Habakkuk 1:7
in Habakkuk 1They are dreaded and feared; from themselves they derive justice and sovereignty.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They are terrible and dreadful; their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
KJV
They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
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This verse in Habakkuk 1
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
They are terrible - איום 'âyôm occurs here only and Son 6:4, Son 6:10, compared with the “bannered host,” but the root is common in אימה 'ēymâh. And dreadful - He describes them, first in themselves, then in act. They are terrible, and strike fear through their very being, their known character, before they put it forth in act.
This site's exposition
terrible and dreadful
on Habakkuk 1:7-8
Their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves describes an empire answerable to no law above its own will, self-authorized because it recognizes no higher throne. The catalogue of predators that follows, horses swifter than the leopards, fiercer than the evening wolves, horsemen flying as the eagle that hasteth to eat, paints an invasion as pure appetite rather than mere strategy. Keil and Pusey read the imagery as deliberately drawn from nature's most efficient killers, the description answering Habakkuk's fear before he can voice it again, the cure looking worse than the disease.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 6 onwards) For behold, I will raise up the Chaldeans, a bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth to take possession of dwelling places that are not theirs. They are feared and dreaded; their justice and dignity proceed from themselves. Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour. They all come for violence; their faces forward; they gather captives like sand. At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Their judgment - The law they observe, is their own will. Their dignity - Their authority is all from themselves, without respect to any other law or rule whatever.
They are terrible and dreadful,....
Appetite and passion rule them, and not reason nor conscience. Their principle is, Quicquid libet, licet -- My will is my law. And, Sic volo, sic jubeo; stat pro ratione voluntas--This is my wish, this is my command; it shall be done because I choose it.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
their judgment and . . . dignity . . . proceed of themselves--that is, they recognize no judge save themselves, and they get for themselves and keep their own "dignity" without needing others' help.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Their judgment - shall proceed of themselves - By revolting from the Assyrians, they have become a great nation. Thus, their judgment and excellence were the result of their own valor. Other meanings are given to this passage.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָיֹ֥ם | ʾayom | [is] terrifying | H366 → | |
| וְנוֹרָ֖א | venora' | and awesome | H3372 → | |
| ה֑וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| מִמֶּ֕נּוּ | mimenu | from itself | H4480 → | |
| מִשְׁפָּט֥וֹ | mishpato | justice its | H4941 → | 422 times |
| וּשְׂאֵת֖וֹ | useeto | and dignity its | H7613 → | |
| יֵצֵֽא׃ | yetze' | it comes forth | H3318 → | 1067 times |
אָיֹ֥ם[is] terrifying
ʾayomH366 →
וְנוֹרָ֖אand awesome
venora'H3372 →
ה֑וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
מִמֶּ֕נּוּfrom itself
mimenuH4480 →
מִשְׁפָּט֥וֹjustice its
mishpatoH4941 →422 times
וּשְׂאֵת֖וֹand dignity its
useetoH7613 →
יֵצֵֽא׃it comes forth
yetze'H3318 →1067 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 18:7At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD of Hosts—from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people widely feared, from a powerful nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by…
it leads to
- Zephaniah 3:10
From beyond the rivers of Cush My worshipers, My scattered people, will bring Me an offering.
- Acts 8:27–28
So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official in charge of the entire treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He had gone to Jerusalem to…
- Zechariah 14:16–17
Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.
- 2 Chronicles 32:23
Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the LORD and valuable gifts for Hezekiah king of Judah, and from then on he was exalted in the eyes of all nations.
- Isaiah 18:4
For this is what the LORD has told me: “I will quietly look on from My dwelling place, like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
- Zephaniah 3:10
Through
Deuteronomy 5:27Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then you can tell us everything the LORD our God tells you; we will listen and obey.”
it leads to
- Exodus 20:19
“Speak to us yourself and we will listen,” they said to Moses. “But do not let God speak to us, or we will die.”
- Hebrews 12:19
to a trumpet blast or to a voice that made its hearers beg that no further word be spoken.
- Exodus 20:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
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About Habakkuk
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Habakkuk; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.