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Habakkuk’s Prayer
1 This is a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth:* Shigionoth is probably a musical term indicating the setting for the prayer.
2 O LORD, I have heard the report of You;
I stand in awe, O LORD, of Your deeds.
Revive them in these years;
make them known in these years.
In Your wrath, remember mercy!
3 God came from Teman,
and the Holy One from Mount Paran.
His glory covered the heavens,
and His praise filled the earth.
4 His radiance was like the sunlight;
rays flashed from His hand,
where His power is hidden.
5 Plague went before Him,
and fever followed in His steps.
6 He stood and measured the earth;
He looked and startled the nations;
the ancient mountains crumbled;
the perpetual hills collapsed.
His ways are everlasting.
7 I saw the tents of Cushan in distress;
the curtains of Midian were trembling.
8 Were You angry at the rivers, O LORD?
Was Your wrath against the streams?
Did You rage against the sea
when You rode on Your horses,
on Your chariots of salvation?
9 You brandished Your bow;
You called for many arrows.
Selah
You split the earth with rivers.
10 The mountains saw You and quaked;
torrents of water swept by.
The deep roared with its voice
and lifted its hands on high.
11 Sun and moon stood still
in their places
at the flash of Your flying arrows,
at the brightness of Your shining spear.
12 You marched across the earth with fury;
You threshed the nations in wrath.
13 You went forth for the salvation of Your people,
to save Your anointed.
You crushed the head of the house of the wicked
and stripped him from head to toe.
Selah
14 With his own spear You pierced his head,
when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,
gloating as though ready
to secretly devour the weak.
15 You trampled the sea with Your horses,
churning the great waters.
16 I heard and trembled within;
my lips quivered at the sound.
Decay entered my bones;
I trembled where I stood.
Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress
to come upon the people who invade us.
Habakkuk Rejoices
17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and no fruit is on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though the sheep are cut off from the fold
and no cattle are in the stalls,
18 yet I will exult in the LORD;
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!
19 GOD the Lord is my strength;
He makes my feet like those of a deer;
He makes me walk upon the heights!
For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.