the Week of Proper 25 / Ordinary 30
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Habakkuk 3:2
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Lord , I have heard the news about you. I am amazed, Lord , at the powerful things you did in the past. Now I pray that you will do great things in our time. Please make these things happen in our own days. But in your anger, remember to show mercy to us. Selah
LORD, I have heard the report about You, and I was afraid. LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known. In anger remember mercy.
Lord , I have heard the news about you; I am amazed at what you have done. Lord , do great things once again in our time; make those things happen again in our own days. Even when you are angry, remember to be kind.
O Yahweh, I have heard the report of you, and am afraid: O Yahweh, revive your work in the midst of the years; In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
O LORD, I have heard thy speech, [and] was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.
O LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath [earnestly] remember compassion and love.
O Lord , I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord , do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.
Yahweh, I have heard of your fame. I stand in awe of your deeds, Yahweh. Renew your work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years make it known. In wrath, you remember mercy.
Lord, it is thi werk, in the myddil of yeeris quykene thou it. In the middil of yeeris thou schalt make knowun; whanne thou schalt be wrooth, thou schalt haue mynde of mercy.
O LORD, I have heard the report of thee, and am afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.
O LORD, I have heard the report of You; I stand in awe, O LORD, of Your deeds. Revive them in these years; make them known in these years. In Your wrath, remember mercy!
I know your reputation, Lord , and I am amazed at what you have done. Please turn from your anger and be merciful; do for us what you did for our ancestors.
O Jehovah, I have heard the report of thee, and am afraid: O Jehovah, revive thy work in the midst of the years; In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
O Lord, word of you has come to my ears; I have seen your work, O Lord; when the years come near make it clear; in wrath keep mercy in mind.
Adonai , I have heard the report about you. Adonai , I am awed by your deeds. Bring your work to life in our own age, make it known in our own time; but in anger, remember compassion.
Jehovah, I heard the report of thee, [and] I feared. Jehovah, revive thy work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make [it] known: In wrath remember mercy!
O LORD, I have heard the report of Thee, and am afraid; O LORD, revive Thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember compassion.
O Lord, I haue heard thy speach, and was afraide: O Lord, reuiue thy worke in the midst of the yeeres, in the midst of the yeeres make knowen; in wrath remember mercy.
O Lord, I have heard of what You have done, and I am filled with fear. O Lord, do again in our times the great things which You have done before. Remember to show loving-kindness, even when You are angry.
O Lord , I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe, O Lord , of your work. In our own time revive it; in our own time make it known; in wrath may you remember mercy.
O Lord, I haue heard thy voyce, and was afraide: O Lord, reuiue thy worke in the mids of the people, in the mids of the yeeres make it knowen: in wrath remember mercy.
O LORD, I have heard thy name and am afraid. O LORD, thy works are in the midst of the years of life, in the midst of years they shall be known; in wrath remember thy mercy.
O Yahweh, I have heard tidings of thee, I am afraid. O Yahweh! Thy work - in the midst of the years, O revive it, in the midst of the years, wilt thou make known? In trouble, wilt thou remember, compassion?
O Lord, I have heard thy hearing, and was afraid. O Lord, thy work, in the midst of the years bring it to life: In the midst of the years thou shalt make it known: when thou art angry, thou wilt remember mercy.
O LORD, I have heard the report of thee, and thy work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years renew it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.
O lord I haue heard thy voyce, and was afrayde: O Lorde reuiue thy worke in the middes of the yeres, in the middes of the yeres make it knowen, in wrath remember mercie.
O Lord, I have heard thy report, and was afraid: I considered thy works, and was amazed: thou shalt be known between the two living creatures, thou shalt be acknowledged when the years draw nigh; thou shalt be manifested when the time is come; when my soul is troubled, thou wilt in wrath remember mercy.
O Lord , I have heard of what you have done, and I am filled with awe. Now do again in our times the great deeds you used to do. Be merciful, even when you are angry.
Lord, I have heard the report about you;Lord, I stand in awe of your deeds.Revive your work in these years;make it known in these years.In your wrath remember mercy!
