Habakkuk 3:8 (DBY)

Passage

Was Jehovah wrathful with the rivers? Was thine anger against the rivers? Was thy rage against the sea, That thou didst ride upon thy horses, Thy chariots of salvation?

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 3:6 He stood, and measured the earth; He beheld, and discomfited the nations; And the eternal mountains were scattered, The everlasting hills gave way: His ways are everlasting.

Habakkuk 3:7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; The curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

Habakkuk 3:8 Was Jehovah wrathful with the rivers? Was thine anger against the rivers? Was thy rage against the sea, That thou didst ride upon thy horses, Thy chariots of salvation?

Habakkuk 3:9 Thy bow was made naked, The rods [of discipline] sworn according to [thy] word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.

Habakkuk 3:10 The mountains saw thee, they were in travail: Torrents of waters passed by; The deep uttered its voice, Lifted up its hands on high.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jehovah", "wrathful", "rivers", "thine", "anger", "against", and "rage". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jehovah" and "wrathful", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "I saw the tents of Cushan in..." into verse 9's "Thy bow was made naked The rods...", so "jehovah" and "wrathful" 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 "jehovah" and "wrathful" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.