I hear, and my body trembles;
Habakkuk 3:16
my lips quiver at the sound;
rottenness enters into my bones;
my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble
to come upon people who invade us.
Habakkuk began his prayer by telling the Lord he had heard the report of him. This launched the first part of his prayer, proclaiming God’s majesty and power as a mighty warrior. He now begins the second part of the prayer, once again saying that he heard the Lord. What did he hear? The Chaldeans are coming; judgment is near.
Over the next few posts, we will examine his various responses to God’s revelation. This time we will look at the first few lines of verse 16.
Churning Stomach
The ESV (quoted above) says that his body trembles at the news. The word translated “body” is the Hebrew word בֶּטֶן (beten), which is more commonly translated as belly, stomach, or womb. This is stomach-churning news.
Sometimes beten is paired with the word rechem, which is mostly transated as womb. God told Jeremiah, “I formed you in the womb (beten), I knew you in the womb (beten), and before you came forth from the womb (rechem) I consecrated you” (Jeremiah 1:5). The Bible views children as a reward from the Lord, calling them the “fruit of the womb (beten)” (Psalm 127:3, Genesis 30:2, Deuteronomy 7:13). Strangely, this phrase appears for both men and women. God swore to David that “the fruit of your beten” (ESV “One of the sons of your body”) will sit on his throne (Psalm 132:11).
Quivering Lips
Habakkuk says his lips quiver. This verb (צָלַל, tzalal) appears only in three other places as part of the roughly same phrase. When news is heard, “the ears of everyone who hears it will tingle” (1 Samuel 3:11, 2 Kings 21:12, Jeremiah 19:3). In each case, when news of a disaster comes, everyone’s ears will perk up.
Several related words are translated as bells or cymbals. Once again, notice the idea of jingling or vibrating. Zechariah 14:20 talks about bells on horses. 1 Chronicles 15:19 mentions musicians playing bronze cymbals. When David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, they played various instruments to celebrate, including cymbals (2 Samuel 6:5).
Rotten Bones
Habakkuk describes his bones rotting. There are two other passages with a similar phrase: “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, / but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones” (Proverbs 12:4). “A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh,
but envy makes the bones rot” (Proverbs 14:30). This appears to be an idiom for emotional distress.
Trembling Legs
Finally, Habakkuk’s legs tremble (the same Hebrew word for tremble from the first line, which is also found in verse 7). Actually, the literal Hebrew says “my underneath I tremble”. Perhaps this is referring to his legs. Perhaps it’s referring to where he is standing. Either way, as a result, he trembles because of what is under him.
It’s as if the news of the impending destruction has given him shakey feet. Everything under him is no longer stable. His legs give out. What does he have to stand upon?
To Ponder…
How would you respond to hearing about an impending invasion of your home which would destroy your nation? Can you relate to the feeling like your whole world is shaking, inside and out? Are you willing to be honest with God about how you feel like Habakkuk?
What do you think of God for allowing (or causing) such a tragedy to take place? Can you relate to Habakkuk’s response so far?
Stay tuned for more of his reaction because this isn’t the end of it.