English · KJV

Habakkuk 3:1

“Title and Prayer for Revival”Habakkuk 3:1–2

King James Version
A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

KJV (with Strong's)
A prayer H8605 of Habakkuk H2265 the prophet H5030 upon Shigionoth H7692.

Bible text: King James Version with Strong's numbers · Public domain

Berean Standard Bible
This is a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth:

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain

American Standard Version
A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, set to Shigionoth.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

World English Bible Messianic
A prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet, set to victorious music.

Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain

Geneva Bible (1599)
A prayer of Habakkuk the Prophet for the ignorances.

Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain

Young's Literal Translation
A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet concerning erring ones:

Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain

King James Version — Interlinear
5 Hebrew words
  1. תְּפִלָּהte·fi·Laha prayerH8605N-fsNoun Singular Feminine Absolute
  2. לַחֲבַקּוּקla·cha·va·Kukof HabakkukH2265Prep-l ¦ N-proper-mNoun Proper MasculineלַofחֲבַקּוּקHabakkuk
  3. הַנָּבִיאha·na·Vi'the prophetH5030Art ¦ N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absoluteהַtheנָּבִיאprophet
  4. עַל'alonH5921PrepPreposition
  5. שִׁגְיֹנוֹתshig·yo·NotshiggionothH7692N-fpNoun Title Plural Feminine Absolute
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Hebrew, not the KJV's wording. Why?

This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Hebrew word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Hebrew word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “the LORD” where the gloss reads “Yahweh”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.

Words in [ ] are added by the English.

Translation
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In the KJVVerse 22,770 of 31,102 · 73.2%

Study this verse

Written with AI assistance. Always check it against Scripture.

This verse

This heading names the last chapter of the book as a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, set upon Shigionoth, a musical direction for a song of deep feeling.

“A prayer”

The tᵉphillâh is a solemn address to God. After two chapters of dialogue and oracle, the prophet now speaks to God alone.

“of Habakkuk the prophet”

The author is named with his office, as in the headings of the Psalms. The man who carried God’s message to Judah now prays for himself and his people.

“upon Shigionoth.”

A musical direction, the plural of the Shiggaion over Psalm 7:1, for a song of strong feeling meant to be sung.

Passage studyHabakkuk 3:1–2

Revive Thy Work, in Wrath Remember Mercy

1A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth. 2O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.

Summary

Habakkuk’s book closes with a prayer. Verse 1 names it a prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, set “upon Shigionoth”, a musical direction for a song sung with strong feeling. In verse 2 the prophet tells the LORD that he has heard his word of coming judgment and is afraid, and then he asks three things: that God would revive his work in the middle of those hard years, that he would make it known, and that in his wrath he would remember mercy. These few words give us a pattern for prayer when judgment is near. Habakkuk speaks his fear honestly, asks God to act, and appeals to his merciful heart.

Where this prayer comes from

Chapter 3 is the prophet’s answer to everything God has said in the first two chapters. Habakkuk began by crying out over the violence and injustice in Judah (Habakkuk 1:2–4). The LORD answered that he was raising up the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, as his instrument of judgment (Habakkuk 1:5–11), and the news that he would use so ruthless a nation to punish Judah (1:6–11) would have shocked and frightened Habakkuk and everyone who heard it. Habakkuk then asked how a holy God could use a people more wicked than the one they punished (Habakkuk 1:12–17). In chapter 2 God gave his reply, with the great word that “the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4) and five woes against the oppressor (Habakkuk 2:6–20).

The book belongs to the late seventh century BC, before the exile to Babylon. Assyria, which had long ruled the nations round about, was in decline, and Babylon was rising fast. Judah was caught between the two powers, and inside the nation there was corruption, idolatry and oppression, despite reforms under kings such as Josiah. The people knew that the covenant warned of curses for disobedience, and they looked for God to step in, whether to judge or to save.

Here the dialogue gives way to a prayer much like a psalm. The chapter that opens with these two verses moves from fear to trust, and it ends with the prophet’s resolve to trust God whatever comes (Habakkuk 3:17–19): “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:18).

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet

The first verse is a heading. Like the headings of the Psalms, it tells us what kind of writing follows, who wrote it, and how it was to be used. The word for prayer, tᵉphillâh, comes from a root meaning to judge, and by extension to intercede or pray. It is a solemn address to God, often a plea for help or for others, and it tells us that what follows is Habakkuk speaking directly and earnestly to the LORD. Scripture gives other prayers the same kind of heading, such as “A Prayer of Moses the man of God” over Psalm 90 (Psalm 90:1), and it records Jonah’s prayer from inside the fish (Jonah 2:1).

