Habakkuk 3:16 (DBY)

Passage

I heard, and my belly trembled; My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in my place, That I might rest in the day of distress, When their invader shall come up against the people.

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 3:14 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.

Habakkuk 3:15 Thou didst walk through the sea with thy horses, The heap of great waters.

Habakkuk 3:16 I heard, and my belly trembled; My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in my place, That I might rest in the day of distress, When their invader shall come up against the people.

Habakkuk 3:17 For though the fig-tree shall not blossom, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labour of the olive-tree shall fail, And the fields shall yield no food; The flock shall be cut off from the fold, And there shall be no herd in the stalls:

Habakkuk 3:18 Yet I will rejoice in Jehovah, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "heard", "belly", "trembled", "lips", "quivered", "voice", "rottenness", and "entered". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "heard" and "belly", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Thou didst walk through the sea with..." into verse 17's "For though the fig-tree shall not blossom...", so "heard" and "belly" 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 "heard" and "belly" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.