and chariots are the storm clouds (Psa_18:10; Isa_19:1).
Of salvation — The chariots are so called because wherever Jehovah appears deliverance is sure to be wrought. The idea is still very general; not until Hab_3:13 is there a specific reference to the deliverance of Israel. A suitable rendering would be “victorious chariots.” Some take the last words as a separate statement, “thy chariots are salvation,” but this involves an improbable interpretation. The text of Hab_3:8 is not above suspicion, but even as it stands the thought is clear; the poet inquires why Jehovah has smitten the rivers and the sea with such terrible fury. Various emendations have been attempted. Marti thinks the original to have been, “Was against the rivers thine anger, or against the sea, O Jehovah, thy wrath? thou didst cause to walk over the sea thy horses, thy chariots over heaps of water.”
Hab_3:9 pictures Jehovah standing upon his chariot ready for battle.
Thy bow was made quite naked — R.V., “bare.” The covering is removed and the bow is ready for use. The bow is not, as is thought by some, the rainbow, but the bow of the warrior God with which he shoots the thunderbolts. According to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word —R.V., “The oaths to the tribes were a sure word.” The present Hebrew text plus a considerable amount of imagination may give this translation, the thought being that the promises made to the tribes of Israel by Jehovah were sure of fulfillment. The peculiarity of the Hebrew and the fact that the thought which can be gotten from it does not fit in the context have led most commentators to suspect a corruption of the text. The marginal translation, “Sworn were the chastisements of thy word,” does not remove the difficulty. Of the many translations offered, in Delitzsch’s day about one hundred, not one can be considered quite satisfactory. An easy way out of the difficulty is to say with Von Orelli that “the words are intentionally enigmatical in solemn menace.” It is more likely, however, that the obscurity has arisen from a corruption of the text. Partly on the basis of LXX. and partly by conjecture Nowack emends, “Thou hast filled with arrows thy quiver,” which is more suitable than the present text.
Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers — Or, into rivers. Jehovah cleaved the earth and rivers flowed from it. If the poet thinks of manifestations of divine power in general, this is the most natural rendering; if he has in mind the Exodus, a better translation, equally possible so far as the Hebrew is concerned, would be, “Thou didst cleave the rivers into dry land.” Jehovah smote the rivers, so that they became dry land, and the people passed over them dry-shod (Isa_11:15).
Hab_3:10 presents another picture of the convulsions in nature.
The mountains saw thee, and they trembled — Even the majestic mountains were terror-struck (compare Hab_3:6); literally, were in agony. The verb denotes the agony of a woman in childbirth. LXX. reads “nations saw,” but the Hebrew is preferable.
The overflowing of the water passed by — Here again the Hebrew is peculiar. The clause is commonly interpreted as meaning that when the mountains were rent in pain, water burst forth. A very slight emendation, favored by the similar passage in Psa_77:17, would give “the clouds poured out water,” which gives good sense and supplies a suitable contrast to the next clause.
The deep uttered his voice — The deep denotes ordinarily the great subterranean waters (see on Amo_7:4; compare Gen_7:11), but here the poet may be thinking of the Red Sea (compare Isa_63:13). The voice is the roar of the troubled waters.
And lifted up his hands — A figurative description of the heaping up of the waves by the storm. The throwing up of the hands is an involuntary act of terror; perhaps there is also implied the thought of raising the hands in a frantic appeal for mercy. Partly on the basis of LXX. some commentators change “hands” into “roar.”
11. To increase the terror, black darkness covered the whole earth.
Stood still in their habitation — The habitation is the place whence the sun and moon were thought to come forth, and whither they were thought to return at the close of the journey. “The sun and the moon,” says Delitzsch, “withdraw altogether, from the fear and horror which pervade all nature and which are expressed in the mountains by trembling, in the waters by roaring, and in the sun and moon by obscuration.” This interpretation is preferable to that of Ewald, that they “turn pale in consequence of the surpassing brilliancy of the lightnings” (compare Isa_24:23).
Arrows… spear — The thunderbolts and flashes of lightning which Jehovah sent against his enemies (Psa_18:14; Psa_77:17-18). From Hab_3:8 on the manifestation of Jehovah is described, as frequently in the Old Testament, in the imagery of a thunderstorm.
