Habakkuk’s prayer
1A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.3:1 Probably a literary or musical term
2Lord, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord.
Repeat them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.
3God came from Teman,
the Holy One from Mount Paran.3:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the middle of verse 9 and at the end of verse 13.
His glory covered the heavens
and his praise filled the earth.
4His splendour was like the sunrise;
rays flashed from his hand,
where his power was hidden.
5Plague went before him;
pestilence followed his steps.
6He stood, and shook the earth;
he looked, and made the nations tremble.
The ancient mountains crumbled
and the age-old hills collapsed –
but he marches on for ever.
7I saw the tents of Cushan in distress,
the dwellings of Midian in anguish.
8Were you angry with the rivers, Lord?
Was your wrath against the streams?
Did you rage against the sea
when you rode your horses
and your chariots to victory?
9You uncovered your bow,
you called for many arrows.
You split the earth with rivers;
10the mountains saw you and writhed.
Torrents of water swept by;
the deep roared
and lifted its waves on high.
11Sun and moon stood still in the heavens
at the glint of your flying arrows,
at the lightning of your flashing spear.
12In wrath you strode through the earth
and in anger you threshed the nations.
13You came out to deliver your people,
to save your anointed one.
You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness,
you stripped him from head to foot.
14With his own spear you pierced his head
when his warriors stormed out to scatter us,
gloating as though about to devour
the wretched who were in hiding.
15You trampled the sea with your horses,
churning the great waters.
16I heard and my heart pounded,
my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
and my legs trembled.
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity
to come on the nation invading us.
17Though the fig-tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the sheepfold
and no cattle in the stalls,
18yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Saviour.
19The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.
Habakkuks sang
1Denne bøn sang profeten Habakkuk for Herren:
2Herre, jeg har hørt om dit ry.
Jeg er fuld af ærefrygt for de undere, du udførte.
Gør det igen, Herre.
Vis os snart dine underfulde gerninger.
Men vær barmhjertig midt i din vrede.
3Den hellige Gud drog op fra Parans bjerg,
han førte sit folk gennem Teman i Edom.3,3 Jf. 5.Mos. 2 og 33.
Hans herlighed dækkede himlen,
og hans storhed fyldte jorden.
4Han kom med sit skarpe lys,
og de lyn, han kastede, viste hans kraft.
5Han sendte plager mod sine fjender,
og lod pesten hærge dem.
6Når han standsede op, rystede jorden af skræk,
et blik fra ham fik folkeslagene til at bæve.
De ældgamle bjerge slog revner,
de evige høje sank sammen.
Hans kraft er for evigt den samme.
7Midjans telte faldt sammen,
Kushans teltduge blev revet i stykker.
8Var det floden, du var ude efter, Herre,
da du standsede dens løb?
Var det havet, du var vred på, da du skilte vandene ad,
og reddede os med dine heste og stridsvogne?
9Du blottede din bue,
skød dine lyn mod det fastsatte mål,
lod tordenskyller lave kløfter i jorden.
10Bjergene så dig og vred sig i panik,
et skybrud passerede forbi.
Havdybet3,10 Kan være en symbolsk henvisning til en hær af fjender eller til den egyptiske hær, der druknede i Det Røde Hav. råbte i rædsel
og rakte fortvivlet hænderne i vejret.
11Solen og månen stod stille i deres baner,
overvældet af dine lynglimt
og lyset fra dine glinsende spyd.
12I vrede trampede du på jorden,
du trådte på alle dine fjender.
13Du drog ud for at frelse dit folk,
for at redde din udvalgte tjener.
Du knuste ondskabens herre
og tilintetgjorde hele hans hær.
14Fjendernes hær stormede frem
og frydede sig over det lette bytte.
Men du sendte dine pile imod dem
og gennemborede deres hoveder.
15Du brugte vandmasserne som dine stridsvogne
og tilintetgjorde fjenden i et frådende hav.
16Da jeg hørte om det, bankede mit hjerte vildt,
mine læber skælvede,
mine ben gav efter under mig,
mine skridt vaklede.
Jeg ser frem til den dag,
da du vil straffe dem, der angriber os.
17Selv om figentræet ikke blomstrer,
vinstokken står uden frugt,
olivenhøsten slår fejl,
markerne ligger øde hen,
fårene er forsvundet fra folden,
og stalden er tom,
18så vil jeg alligevel glæde mig i Herren
og fryde mig over min Gud og Frelser,
19for den Almægtige gør mig stærk.
Han gør mine skridt sikre som gazellens
og giver mig fodfæste på bjergene.
(Til korlederen: Denne sang skal akkompagneres af strengeinstrumenter).
