Habakkuk 3:14 (ASV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 3:12 Thou didst march though the land in indignation; Thou didst thresh the nations in anger.

Habakkuk 3:13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, For the salvation of thine anointed; Thou woundest the head out of the house of the wicked man, Laying bare the foundation even unto the neck. Selah.

Habakkuk 3:14 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.

Habakkuk 3:15 Thou didst tread the sea with thy horses, The heap of mighty waters.

Habakkuk 3:16 I heard, and my body trembled, My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entereth into my bones, and I tremble in my place; Because I must wait quietly for the day of trouble, For the coming up of the people that invadeth us.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "didst", "pierce", "staves", "head", "warriors", "came", and "whirlwind". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "didst", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Thou wentest forth for the salvation of..." into verse 15's "Thou didst tread the sea with thy...", so "thou" and "didst" 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 "thou" and "didst" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.