The salvation of his people was the object of Jehovah, 12-15.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 8. Was the Lord displeased?] Perhaps strictly this must…
8. Was the Lord displeased?] Perhaps strictly this must be rendered: art thou displeased, O Lord? lit. is it hot to thee? or, is thine anger hot? All the other verbs would be better in the present: is thine anger … is thy wrath … that thou dost ride.
chariots of salvation] Or, of victory, deliverance; lit. thy chariots which are victory, i.e. victorious, used to victory. The “horses” and “chariots” here are the storm-clouds on which Jehovah rides. Psa_18:10; Isa_19:1; Deu_33:26; Psa_68:33.
Read full note →
8–11. Is Jehovah’s anger against the rivers and the sea?
The reference to the “sea,” which is naturally to be understood as the Red Sea, is in favour of taking the whole passage as a description of the redemption of the Exodus. Jehovah moves in a glorious manifestation of light from His ancient seats in Paran and Sinai; He directs His movement towards the Red Sea for the delivery of His people. Sea and land are thrown into wild commotion and terror at His appearing. This suggests the prophet’s question, Is thine anger against the sea?
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (8) Was the Lord displeased?—Better, Is it with the…
(8) Was the Lord displeased?—Better, Is it with the rivers Jehovah is wroth? Is Thine anger against the rivers? Is Thy wrath against the sea?—that Thou (thus) ridest upon Thy horses, that Thy chariots (thus appear) for deliverance?
Of salvation.—Better, for salvation, or for deliverance. The allusion is obviously to Israel’s miraculous passage through the Red Sea and the Jordan. The “horses” and “chariots” which are here the symbols of Divine might, come in the more fittingly in view of Exodus 14 (see Hab_3:14 seq.), where Pharaoh, pursued with “horses and chariots,” only to find Jehovah Himself arrayed against him.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Interrupting his description of the theophany, the prophet asks…
Interrupting his description of the theophany, the prophet asks the motive of this wrathful revelation. This is done, not with expectation of an answer, but giving life and vigour to the composition. Such sudden transitions are not uncommon. (comp. Jud_1:5:12; Psa_78:19, etc.) Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? Was it against the rivers, O Jehovah? was thy wrath kindled against the rivers? Was God angry with inanimate nature, when he showed his power, for instance, in the Nile and the Jordan and the Red Sea? God meant more by these acts. He showed his supremacy over all creation, and his will to save his people and to crush all opposition to the execution of his great design. (see Psa_106:9 Psa_114:3, etc.) That thou didst ride upon thine horses. The prophet speaks of the Lord as a Leader of a mighty host which came with chariots and horses to defend the Israelites and to crush their foes. (Psa_18:10) And thy chariots of salvation. "And," which is not in the Hebrew, is better omitted, the clause being an explanation of "thine horses." The chariots come for the salvation, i.e. the deliverance, of Israel (ver. 13). Some translate, "Thy chariots are salvation;" as the Septuagint, kaia sou swthria: and Vulgate, et quadrigae tuae salvatio. It comes to the same thing, whichever rendering we adopt.
An ideal theophany: 3. The terrible wrath of the Deity.
Read full note →
I ITS VISIBLE MANIFESTATIONS. The prophet conceives Jehovah as "a warlike hero equipped for conflict," depicts him as marching forth against his enemies, and throwing all nature (especially its rivers and seas, emblems of the earth"s populations) into consternation, and inquires of him what had been the cause of his vehement displeasure. The form of the question suggests that Jehovah"s anger had not been directed against inanimate nature, but that the commotions visible in the rivers and the seas were only symbols of his wrath against men.
II ITS SECRET DESTINATION. It was aimed at a threefold purpose.
1. The destruction of his enemies. Of these the rivers and seas were merely emblems (ver. 14).
2. The salvation of his people. Jehovah"s horses and chariots were horses and chariots of salvation (ver. 13). "The end of God"s armies, his visitations and judgments, is the salvation of his elect, even while they who are inwardly dead perish outwardly also" (Pusey).