The prophet’s name, Chăbaqqûwq, may come from a root meaning “to embrace”, though its origin is uncertain. Naming him here marks the prayer as his own, the words of one man on his way from questions to settled faith.

He is called “the prophet”, the man God had entrusted with his message. The one who carried God’s word to Judah still needed to pray, and he brings his own fear and requests back to the God who spoke to him. Those who hear most from God are the ones who most need to speak with him, and Habakkuk shows the way for every believer to bring hard questions to the Lord.

What does “upon Shigionoth” mean?

“Upon Shigionoth”, in Hebrew al shigyonot, is a direction for the music, telling how the prayer was to be sung or recited. The singular, shiggâyôwn (Shiggaion), stands at the head of a psalm: “Shiggaion of David” (Psalm 7:1). Its exact meaning is debated. The root has to do with wandering or straying, and so the word is usually taken to mean a song full of strong feeling, perhaps with an irregular rhythm or a wandering melody, something like a lament. That fits the prayer, which comes from a troubled heart and pleads earnestly for God’s mercy and power.

The direction also tells us this prayer was meant to be sung, probably by the gathered people and perhaps in the temple, so that Habakkuk’s words could teach and encourage the whole community. Faith and praise belong even in a time of national crisis.

I have heard thy speech, and was afraid

Habakkuk opens by telling the LORD what God’s word has done to him. “Thy speech” translates shêmaʻ, a thing heard, a report, and here it means everything God has revealed in the first two chapters, above all the coming Chaldean invasion. The prophet answers it with fear, yârêʼ. This is the fear of a man who has heard the holy God announce judgment, an awe at his majesty, power and holiness, and at the certainty of what he has said. Such fear is the right and worshipful response to God’s word, and in Habakkuk it leads straight into prayer.

Twice he calls on God as “O LORD”, Yᵉhôvâh, the covenant name of the God of Israel. He is speaking to the God who bound himself to his people, and that is the ground on which he can ask for mercy.

Revive thy work

This request is the heart of the prayer. “Revive” is châyâh, which means to live, to keep alive or to restore to life, and in the causative form used here, to revive or quicken. “Thy work” is pôʻal, a deed or work, and here it is God’s mighty acts for his people. Habakkuk asks God to act again with the power he has shown before, and to bring his purposes and promises to full life in a time of spiritual decline and coming disaster. A psalm prays in the same way: “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?” (Psalm 85:6).

“Make known” is yâdaʻ, to know, used here of causing something to be known. It stands in parallel with “revive”, which ties the two requests together. When God revives his work he makes himself known, and Habakkuk wants God’s power and character shown openly and unmistakably while the nation faces its darkest hour.

Is this the revival we pray for today?

Habakkuk’s prayer includes a spiritual awakening among God’s people, and it reaches further. He asks God to quicken his mighty acts, his saving purposes and his covenant promises, and to show his power and faithfulness in ways that can be seen, both in judgment and in keeping his people. That takes in renewed spiritual life, the fulfilment of what God has spoken, the keeping of a remnant, and the final triumph of his plan through all the turmoil of judgment.

In the midst of the years

The phrase “in the midst of the years” comes twice, and the repetition gives it weight and urgency. Qereb means the midst or inner part, the centre of a thing, and shâneh means a year. Together, bəqerev shānîm points to the present and the years just ahead, the very years in which God’s judgment through Babylon would unfold. Habakkuk wants God to act during the trouble itself, while it is happening. He asks for God’s power and presence to be made known right in the middle of the years of discipline.

In wrath remember mercy

The last request is the shortest. “Wrath” is rôgez, from a root meaning to tremble or be agitated. The word can mean commotion, unrest or anger, and spoken of God it means his righteous indignation against sin. Habakkuk fully accepts that this wrath is coming and that it is just, because he has seen the evil in Judah and heard what God will do about it.

“Remember” is zâkar, to remember or bring to mind. “Mercy” is râcham, a verb whose root sense is to fondle, and so to love and to have compassion. It speaks of a deep, tender pity, like a mother’s affection for her child. Habakkuk asks God to temper his justice with compassion, keeping faith with his covenant promises even as he disciplines his people, so that a remnant survives and his saving purposes go forward.

