Habakkuk 3:9
in Habakkuk 3You brandished Your bow; You called for many arrows. Selah You split the earth with rivers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thy bow was made quite bare; The oaths to the tribes were a sure word. [Selah Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.
KJV
Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.
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This verse in Habakkuk 3
Commentary
11 notes on this verse(Verse 8, 9.) Are you angry, Lord, with the rivers? Or is your anger against the rivers, or your wrath against the sea? For you have ascended upon your horses, and your chariots are salvation. You will surely bring forth your bow, fulfilling the oaths you have spoken to the tribes. Selah. (Septuagint: Are you angry, Lord, with the rivers? Or is your wrath against the rivers, or your fury against the sea? You who ride upon your horses, and your horse is salvation: stretching out, extending your bow over the scepters, says the Lord.) Diapsalma.
This site's exposition
Was the Lord displeased against the rivers
on Habakkuk 3:8-9
Was the Lord displeased against the rivers, was thine anger against the rivers, recalls the exodus and Jordan crossings directly, the prophet asking whether the ancient wonders were really about the waters themselves rather than the salvation they served, riding upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation naming the true target of every plague and parted sea. The second Selah falls after thy word, marking the oath that follows, thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, the covenant promises to the patriarchs read as a drawn weapon ready in God's own hand, and thou didst cleave the earth with rivers closes the unit on the same historical ground. Keil and Barnes read the whole passage as poetic recollection of the exodus deployed here as present hope, the ancient rivers standing for every deliverance still to come.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Stretching, you extend your bow over scepters, says the Lord. The bow signifies the sudden coming of the divine judgment, by which he foresaw that even scepters, that is, the kingdoms of the world, should be examined. Therefore, the prophet insinuates what the Lord, ascending …
The earth will be split by rivers. Rivers here are not the same as those above, from which he feared the anger and fury of the Lord, but rather those about which he himself said in the Gospel: He who believes in me, as the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Thy bow was made quite naked,.... It was took out of its case, and arrows out of their quiver, and these made use of against the enemies of his people: this is put for all weapons of war; the sword was unsheathed, and all military weapons employed, and the power of the Lord was exerted; or, as the Targum, "the Lord was revealed in his power;'' fighting the battles of his people, as in the times of Joshua: according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah.
5 ) and their enemies ever so many and mighty. Note, What God does for his tribes is according to the oaths of the tribes, according to what he has said and sworn to them; for he is faithful that has promised. (2.) He would hereby show his kindness to his people, because of their relation to him, and his interest in them: Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
Thy bow - One part of armour is put for the whole. The Lord is represented as armed, in readiness to smite through all his enemies. According to the oaths - In pursuance of his oath made to our fathers, and their posterity.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He affects himself with a holy concern for the present troubles of the church, but encourages himself and others to hope that the issue will be comfortable and glorious at last, though all visible means fail,
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Thy bow was made quite naked - The word is repeated for emphasis. Literally, (In) “nakedness, it was laid naked;” the sheath being laid aside and cast away, as Isaiah says, Isa 22:6. “Kir laid bare the shield.” Gregory, Mor. xix. 9. n. 54, Compare Augustine in Ps. 59, n. 6.: The bow represents the threat of the vengeance of Almighty God, from which it is at length discharged, if not turned aside; the longer the string is drawn, the sharper issueth the arrow.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The mention of the tribes, rather than Abraham or Moses, is in order that they may not doubt that to them belongs this grace of which Abraham was the depository [CALVIN and JEROME]. MAURER translates, "The spears were glutted with blood, the triumphal song!" that is, no sooner did Jehovah begin the battle by baring His bow, than the spears were glutted with blood and the triumphal song sung.
Thy bow was made quite naked - That is, it was drawn out of its case; as the arrows had their quiver, so the bows had their cases. A fine oriental bow and bow-case, with quiver and arrows, are now before me; they show with what propriety Jehovah is represented as taking his bow out of its case, in order to set his arrow upon the cord, to shoot at his enemies. It is not the drawing out, or making bare the arrow, that is mentioned here; but the taking the bow out of its case to prepare to shoot. This verse appears to be an answer to the questions in the preceding: “Was the Lord displeased,” etc. The answer is, All this was done “according to the oaths of the tribes;” the covenant of God, frequently repeated and renewed, which he made with the tribes, to give them the land of the Canaanites for their inheritance. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers - Or, “Thou didst cleave the streams of the land.” Or, “Thou cleavedst the dry land into rivers.” This may be a reference to the passage of Jordan, and transactions at Arnon and the brook Jabbok. See Num 21:13-15. In this verse we have Selah again, which, as before, may signify a pause, or some alteration in the music.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Mountains saw You and quaked The mountains of the streams of Arnon that cleft to one another.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עֶרְיָ֤ה | ʾeryah | bareness | H6181 → | |
| תֵעוֹר֙ | teor | it is made bare | H5783 → | |
| קַשְׁתֶּ֔ךָ | kashtecha | bow your | H7198 → | |
| שְׁבֻע֥וֹת | shevuot | oaths of | H7621 → | |
| מַטּ֖וֹת | matot | arrows | H4294 → | |
| אֹ֣מֶר | ʾomer | a word | H562 → | |
| סֶ֑לָה | selah | Selah | H5542 → | 74 times |
| נְהָר֖וֹת | neharot | rivers | H5104 → | 119 times |
| תְּבַקַּע־ | tevaka'- | you split open | H1234 → | |
| אָֽרֶץ׃ | ʾaretz | [the] earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
עֶרְיָ֤הbareness
ʾeryahH6181 →
תֵעוֹר֙it is made bare
teorH5783 →
קַשְׁתֶּ֔ךָbow your
kashtechaH7198 →
שְׁבֻע֥וֹתoaths of
shevuotH7621 →
מַטּ֖וֹתarrows
matotH4294 →
אֹ֣מֶרa word
ʾomerH562 →
סֶ֑לָהSelah
selahH5542 →74 times
נְהָר֖וֹתrivers
neharotH5104 →119 times
תְּבַקַּע־you split open
tevaka'-H1234 →
אָֽרֶץ׃[the] earth
ʾaretzH776 →2504 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Psalms 105:41He opened a rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a river in the desert.
it leads to
- Numbers 20:11
Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink.
- 1 Corinthians 10:4
and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
- Exodus 17:6
Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in…
- Isaiah 48:21
They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He made water flow for them from the rock; He split the rock, and water gushed out.
- Psalms 114:8
who turned the rock into a pool, the flint into a fountain of water!
- Numbers 20:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Habakkuk
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on the Song of Habakkuk; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; 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.