LORD, I have heard of your fame. I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD. Renew your work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years make it known. In wrath, you remember mercy.
O Lord , I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord , revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.
O Yahweh, I have heard the report of you; O Yahweh, I stand in awe of your works. In the midst of the years, revive it! In the midst of the years, make it known! In wrath, may you remember to show compassion.
Jehovah, I have heard Your report; I am afraid, Jehovah. Give new life to Your work in the midst of years, in the midst of years make known; in anger remember compassion.
O Jehovah, I heard thy report, I have been afraid, O Jehovah, Thy work! in midst of years revive it, In the midst of years Thou makest known In anger Thou dost remember mercy.
O Lorde, when I herde speake of ye, I was afrayed. The worke yt thou hast taken in honde, shalt thou perfourme in his tyme, O LORDE: and when thy tyme commeth, thou shalt declare it. In thy very wrath thou thinkest vpon mercy.
Lord , I have heard the report of what you did; I am awed, Lord , by what you accomplished. In our time repeat those deeds; in our time reveal them again. But when you cause turmoil, remember to show us mercy!
O LORD, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
O Yahweh, I have heard the report about You, and I fear.O Yahweh, revive Your work in the midst of the years;In the midst of the years make it known;In rage remember compassion.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
I have: Habakkuk 3:16, Habakkuk 1:5-10, Exodus 9:20, Exodus 9:21, 2 Chronicles 34:27, 2 Chronicles 34:28, Job 4:12-21, Psalms 119:120, Isaiah 66:2, Jeremiah 36:21-24, Daniel 8:17, Hebrews 11:7, Hebrews 12:21, Revelation 15:4
speech: Heb. report, or hearing, Isaiah 53:1, Romans 10:16
O Lord: Ezra 9:8, Psalms 85:6, Psalms 90:13-17, Psalms 138:7, Psalms 138:8, Isaiah 51:9-11, Isaiah 63:15-19, Isaiah 64:1-4, Hosea 6:2, Hosea 6:3, John 10:10, Philippians 1:6
revive: or, preserve alive
in the: Jeremiah 25:11, Jeremiah 25:12, Jeremiah 52:31-34, Daniel 9:2
in wrath: Exodus 32:10-12, Numbers 14:10-23, Numbers 16:46, Numbers 16:47, 2 Samuel 24:10-17, Psalms 6:1, Psalms 6:2, Psalms 38:1, Psalms 78:38, Jeremiah 10:24, Jeremiah 29:10, Lamentations 3:32, Zechariah 1:12
Reciprocal: Genesis 8:1 - God remembered Exodus 9:19 - and gather Numbers 12:15 - till Miriam Judges 20:47 - six hundred 2 Samuel 24:16 - repented 1 Kings 11:34 - Howbeit 1 Chronicles 21:13 - great Ezra 9:13 - less Nehemiah 4:2 - revive Psalms 77:10 - the years Psalms 90:16 - Let Psalms 103:10 - dealt Psalms 143:11 - Quicken Isaiah 1:9 - left Isaiah 64:9 - wroth Jeremiah 46:28 - correct Lamentations 5:1 - Remember Lamentations 5:21 - Turn Jonah 1:17 - the Lord Habakkuk 1:12 - we Philippians 2:27 - but on
Cross-References
They spit venom like deadly snakes; they are like cobras that refuse to listen,
Gill's Notes on the Bible
O Lord, I have heard thy speech, [and] was afraid,.... Or, "thy hearing" p; which the Lord had caused to be heard from and of himself; the report that had been made to him, and other prophets before him, particularly Isaiah, who says, "who hath believed our report?" Isaiah 53:1 where the same phrase is used as here: though it seems here not so much to regard the evangelical part of that report, concerning the coming of Christ, his sufferings and death, in order obtain redemption and salvation for his people; for this would have been, and was, matter of joy, and not of fear and consternation: but the truth is this, the Lord in the preceding speech, being a report he made to the prophet concerning the Messiah, had signified that Christ would have many enemies from the Jews and from the Gentiles, from Rome Pagan and Rome Papal; that the church of Christ would meet with great afflictions and persecutions, and be attended with many conflicts, temptations, and difficulties; that the interest of the Redeemer would be sometimes very low, and the work of the Lord at a stand in the world, yea, seemingly dead, quite lost and gone; this is what caused the fear and distress in the prophet's mind, and gave him that pain and uneasiness: and hence the following petition,
O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years; which refers not to the deliverance from the Babylonish captivity, which was fixed to a term of years, when, and not before, not in the midst of them it would be wrought; but to the great work of the Lord in the times of the Gospel. There is a double reading of these words in the Septuagint version of them, and both very different from the Hebrew text. The one is, "in the midst of two lives thou shalt be known"; the life that now is, and that which is to come. The other, by a change of the accent, is, "in the midst of two animals thou shall be known"; so the Arabic version. Theodoret makes mention of both, and inclines to the former;
