1A prayer of Habakkuk, the prophet, on Shigionoth.

2O LORD, I have heard about You, and I stand in awe of You and Your deeds throughout the years. LORD, repeat them in our time and make them known; and in Your wrath, remember Your mercy.

3God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. 4And His splendor was like the sunrise; He had light radiating from His hand; where His power was hidden. 5Plague went before Him; pestilence followed His steps. 6He stood, and measured the earth; He looked, and made the nations tremble; and the ancient mountains crumbled and were scattered, the perpetual hills sank low; He is the Eternal One; His ways are everlasting. 7I saw the tents of Cushan in distress; and the nations of the land of Midian trembled in terror. 8Were You angry with the rivers, LORD? Were You displeased with the sea, when You rode Your horses and Your chariots of salvation to victory? 9You brandished Your bow and called for many arrows. You divided the earth with rivers. 10The mountains saw You, and they trembled; torrents of the water swept by; the deep roared, and lifted its waves on high. 11The sun and moon stood still in the heavens; the glint of Your flying arrows was like flashes of lightning from Your glittering spear. 12In Your indignation, You marched through the earth; You threshed the nations in anger. 13You went forth to save Your people - salvation for Your anointed; You crushed the leader of the house of the wicked, and exposed him from head to foot. 14You pierced the heads of his warriors with their own spears when they stormed out like a whirlwind to scatter us; they gloated as they prepared to devour the poor who were in hiding. 15You trampled through the sea with Your horses, churning the great waters.

16When I heard, my heart pounded; my lips quivered at the sound; rottenness entered my bones, and my legs trembled, yet I must wait patiently in that day, when calamity comes upon him (the king of Babylon) as he invades us with his troops.

17Although the fig tree shall not blossom, nor shall fruit (grapes) be in the vines; though the olive crop shall fail, and the fields produce no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold, and there are no cattle in the stalls; 18Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation! 19The Sovereign LORD is my strength, and He will make my feet like the feet of a deer, and He will enable me to walk upon high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.