The Meaning of Habakkuk 3:14 Explained

Habakkuk 3:14

KJV: Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.

YLT: Thou hast pierced with his staves the head of his leaders, They are tempestuous to scatter me, Their exultation is as to consume the poor in secret.

Darby: Thou didst strike through with his own spears the head of his leaders: They came out as a whirlwind to scatter me, Whose exulting was as to devour the afflicted secretly.

ASV: Thou didst pierce with his own staves the head of his warriors: They came as a whirlwind to scatter me; Their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Thou didst strike through  with his staves  the head  of his villages:  they came out as a whirlwind  to scatter  me: their rejoicing  [was] as to devour  the poor  secretly. 

What does Habakkuk 3:14 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord used the weapons of His enemies to slay their leaders in retribution. Israel"s enemies had stormed into the Promised Land with great enthusiasm to scatter God"s people, like those who kill oppressed people in secret.

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 3:14 mean?

You thrust through with his own arrows the head of his villages They came out like a whirlwind to scatter me their rejoicing was as like feasting on the poor in secret
נָקַ֤בְתָּ בְמַטָּיו֙ רֹ֣אשׁ [פרזו] (פְּרָזָ֔יו) יִסְעֲר֖וּ לַהֲפִיצֵ֑נִי עֲלִ֣יצֻתָ֔ם כְּמוֹ־ לֶאֱכֹ֥ל עָנִ֖י בַּמִּסְתָּֽר

נָקַ֤בְתָּ  You  thrust  through 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: נָקַב 
Sense: to pierce, perforate, bore, appoint.
בְמַטָּיו֙  with  his  own  arrows 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מַטֶּה  
Sense: staff, branch, tribe.
רֹ֣אשׁ  the  head 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.
(פְּרָזָ֔יו)  his  villages 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: פָּרָז  
Sense: chieftain, leader, warrior.
יִסְעֲר֖וּ  They  came  out  like  a  whirlwind 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: סָעַר  
Sense: to storm, rage.
לַהֲפִיצֵ֑נִי  to  scatter  me 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct, first person common singular
Root: פּוּץ 
Sense: to scatter, be dispersed, be scattered.
עֲלִ֣יצֻתָ֔ם  their  rejoicing  was 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: עֲלִיצֻת  
Sense: exultation.
לֶאֱכֹ֥ל  like  feasting  on 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
עָנִ֖י  the  poor 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: עָנִי  
Sense: poor, afflicted, humble, wretched.
בַּמִּסְתָּֽר  in  secret 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִסְתָּר  
Sense: secret place, hiding place.