"some (he says) by two animals understand angels and men; some the incorporeal powers near the divine Glory, the cherubim and seraphim; others the Jews and Babylonians; but to me it seems that the prophet does not say animals, but lives, the present and future, in the midst of which he was a just Judge:''
but the latter reading is followed by many of the ancients, whose different senses are given by Jerom on the place; some interpreting them of the Son and Spirit, by whom the Father is made known; others of the two cherubim in Exodus, and of the two seraphim in Isaiah; and there were some who understood them of the two Testaments, the Old and New, in the midst of which the Lord may be known; and others of Christ's being crucified between two thieves, by which be might be known: but, besides these different sentiments, many of the ancients concluded from hence that Christ lay in the manger between two animals, the ox and the ass, and to which they refer in their ancient hymns q; but though this is a wrong version of the text, and a wrong sense which is put upon it, together with Isaiah 1:3; yet, as Burkius observes, there is in this mistake a certain and ancient truth, that the text of Habakkuk belongs to the work of God in Christ, and especially to the nativity of our Lord Jesus; and so some later writers apply this to the wonderful work of the incarnation of Christ, that new, unheard of, and amazing thing the Lord would work in the earth; the promise of which, being delayed, might seem to be dead; and therefore it is entreated it might be revived, and the performance of it hastened; and others to the work of redemption by Christ, which the Father gave him to do, and he promised to come and perform; but, being deferred, the Old Testament saints were impatient of it. Cocceius and Van Till restrain it to the resurrection of Christ from the dead, his coming being prophesied of before; and render the words, "O Lord, thy work is his life r, in the midst of the years"; the resurrection of Christ from the dead, or the quickening of him, is prophesied of in many places as a work that would be done, and in which the hope and expectation of the saints were placed; this being a work of great importance both to Christ, his exaltation and glory, and to his people; their quickening together with him; their regeneration, or passing from death to life; their justification of life, and resurrection from the dead, depending upon it; and this is the Lord's work, and owing to the exceeding greatness of his power, and is frequently ascribed to God the Father, who raised Christ from the dead, and gave him glory: and this was "in the midst of the years", or between the years of the Old and of the New Testament; the former was the year of God's longsuffering and forbearance, the time when the Jewish church, like children, were under governors and tutors, until the time appointed of the Father; the latter is the acceptable year of the Lord, and the year of the redeemed; and between these two years, at the end of the one, and the beginning of the other, the Messiah came, was cut off or died, and was quickened and raised again: but I should choose rather to understand this more generally of the work of the Lord in the Christian churches throughout the whole Gospel dispensation, or at least in some certain periods of it. The church itself is the work of the hands of the Lord, Isaiah 45:11 which sometimes has seemed to have been in a very dead and lifeless state and condition, as in the dark times of Popery; and though there was a reviving of it upon the Reformation, yet there has been a decline since; and the Sardian church state, in which we now are, is described as having a "name", that it "lives", and yet is "dead"; and the interest of religion, and the church of Christ, will be lower still when the witnesses are slain, and their dead bodies lie unburied, before the Spirit of the Lord enters into them, and revives them: now the prophet having in view these various intervals, and especially the last, prays for a reviving of the interest and church of Christ, and the work of the Lord in it; and which will be done when Christ will come in a spiritual manner, and destroy antichrist; when the Spirit will be poured down plentifully from on high; when the Gospel will be purely and powerfully preached all over the world; when the ordinances of it will be administered as at the beginning; when multitudes of churches will be raised and formed, the Jews will be converted, and the fulness of the Gentiles brought in: this will be a reviving time indeed! and there never will be a thorough one till this time comes; and this will be in "the midst of the years"; between the years of the reign of antichrist, the 1260 days or years of it, which will now expire, and the thousand years of Christ's personal reign on earth; between these two will be this reviving time or spiritual reign of Christ s. The words may to good purpose be applied to the work of grace in the