Habakkuk 1:7 (ASV)

Passage

They are terrible and dreadful; their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 1:5 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.

Habakkuk 1:6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, that march through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling-places that are not theirs.

Habakkuk 1:7 They are terrible and dreadful; their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.

Habakkuk 1:8 Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves; and their horsemen press proudly on: yea, their horsemen come from far; they fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour.

Habakkuk 1:9 They come all of them for violence; the set of their faces is forwards; and they gather captives as the sand.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "terrible", "dreadful", "judgment", "dignity", "proceed", and "themselves". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "terrible" and "dreadful", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "For lo I raise up the Chaldeans..." into verse 8's "Their horses also are swifter than leopards...", so "terrible" and "dreadful" belong inside that flow. In Habakkuk context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "terrible" and "dreadful" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.