The Meaning of Habakkuk 3:12 Explained

Habakkuk 3:12

KJV: Thou didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst thresh the heathen in anger.

YLT: In indignation Thou dost tread earth, In anger Thou dost thresh nations.

Darby: Thou didst march through the land in indignation, Thou didst thresh the nations in anger.

ASV: Thou didst march though the land in indignation; Thou didst thresh the nations in anger.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Thou didst march through  the land  in indignation,  thou didst thresh  the heathen  in anger. 

What does Habakkuk 3:12 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord had marched through the earth like a cosmic giant subduing Israel"s enemies. He had trampled hostile nations as an ox does when it treads grain.

Context Summary

Habakkuk 3:1-19 - The Faith That Is Invincible
This psalm was intended to be sung by the captives during the Exile, which was near. In Habakkuk 3:3-15 there is a recital of the great events in the past. First Sinai, then the victories and deliverances of the book of Judges, the passage of the Red Sea and Jordan, the divine vengeance on the oppressors. But the prophet could not contemplate the future of the Chosen People without dismay. He longed to be at rest before those terrible Chaldean hosts burst upon the land. At the close he breaks into a sublime refrain which has been the solace and song of myriads of believers. If all God's gifts failed he would still possess the Giver. He could still triumph in God. Indeed, the divine Savior and Friend is often more apparent when the fields and the farmsteads are bare [source]

Chapter Summary: Habakkuk 3

1  Habakkuk, in his prayer, trembles at God's majesty
17  The confidence of his faith

What do the individual words in Habakkuk 3:12 mean?

In indignation You marched through the land in anger You trampled the nations
בְּזַ֖עַם תִּצְעַד־ אָ֑רֶץ בְּאַ֖ף תָּד֥וּשׁ גּוֹיִֽם

בְּזַ֖עַם  In  indignation 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular
Root: זַעַם  
Sense: anger, indignation.
תִּצְעַד־  You  marched  through 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: צָעַד  
Sense: to step, march, stride.
אָ֑רֶץ  the  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
בְּאַ֖ף  in  anger 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַף 
Sense: nostril, nose, face.
תָּד֥וּשׁ  You  trampled 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: דּוּשׁ  
Sense: to tread out, thresh.
גּוֹיִֽם  the  nations 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.