The prophet bases his plea on who God is. When the LORD proclaimed his name to Moses, he revealed himself as merciful and gracious and also just (Exodus 34:6–7), and that pairing of compassion and justice runs through the Old Testament. Jeremiah’s lament says the same in the ruins of Jerusalem: “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23). His justice is always joined to his compassion, and that is our hope even when punishment is deserved. It is the ground of the covenant and of all salvation.

Mercy and wrath meet in Christ

Habakkuk’s prayer is answered most fully in Jesus Christ. The work of God that he longed to see revived and made known is God’s plan of redemption, which comes to its height in Christ’s coming, his death and his resurrection. At the cross the wrath due for our sin was poured out on God’s own Son, “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). There God did more than remember mercy, for he provided it, and offers forgiveness and new life to all who believe. Paul says that in Christ’s sacrifice God shows his righteousness, so that he is both just and the one who justifies the believer (Romans 3:25–26).

The revival Habakkuk sought comes in the new covenant. God, rich in mercy, makes alive those who were dead in sins (Ephesians 2:4–5), and he makes his presence known within his people by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth (John 14:16–17).

Jesus, the greater Prophet, also prayed in the face of suffering and judgment, in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36–46), and he submitted to his Father’s will even to death on the cross. Through him the word that “the just shall live by his faith” comes to its full meaning, because faith in his atoning work reconciles us to God and delivers us from eternal judgment. It leads to a joy that outlasts every earthly loss, the joy Habakkuk sings at the close of this chapter.

Praying Habakkuk’s prayer

Habakkuk had heard hard news from the LORD himself, and he told God plainly that it frightened him. We can bring our own fears and questions to God in the same way, because reverent fear and honest lament belong together in one prayer.

When we see injustice, moral decline and upheaval around us, his prayer can become ours. We can ask God to revive his work in the church, to make his power known in our communities, and to carry his saving purposes forward in the middle of whatever years we are living through. When we face the consequences of sin, our own or our nation’s, we can still appeal to his mercy as Habakkuk did. We can pray “in wrath remember mercy” for others as well as for ourselves, taking sin seriously and trusting the compassion of the God who has already shown his mercy at the cross.

Last revised

Public-domain commentary

Matthew Henry

From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry wrote on whole passages, and this entry covers Habakkuk 3:1–2.

1662–1714 · 2 verses
Passage under commentHabakkuk 3:1–2

This chapter is entitled a prayer of Habakkuk. It is a meditation with himself, an intercession for the church. Prophets were praying men; this prophet was so (He is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, Genesis 20:7); and sometimes they prayed for even those whom they prophesied against. Those that were intimately acquainted with the mind of God concerning future events knew better than others how to order their prayers, and what to pray for, and, in the foresight of troublous times, could lay up a stock of prayers that might then receive a gracious answer, and so be serving the church by their prayers when their prophesying was over. This prophet had found God ready to answer his requests and complaints before, and therefore now repeats his applications to him. Because God has inclined his ear to us, we must resolve that therefore we will call upon him as long as we live. 1. The prophet owns the receipt of God's answer to his former representation, and the impression it made upon him (v. 2): "O Lord! I have heard thy speech, thy hearing" (so some read it), "that which thou wouldst have us hear, the decree that has gone forth for the afflicting of thy people. I received thine, and it is before me." Note, Those that would rightly order their speech to God must carefully observe, and lay before them, his speech to them. He had said (Habakkuk 2:1), I will watch to see what he will say; and now he owns, Lord, I have heard thy speech; for, if we turn a deaf ear to God's word, we can expect no other than that he should turn a deaf ear to our prayers, Proverbs 28:9. I heard it, and was afraid. Messages immediately from heaven commonly struck even the best and boldest men into a consternation; Moses, Isaiah, and Daniel, did exceedingly fear and quake. But, besides that, the matter of this message made the prophet afraid, when he heard how low the people of God should be brought, under the oppressing power of the Chaldeans, and how long they should continue under it; he was afraid lest their spirits should quite fail, and lest the church should be utterly rooted out and run down, and, being kept low so long, should be lost at length. 2. He earnestly prays that for the elect's sake these days of trouble might be shortened, or the trouble of these days mitigated and moderated, or the people of God supported and comforted under it. He thinks it very long to wait till the end of the years; perhaps he refers to the seventy years fixed for the continuance of the captivity, and therefore, "Lord," says he, "do something on our behalf in the midst of the years, those years of our distress; though we be not delivered, and our oppressors destroyed, yet let us not be abandoned and cast off." (1.) "Do something for thy own cause: Revive thy work, thy church" (that is the work of God's own hand, formed by him, formed for him); "revive that, even when it walks in the midst of trouble, Psalm 138:7, Psalm 138:8. Grant thy people a little reviving in their bondage, Ezra 9:8; Psalm 85:6. Preserve alive thy work" (so some read it); "though thy church be chastened, let it not be killed; though it have not its liberty, yet continue its life, save a remnant alive, to be a seed of another generation. Revive the work of thy grace in us, by sanctifying the trouble to us and supporting us under it, though the time be not yet come, even the set time, for our deliverance out of it. Whatever becomes of us, though we be as dead and dry bones, Lord, let thy work be revived, let not that sink, and go back, and come to nothing." (2.) "Do something for thy own honour: In the midst of the years make known, make thyself known, for now verily thou art a God that hidest thyself (Isaiah 45:15), make known thy power, thy pity, thy promise, thy providence, in the government of the world, for the safety and welfare of thy church. Though we be buried in obscurity, yet, Lord, make thyself known; whatever becomes of Israel, let not the God of Israel be forgotten in the world, but discover himself even in the midst of the dark years, before thou art expected to appear." When in the midst of the years of the captivity God miraculously owned the three children in the fiery furnace, and humbled Nebuchadnezzar, this prayer was answered, In the midst of the years make known. (3.) "Do something for thy people's comfort: In wrath remember mercy, and make that known. Show us thy mercy, O Lord!" Psalm 85:7. They see God's displeasure against them in their troubles, and that makes them grievous indeed. There is wrath in the bitter cup; that therefore they deprecate, and are earnest in begging that he is a merciful God and they are vessels of his mercy. Note, Even those that are under the tokens of God's wrath must not despair of his mercy; and mercy, mere mercy, is that which we must flee to for refuge, and rely upon as our only plea. He does not say, Remember our merit, but, Lord, remember thy own mercy.