3. The vindication of his own honor. His bow had been land was to be) made quite bare, i.e. drawn from its scabbard in fulfilment of the oaths he had given to the tribes first to Abraham, then to Isaac, next to Jacob, and afterwards to David that he would deliver them from the hand of their enemies; (Luk_1:73-75) or, accepting the marginal translation, because "sworn were the chastisements literally, "rods of his word," i.e. because the threatenings he had uttered against his people"s enemies (Deu_32:40-42) were as sure as the promises of deliverance bestowed upon his people themselves.
Learn:
1. That the wrath of God is as much a reality as the love of God is.
2. That the destruction of God"s enemies is as sure as is the salvation of hisfriends.
3. That in both God will be glorified.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Was the Lord displeased against the rivers?
Hab_3:8
Was the Lord displeased against the rivers?
Read full note →
The destruction of forests
We secure dominion over the forces of nature only through recognition of the laws that govern them. The floods that have made so great havoc in Europe and America this season are the natural results of violated law.
1. The forests of the hills and mountains are Gods natural check on the overflow of streams.
2. As a nation we are guilty of violation of this law for protection of the valleys. The plunder of the leafy wealth of the hills has been most wanton. The penalty has been visited upon the valleys.
3. The protection must be secured through the dissemination of knowledge upon the subject, and through the State and national law. Otherwise the floods will augment each year until they become immeasurable calamities. (Homiletic Review.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Hab_3:8.] Now judgment is executed. The description rests upon…
CRITICAL NOTES.]
Hab_3:8.] Now judgment is executed. The description rests upon two facts: dividing of Red Sea and of Jordan (Exo_15:18; Psa_104:3; Psa_104:5); and sets forth God the Judge who can smite in wrath the sea of the world and the rivers of the earth. Salvation] The object of riding; a warlike figure (Psa_18:11; Psa_68:17).
Read full note →
Hab_3:9.] Picture of a warrior continued. Naked] Ready to shoot. Oaths] Promises to their forefathers (Deu_32:40-42). Cleave] Split into rivers by judicial interposition.
Hab_3:10.] The form of earth’s surface is changed. Mountains] writhe; the abyss roars and raises its hands (waves); most powerful agitations accompany the theophany.
Hab_3:11. Arrows] Executing justice, turn light into darkness, or devouring fire (Isa_10:17).
THE CHARIOTS OF SALVATION.—Hab_3:8-11
“The ode, taking a new turn, now passes from the description of the coming of God, to an address to God himself. To the mental eye of the prophet, God presents himself as judge of the world, in the threatening attitude of a warlike hero equipped for conflict, so that he asks him what is the object of his wrath” [Keil].
I. The design of the chariots. God was not angry with the rivers and seas. They were troubled on account of his appearance to deliver. He comes not to destroy, but to save. The chariots of Pharaoh and of antichrist are chariots of destruction. From these God will ever preserve his people. When he comes anything will bring them salvation. God has many chariots. Clouds and darkness are his pavilion, winds and waves are chariots of victory. “The war-chariots of Elohim are myriads, a thousand thousands” (Psa_68:17).
II. The Driver of the chariots. “Was the Lord displeased?” “Thou didst cleave the earth,” &c. God himself is set forth in majesty and grace, clad like a warrior, and terrible as a Judges 1. The Driver is angry. “Anger” existed, though not against the rivers. God was “displeased” with the wicked, and his works revealed his mind. Insensible creatures reprove the impenitence of men, and tremble at the power of God. “What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?”
2. The Driver is mighty. “Thy bow was made quite naked.” The sheath was laid aside and cast away. The arms were stretched, and judgments were about to be shot swift as an arrow (Isa_22:6; Psa_64:7). Quite naked was the bow, and not drawn back. Power was really displayed, and the enemy destroyed. God is a man of war, shoots arrows with certainty, and never misses the mark (Job_16:12). “The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.”
3. The Driver is resolved in purpose. “According to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word.” The promise was given to his servants, and confirmed with oaths. Judgments upon the wicked, and salvation for his people, are sworn matters; oaths, and interpositions for all ages (cf. Deu_32:40-42; Psa_77:8). “The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he would grant us, that we, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear.”
