Habakkuk 3:12 - Exposition

Thou didst march through the land in indignation; thou treadest the earth in .fury. The mighty Judge stalks over the earth ( Habakkuk 3:6 ; comp. 5:4 ; Psalms 68:7 ). It is a general statement, and not to be confined to the successes of Joshua and the destruction of the Canaanites. Septuagint, ἐν ἀπειλῇ ὀλιγώσεις γῆν , with the alteration of a letter," Thou wilt bring low the land with threats." Thou didst thresh the heathen ( nations ) in anger; Septuagint, ἐν θυμῷ κατάξεις ("thou wilt break in pieces") ἔθνη . Jerome here renders the verb, obstupefacies; but elsewhere, as Isaiah 28:28 ; Hosea 10:11 ; Amos 1:3 , he uses triturare which gives the best meaning. The kindred figure is found in Micah 4:13 ; Isaiah 63:1 , etc.