The Meaning of Habakkuk 3:16 Explained

Habakkuk 3:16

KJV: When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops.

YLT: I have heard, and my belly trembleth, At the noise have my lips quivered, Rottenness doth come into my bones, And in my place I do tremble, That I rest for a day of distress, At the coming up of the people, he overcometh it.

Darby: I heard, and my belly trembled; My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in my place, That I might rest in the day of distress, When their invader shall come up against the people.

ASV: I heard, and my body trembled, My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entereth into my bones, and I tremble in my place; Because I must wait quietly for the day of trouble, For the coming up of the people that invadeth us.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

When I heard,  my belly  trembled;  my lips  quivered  at the voice:  rottenness  entered  into my bones,  and I trembled  in myself, that I might rest  in the day  of trouble:  when he cometh up  unto the people,  he will invade them with his troops. 

What does Habakkuk 3:16 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Habakkuk trembled all over as he waited for the day of Babylon"s invasion of Judah, the day of her distress. He could do nothing but wait patiently for the Babylonians to grow stronger and for judgment to come on Israel. It is a terrible feeling to know that calamity is coming but that one can do nothing to prevent it. He could endure the prospect because he remembered that the omnipotent God of Israel had consistently defended her in the past and promised to do so in the future. Earlier when the prophet heard about the powerful Babylonians, he wanted to talk with God ( Habakkuk 2:1). But now, having been reminded of the infinitely more powerful Yahweh, he had nothing more to say (cf. Job 42:1-6). God would handle the Babylonians. All Habakkuk had to do was wait.
"Over the years, I"ve often leaned on three verses that have helped me wait patiently on the Lord. "Stand still" ( Exodus 14:13), "Sit still" ( Ruth 3:18), and "Be still" ( Psalm 46:10). Whenever we find ourselves getting "churned up" within, we can be sure that we need to stop, pray, and wait on the Lord before we do some stupid thing." [1]

Context Summary

Habakkuk 3:1-19 - The Faith That Is Invincible
This psalm was intended to be sung by the captives during the Exile, which was near. In Habakkuk 3:3-15 there is a recital of the great events in the past. First Sinai, then the victories and deliverances of the book of Judges, the passage of the Red Sea and Jordan, the divine vengeance on the oppressors. But the prophet could not contemplate the future of the Chosen People without dismay. He longed to be at rest before those terrible Chaldean hosts burst upon the land. At the close he breaks into a sublime refrain which has been the solace and song of myriads of believers. If all God's gifts failed he would still possess the Giver. He could still triumph in God. Indeed, the divine Savior and Friend is often more apparent when the fields and the farmsteads are bare [source]

Chapter Summary: Habakkuk 3

1  Habakkuk, in his prayer, trembles at God's majesty
17  The confidence of his faith

What do the individual words in Habakkuk 3:16 mean?

When I heard and trembled my body at the voice quivered My lips entered Rottenness my bones and in myself I trembled that I might rest in the day of trouble when he comes up to the people He will invade them with his troops
שָׁמַ֣עְתִּי ׀ וַתִּרְגַּ֣ז בִּטְנִ֗י לְקוֹל֙ צָלֲל֣וּ שְׂפָתַ֔י יָב֥וֹא רָקָ֛ב בַּעֲצָמַ֖י וְתַחְתַּ֣י אֶרְגָּ֑ז אֲשֶׁ֤ר אָנ֙וּחַ֙ לְי֣וֹם צָרָ֔ה לַעֲל֖וֹת לְעַ֥ם יְגוּדֶֽנּוּ

שָׁמַ֣עְתִּי ׀  When  I  heard 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
וַתִּרְגַּ֣ז  and  trembled 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: רָגַז  
Sense: tremble, quake, rage, quiver, be agitated, be excited, be perturbed.
בִּטְנִ֗י  my  body 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: בֶּטֶן  
Sense: belly, womb, body.
לְקוֹל֙  at  the  voice 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֹול 
Sense: voice, sound, noise.
צָלֲל֣וּ  quivered 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: צָלַל  
Sense: to tingle, quiver.
שְׂפָתַ֔י  My  lips 
Parse: Noun, fdc, first person common singular
Root: שָׂפָה  
Sense: lip, language, speech, shore, bank, brink, brim, side, edge, border, binding.
יָב֥וֹא  entered 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
רָקָ֛ב  Rottenness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: רָקָב 
Sense: rottenness, decay (always fig).
בַּעֲצָמַ֖י  my  bones 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: עֶצֶם 
Sense: bone, essence, substance.
וְתַחְתַּ֣י  and  in  myself 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition, first person common singular
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.
אֶרְגָּ֑ז  I  trembled 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: רָגַז  
Sense: tremble, quake, rage, quiver, be agitated, be excited, be perturbed.
אֲשֶׁ֤ר  that 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
אָנ֙וּחַ֙  I  might  rest 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: נוּחַ 
Sense: to rest.
לְי֣וֹם  in  the  day 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
צָרָ֔ה  of  trouble 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: צָרָה 
Sense: straits, distress, trouble.
לַעֲל֖וֹת  when  he  comes  up 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
לְעַ֥ם  to  the  people 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
יְגוּדֶֽנּוּ  He  will  invade  them  with  his  troops 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, first person common plural
Root: גּוּד  
Sense: to invade, attack.