III. The effects of the chariots. The world of nature suffers under the judicial hand of God.
1. The earth was convulsed by his power. Mountains trembled at his presence, and “skipped like rams.” Rivers broke out of the deep, and rolled their floods into the splits of solid earth. The sea roared, the abyss lifted its waves, and uttered its voice to its Maker. What happened to the sea happened to the river. God repeats his miracles. When great dangers are passed little ones should not terrify us. “Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers” (Psa_74:15; Psa_78:15-16).
2. The heavens were eclipsed with his splendour. “The sun and moon stood still (retired) in their habitation” at the prayer of Joshua, and in the tempest of “great stones from heaven” (Jos_10:11-13). At the light, the directions of God’s arrows, and the shining of his spear, Israel went forward. The darts of God smote their enemies. Their brilliant splendour brought salvation to one and destruction to the other. “The stars in their courses fought against Sisera.” But all these displays were eclipsed by the Divine perfections on the cross—when Christ suffered for sin amid the darkness and shaking of creation. How glorious the displays when the earth quaked and angels attended the resurrection—when the Holy Ghost came down on Pentecost to enlighten his people, erect his kingdom, and to avenge himself of his adversaries.
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Hab_3:9. Thy bow. The Divine archer. “The bow represents the threat of the vengeance of Almighty God, from which it is at length discharged, if not turned aside; the longer the string is drawn, the sharper issueth the arrow. So then the more the coming of the day of judgment is delayed, the stricter is the severity of the judgment then issuing” [Pusey].
Cleave the earth.
1. Divine power.
2. Divine goodness, in its design and abundance, rivers to quench thirst, &c. “He smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed” (Psa_78:20; Psa_114:8).
Hab_3:10-11. He who fixed the world’s pillars can make them rock in their sockets, and upheave the cornerstones of creation. The huge mountains are torn up by the roots when the Lord bestirs himself in anger to smite the enemies of his people. How shall puny man be able to face it out with God when the mountains quake with fear? Let not the boaster dream that his present false confidence will support him in the dread day of wrath [Spurgeon].
Hab_3:11. The judgments of God are a light to his people, while they are the destruction of his enemies; in them they learn righteousness [Pusey]. All the powers of earth and heaven, sun and storms, earthquakes and floods, subservient to God’s purpose, and typical of his judgments. Notice—The ease with which they are collected, the order in which they are linked, and the destruction they create. This, a hope to the righteous, and a warning to the wicked.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 3
Hab_3:10-15. The whole passage depicts God’s descent to help his people, attended by earthquake, splendour, and power. So tremendous was the shock of God’s assault in arms that the order of nature was changed, and the bottoms of rivers and seas were laid bare. What will not Jehovah’s rebuke do? Vain are the attempts of men to conceal anything from him whose word unbars the deep, and lifts the doors of earth from their hinges! Vain are all hopes of resistance, for a whisper of his voice makes the whole earth quail in abject terror [Spurgeon].
The volcanic phenomena of Palestine open a question of which the data are, in a scientific point of view, too imperfect to be discussed; but there is enough in the history and literature of the people to show that there was an agency of this kind at work. Their traces on the permanent feeling of the nation must be noticed. The writings of the psalmists and prophets abound with indications which escape the eye of a superficial reader. Like the soil of their country, they actually heave and labour with the fiery convulsions which glow beneath their surface [A. P. Stanley].
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 3:8-15 The Lord is a divine warrior for his…
3:8-15 The Lord is a divine warrior for his people, moving in redemptive power on their behalf. The motif of God as divine warrior spans both Old Testament and New Testament: It is seen in Israel’s exodus from Egypt, their movement to Mount Sinai (Exod 15:1-18), their approach to the Promised Land from the south, and their triumphs in the early conquest period (e.g., Judg 5:4-5; Pss 18:8-16; 77:16-20; a key New Testament example is Rev 19:11-21).
3:8 struck the rivers . . . parted the sea: See Exod 7:19-20; 14:15-31. • chariots of salvation: An ironic echo of the Egyptian chariots, which pursued the Israelites when God led them to escape through the Red Sea (Exod 14:9).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.