The Meaning of Habakkuk 1:5 Explained

Habakkuk 1:5

KJV: Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.

YLT: Look ye on nations, and behold and marvel greatly. For a work He is working in your days, Ye do not believe though it is declared.

Darby: See ye among the nations, and behold, and wonder marvellously; for I work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be declared to you.

ASV: Behold ye among the nations, and look, and wonder marvellously; for I am working a work in your days, which ye will not believe though it be told you.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Behold  ye among the heathen,  and regard,  and wonder  marvellously:  for [I] will work  a work  in your days,  [which] ye will not believe,  though it be told  [you]. 

What does Habakkuk 1:5 Mean?

Study Notes

for I will work
Habakkuk 1:5 anticipates the dispersion "among the nations" (cf) Deuteronomy 28:64-67 . While Israel as a nation is thus dispersed, Jehovah will "work a work" which Israel "will not believe." Acts 13:37-41 , interprets this prediction of the redemptive work of Christ. It is significant that Paul quotes this to Jews of the dispersion in the synagogue at Antioch.

Verse Meaning

The Lord told Habakkuk and his people (plural "you" in Hebrew) to direct their attention away from what was happening in Judah to what was happening in the larger arena of ancient Near Eastern activity. They were to observe something there that would astonish them and make them marvel. They would see that God was doing something in their days that they would not believe if someone just told them about it.
"The Apostle Paul, quoting from the LXX on this verse, applies the principle of God"s dealings in Habakkuk"s day to the situation in the church in his own day ( Acts 13:41). No doubt God"s work of calling the Gentiles into his church would be just as astonishing as his work of using the Babylonian armies to punish Judah." [1]

Context Summary

Habakkuk 1:1-17 - The Apparent Prosperity Of The Wicked
Habakkuk probably lived toward the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, when the Chaldeans were preparing to invade the land. Jerusalem was filled with wickedness. Crimes of violence and lawlessness had become so numerous that the prophet was appalled at the sight. He could only point to the fate of other nations, which must also befall Judah unless the people repented. Paul quotes Habakkuk 1:5 in Acts 13:41. The Chaldeans are compared to the leopard, the evening wolf, and the east wind. The prophet turns to Jehovah in an agony of expostulation and entreaty. Was He not from everlasting? Was He not Israel's Rock? The prophet's solace is the reflection, "We shall not die." An ancient reading is, "Thou canst not die." We are reminded of Revelation 1:18. O thou undying, unchanging, life-giving Savior, we cling to thee amid the storms that sweep the world, as limpets to the rock. [source]

Chapter Summary: Habakkuk 1

1  Unto Habakkuk, complaining of the iniquity of the land,
5  is shown the fearful vengeance by the Chaldeans
12  He complains that vengeance should be executed by them who are far worse

What do the individual words in Habakkuk 1:5 mean?

Look among the nations and watch and Be astounded utterly for [I will] work a work in your days not [Which] you would believe though it were told [you]
רְא֤וּ בַגּוֹיִם֙ וְֽהַבִּ֔יטוּ וְהִֽתַּמְּה֖וּ ! תְּמָ֑הוּ כִּי־ פֹ֙עַל֙ פֹּעֵ֣ל בִּֽימֵיכֶ֔ם לֹ֥א תַאֲמִ֖ינוּ כִּ֥י יְסֻפָּֽר

רְא֤וּ  Look 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
בַגּוֹיִם֙  among  the  nations 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
וְֽהַבִּ֔יטוּ  and  watch 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: נָבַט  
Sense: to look, regard.
וְהִֽתַּמְּה֖וּ  and  Be  astounded 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hitpael, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: תָּמַהּ  
Sense: to be astounded, be stunned, be amazed, be dumbfounded.
! תְּמָ֑הוּ  utterly 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: תָּמַהּ  
Sense: to be astounded, be stunned, be amazed, be dumbfounded.
פֹ֙עַל֙  [I  will]  work 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: פֹּעַל  
Sense: work, deed, doing.
פֹּעֵ֣ל  a  work 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: פָּעַל  
Sense: to do, make.
בִּֽימֵיכֶ֔ם  in  your  days 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine plural
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
תַאֲמִ֖ינוּ  [Which]  you  would  believe 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, second person masculine plural
Root: אָמַן 
Sense: to support, confirm, be faithful.
כִּ֥י  though 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
יְסֻפָּֽר  it  were  told  [you] 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סָפַר 
Sense: to count, recount, relate.