hearts of true believers in Christ, which is the Lord's work, and his only; not men, not ministers, not angels, but Jehovah only is the author and finisher of it. This sometimes seems as it were to be dead, when the graces of the Spirit are not in exercise; when saints are in dead and lifeless frames of soul; when they are backward to spiritual and religious exercises; when the world, and the things of it, have got power over them, and they are unconcerned for the things of Christ, the honour of his name, and the good of their own souls; when they are under the power of some sin, and are carried captive by it, as was the case of David, Peter, and others: now this work is revived, when the graces of the Spirit are called forth again into lively exercise; when the affections go out strongly after divine objects and things; when the thoughts of the mind, and the meditations of the heart, are on spiritual subjects; when the talk and conversation turns chiefly on things of a religious and heavenly nature; when there is a forwardness to spiritual exercises, a stirring up of themselves and others to them, and a continuance in them; when there is a visible growing in grace, and a fruitfulness in every good work: this is to be prayed for, and is from the Lord; and is owing to his setting his hand a second time to the work; to his being as the dew to his people; to Christ the sun of righteousness arising on them, with healing in his wings; and to the south wind of the Spirit blowing upon them, and causing their spices to flow out; and this is desirable in the midst of their years, before the years come on in which they have no pleasure, or before they go hence, and be no more:
in the midst of the years make known; which Cocceius and Van Till restrain to the notification of Christ's resurrection from the dead by the ministry of the Gospel, for the benefit of the Lord's people, both Jews and Gentiles; as being a matter of great consequence to them, and for the confirmation of the Christian religion, as it undoubtedly was: but it seems better to understand it in a more general sense, that God would make known more of himself, as the covenant God and Father of his people, of his mind and will, of his love, grace, and mercy in Christ; that he would make known more of Christ, of his person, offices, and grace; that he would make known more clearly the work of his Spirit and grace upon their hearts, and display his power, and the efficacy of his grace, in reviving it, and carrying it on; that he would make known more largely his covenant and promises, his truth and faithfulness in the performance of them; that he would grant a larger measure of knowledge of all divine things of the Gospel, and the truths of it; such as is promised, and is expected will be in the latter day, when the earth shall be everywhere filled with the knowledge of the Lord, Habakkuk 2:14:
in wrath remember mercy; the above interpreters refer this to the time of God's wrath and vengeance upon the Jewish nation for their rejection of the Messiah; and which the prophet does not pray might be averted, but that mercy might be remembered to his own people among them, as was; who had the Gospel first preached to them, and were called by grace and saved; and who had an opportunity given them of escaping from Jerusalem, before the destruction of that city: but it may be more agreeable to interpret this of the state of the churches of Christ and true believers; who, when under affliction and distress, or in temptation and desertion, are ready to conclude that God is dealing with them in wrath; and whom the prophet personates, and by him they are taught to pray, that at such seasons God would remember his covenant, his promises, his lovingkindness and tender mercies, the favour he bears to his own people, and smile on them again, and comfort their souls.
p שמעך "tuam auditionem", V. L. Burkius; "tuum auditum", Pagninus, Montanus; "rumorem", Tarnovius. q "Agnoscat bos et asinus Jacentem in praesepio." And again, "Cognovit bos et asinus, Quod paer erat Dominus." r Taking חייהו for חייו, as ידיהו for ידיו in ver. 10. So Ben Melech observes it may be taken. s The Targum interprets these years of the time in which God will renew the world.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
O Lord, I have heard - i. e., with the inward ear of the heart, “Thy speech,” (rather as English margin, Thy report, i. e., the report of Thee) i. e., what may he heard and known of God, or, what he had himself heard . The word contains in one both what God had lately declared to the prophet, the judgments of God upon the wicked of the people, and upon those who, with their own injustice, done upon them the righteous judgments of God, and that the work of the Lord would be performed in His time for those who in patience wait for it; and also still more largely, what might be heard of God, although, as it were, but a little whisper of His greatness and of the majesty of His workings.