Historical interpretation

Fourteen Centuries of Reception

3 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.

3 quotes · AD 420–1781
Post-NiceneEarly MedievalMedieval
400500600700800900100011001200130014001500160017001800

Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.

d. AD 420JeromePost-NiceneSourceAgainst the Pelagians 1.39
The prophet Habakkuk gives this title to his canticle: “A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet for ignorance.” For he had spoken in a bold manner to the Lord and had said, “How long, O Lord, shall I cry, and you will not hear? Shall I cry to you ‘suffering violence,’ and you will not save? Why have you shown me iniquity and grievance, to see rapine and injustice before me? Judgment is done against me and opposition is more powerful. Therefore the law is torn to pieces, and judgment comes not to the end, because the wicked prevails against the just; therefore, wrong judgment goes forth.” As a reproof to himself for having spoken these words through ignorance, he writes the Canticle of Penance. If ignorance were no sin, it was a futile effort on his part to compose a book of penance, and his desire to express sorrow over an act that was not a sin was an empty gesture.
d. AD 420JeromePost-NiceneSourceCommentary on Habakkuk
(Chapter 3, Verse 1) Lord, I have heard your message, and I am afraid: Lord, revive your work in the midst of the years. LXX: Lord, I have heard your message, and I am afraid: Lord, I have considered your works, and I am amazed in the midst of two animals you are known. For that which we have translated as 'revive your work,' Symmachus has interpreted as 'revivify your work.' But what the Seventy have said, 'I have considered and I am amazed,' is not found in Hebrew, nor in any other Interpreter, so by removing those things which are not found in Hebrew, it can be read according to the Seventy: Lord, you are known for your works in the midst of two animals: because this seemed incomprehensible, the preceding words are connected. But we read in Hebrew Adonai, that is, Lord, Phalach, your work, Bacereb, in the midst, Sanim, of years, Heieu, make it alive. This is done so that we may clearly recognize the additions that have been made in the Septuagint. The Hebrews explain this passage according to the story: Lord, I have heard your message and I am afraid. I have heard, it says, the punishments that you have prepared for Nebuchadnezzar and the devil, in which you said to him: Woe to him who multiplies not his own (Above, II, 6). And secondly: Woe to him who gathers evil greed to his house (Verse 9). And thirdly: Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed, and establishes a town with iniquity (Verse 12). And fourthly: Woe to him who gives his friend drink, pouring out his gall and making him drunk. And fifthly: Woe to him who says to wood, Awake; to silent stone, Arise. And as I am filled with fear, that the great dragon must be wounded by so many blows, so I pray, Lord, that you fulfill what you have promised, and at the end of time, give us your Christ. For you have said, that it will still be seen from afar and will appear at the end, and it will not lie. Therefore, bring to life what you have promised, that is, fulfill your promise; let your word not die in vain, but let it be accomplished by action. Indeed, this can be understood in regard to the resurrection of the Savior: that he who died for us may rise from the dead and be given life. However, according to the Septuagint, the meaning is quite different, and we must also consider the explanation in the Vulgate edition. Lord, I have heard in the Scriptures your word, and with you giving me an ear, according to what Isaiah says: He has given me an ear to hear (Isaiah 50:5); I have heard in such a way that you desire to be heard. And contemplating your works more diligently (so that it would not be said to me: But the works of the Lord do not regard, and the works of his hands do not consider), from the creatures I understood the Creator, and through each thing that you have made, and what you daily accomplish in the whole world, I was completely astonished, and with the sense of humanity lost, I was converted into holy madness. Certainly, disturbed by wonder, I burst forth in praise, trembling, saying: In the midst of the two animals, you are recognized. Which many think refers to the Son and the Holy Spirit, because the Father is understood through the Son and the Spirit. This is also interpreted as the two Seraphim in Isaiah (Chapter VI), and the two Cherubim written about in Exodus (Chapter XXV), which face each other and have and veil each other, and have the oracle in their midst; and in Isaiah (Chapter VI), veiling the head and feet of the Lord, they desire only in the present age, and one cries out to the other the mystery of the Trinity: and let one of the Seraphim be sent, which is interpreted as burning, and let him come to earth and cleanse the lips of the prophet, and say: I have come to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already burning (Luke XII, 49). Some people think this, and they use many testimonies from the Scriptures to support this interpretation. On the other hand, a simple interpretation and the opinion of the common people understand that the Savior was recognized and believed to be crucified between two thieves (Mark 15 and John 19). However, those who say better argue that in the early Church, which was made up of both Jews and Gentiles, the Savior was understood and believed by both groups. There are two kinds of animals, two Testaments that are understood, the new and the old, which truly are living and vital, which breathe, and in whose midst the Lord is known.