And was afraid - not “fearful” but “afraid in awe,” as a creature, and amazed at the surpassing wonderfulness of the work of God. Well may man stand in awe “at the incarnation of the only-begotten Son, how earth should contain Him uncontained by space, how a body was prepared for Him of the virgin by the Holy Spirit, and all the works whereby He shall work the salvation of mankind, the cross, the death, resurrection and ascension, uniting things opposite, a body with one incorporeal, death with life, resurrection with death, a body in heaven. All is full of wonder and awe.” Rup.: “This is not a servile fear, but a holy fear which endureth forever, not one which ‘love casteth out,’ but which it bringeth in, wherein angels praise, dominions adore, powers stand in awe at the majesty of the Eternal God.”
O Lord, revive Thy work - God’s Word seems, often, as it were, dead and “come utterly to an end for evermore” Psalms 77:8, while it is holding on its own course, as all nature seems dead for a while, but all is laid up in store, and ready to shoot forth, as by a sort of resurrection Rup.: “The prophet prophesying prayeth, that it should come quickly, and praying prophesieth that it shall so come.” All God’s dealings with His people, His Church, each single soul, are part of one great work, perfect in itself Deuteronomy 32:4; glory and majesty Psalms 140:3; all which the godly meditateth on Psalms 77:3; Psalms 143:5; which those busied with their own plans, do not look to Isaiah 5:12; it is manifested in great doings for them or with them, as in the Exodus the Psalmist says, “We have heard with our ears, yea, our fathers have told us what work Thou didst in their days, in the times of old” Psalms 44:2; “They proved Me and saw My work” Psalms 95:9; with it He makes His own glad Psalms 92:3; after it has been withdrawn for a while, “He sheweth it to His servants” Psalms 90:6; it issues in judgments on the ungodly, which people consider and declare .
The great work of God on earth, which includes all His works and is the end of all, is the salvation of man through Jesus Christ. This great work seemed, as it were, asleep, or dead, as trees in winter, all through those 4,000 years, which gave no token of His coming. Included in this great work is the special work of the Hand of God, of which alone it is said, “God said, Let Us make man in Our image after Our Likeness” Genesis 1:26; and, “we are the clay and Thou our Potter, and we are all the work of Thy Hands” Isaiah 64:8; and “Thy Hands have made me and fashioned me together round about” Job 10:8, man; whom, being dead as to the life of the soul through the malice of Satan, Christ revived by dying and rising again. He was “dead in trespasses and sins,” and like a carcass putrefying in them, and this whole world one great charnel-house, through man’s manifold corruptions, when Christ came to awaken the dead, and they who heard lived John 5:25.
Again, the Center of this work, the special Work of God, that wherein He made all things new, is the Human Body of our Lord, the Temple which was destroyed by death, and within three days was raised up.
The answer to Habakkuk’s enquiry, “How long?” had two sides: It had given assurance as to the end. The trial-time would not be prolonged for one moment longer than the counsel of God had fore-determined. The relief would “come, come; it would not be behind-hand.” But meantime? There was no comfort to be given. For God knew that deepening sin was drawing on deepening chastisement. But in that He was silent as to the intervening time and pointed to patient expectation of a lingering future, as their only comfort, He implies that the immediate future was heavy. Habakkuk then renews his prayer for the years which had to intervene and to pass away. “In the midst of the years,” before that “time appointed” , when His promise should have its full fulfillment, before those years should come to their close, he prays; “revive Thy work.” The years include all the long period of waiting for our Lord’s first coming before He came in the Flesh; and now for His second coming and the “restitution of all things.” in this long period, at times God seems to be absent, as when our Lord was asleep in the boat, while the tempest was raging; at times He bids “the storm to cease and there is a great calm.”