In the middle of the years you will make it known. 70: When the years approach, you will be recognized. When the time comes, he says, and you have fulfilled the promised work, you will show that what you have promised is true. Whether when the consummation approaches, and at the last hour your son comes to destroy sins, you will be recognized more clearly. It follows:

When the time comes, you will be revealed, when my soul is troubled. This, except for the Seventy, is found neither in Hebrew nor among any other interpreters. And the meaning is this: When the time comes, of which it is said: In an acceptable time I have heard you, the time of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 6:2): then, O God the Father, your name will be known, which was hidden from men before, of which the Lord says in the Gospel: Father, I have revealed your name to men (John 17:6). But as it is added: When my soul is troubled, it is connected with the edition of the Seventy Interpreters with the later ones, so that it can be read: When my soul is troubled in anger, and up to this point is the distinction: afterwards let it be added, you will remember your mercies; namely, that the disturbance alone suffices for punishment, and the soul of the prophet, troubled with anger towards God, does not incur punishment, but mercy excludes anger. But the wrath of God also has its measures: how much and for how long, and for what reasons, and in what ways it is poured out, according to what is written: You will feed us with the bread of tears, and you will make us drink tears in measure (Psalm 79:6). And if the prophet is troubled by the wrath of God, and the one who is troubled obtains mercy, what should we hope, or rather fear, whose every work is worthy of God's wrath? But what follows according to the Hebrew.


When you have been angry, you will remember mercy. We must not think that God forgets us and after his anger remembers his mercy; but rather, because we think that he forgets us when we are placed in punishment, according to what is said: How long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me unto the end? (Ps. XII, 1). For even when we are overwhelmed by temptations, as if by raging waves, and a violent storm of demons rages against us, we speak as if to a sleeping person: Arise, why do you sleep, O Lord? At the same time, consider the mercy of God: he did not say, when you inflict punishment, you will remember mercy; but when you are angry. However, one who is angry sometimes does not strike, but only threatens. The apostle, sensing this, says: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (Rom. I, 18). But where it is revealed, it is not inflicted, it does not strike; but it is revealed to frighten, and to those who are frightened, it is not inflicted.
d. AD 1781Richard ChallonerMedieval
For ignorances: That is, for the sins of his people. In the Hebrew, it is Sigionoth: which some take to signify a musical instrument, or tune; with which this sublime prayer and canticle was to be sung.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.

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