This, in those long intervals, when God seems to be absent, and to leave all things to time and chance, and love waxes cold, and graces seem rare, is the prayer of Habakkuk, of prophets and Psalmists, of the Church Psalms 80:14, “Return, we beseech Thee, O God of hosts, look down from heaven, behold and visit this vine Psalms 74:1, Psalms 74:11-12. O God, why hast Thou cast us off forever? Why withdrawest Thou Thy hand, Thy right hand? For God is my king of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. Isaiah 51:9-10 awake, awake, put on strength, Thou Arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not It which did smite Rahab, didst wound the dragon? Art thou not It which didst dry the sea, the waters of the great deep, which didst make the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? Psalms 80:3. Stir up Thy might and come, save us Lamentations 5:21. Renew our days, as of old.” So our Lord taught His Church to pray continually, whenever she prayed, “Thy kingdom come,” longing not for His final coming only, but for the increase of His glory, and the greater dominion of His grace, and His enthronement in the hearts of people, even before its complete and final coming. “In the midst of the years revive Thy work,” is the Church’s continual cry.
In the midst of the years make known - literally, “Thou wilt make known: in wrath Thou wilt remember mercy;” and so (as we use the word “wilt”) the prophet, at once, foretelleth, expresseth his faith, prayeth. God had made known His work and His power in the days of old. In times of trouble He seems “like a God who hideth Himself.” Now, he prays Him to shine forth and help; make known Thy work, before Thou fulfill it, to revive the drooping hopes of man, and that all may see that “Thy word is truth.” Make Thyself known in Thy work, that, when the time cometh to Daniel 9:24 “make an end of sin” by the Death of Thy Son, Thy Awful Holiness, and the love wherewith Thou hast John 3:16 “so loved the world,” may be the more known and adored.
In wrath Thou wilt remember mercy - So David prayed Psalms 25:6, “Remember Thy tender-mercies and Thy loving-kindnesses; for they are from old.” “Thou wilt remember” that counsel for man’s redemption which has been from the foundation of the world: for we seem in our own minds to be forgotten of God, when He delayeth to help us. God remembereth mercy Luke 1:54, Luke 1:72 in anger, in that in this life He never chastens without purposes of mercy, and His Mercy ever softeneth His judgments. His Promise of mercy, that the Seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head, went before the sentence of displeasure Genesis 3:19, “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Jerome: “He reveals His wrath that He may scare us from sin and so may not inflict it;” and when at last He inflicteth it, He hath mercy on the remnant who flee to His Mercy, that we be not like Sodom and Gomorrah. Romans 5:8, “while we were yet sinners,” and God was angry, “Christ died for us,” and, Titus 3:5, “He saved us, not for works which we had done, but out of His great Mercy,” and took away sin, and restored us to life and interruption.
God had already promised by Micah Micah 7:15, “According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt, I will show him marvelous things.” Isaiah had often used the great events of that deliverance as the symbols of the future. So now Habakkuk, in one vast panorama, as it were, without distinction of time or series of events, exhibits the future in pictures of the past. In the description itself which follows, he now speaks in the past, now in the future; of which times the future might be a vivid present; and the past a prophetic past. As a key to the whole, he says, “God shall come,” indicating that all which follows, however spoken, was a part of that future. In no other way was it an answer to that prayer, “Revive Thy work.” To foretell future deliverances in plain words, had been a comfort; it would have promised a continuance of that work. The unity and revival of the work is expressed, in that the past is made, as it was, the image of the future. That future was to be wondrous, superhuman; elsewhere the past miracles had been no image of it. It was to be no mere repetition of the future; and to mark this, the images are exhibited out of their historical order.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Habakkuk 3:2. In the midst of the years — בקרב שנים bekereb shanim, "As the years approach." The nearer the time, the clearer and fuller is the prediction; and the signs of the times show that the complete fulfilment is at hand. But as the judgments will be heavy, (and they are not greater than we deserve,) yet, Lord, in the midst of wrath - infliction of punishment - remember mercy, and spare the souls that return unto thee with humiliation and prayer.
