Habakkuk 3:8 (LSB)

Passage

Did Yahweh’s fury burn against the rivers, Or was Your anger against the rivers, Or was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, On Your chariots of salvation?

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 3:6 He stood and measured out the earth; He looked and startled the nations. So the perpetual mountains were shattered; The ancient hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting.

Habakkuk 3:7 I saw the tents of Cushan under wickedness; The tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling.

Habakkuk 3:8 Did Yahweh’s fury burn against the rivers, Or was Your anger against the rivers, Or was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, On Your chariots of salvation?

Habakkuk 3:9 Your bow was made bare; Rods were sworn unto battle by word. Selah. You split the earth with rivers.

Habakkuk 3:10 The mountains saw You and writhed; The downpour of waters passed by. The deep gave forth its voice; It lifted high its hands.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "yahweh", "fury", "burn", "against", "rivers", and "anger". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "yahweh" and "fury", 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 under..." into verse 9's "Your bow was made bare Rods were...", so "yahweh" and "fury" 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 "yahweh" and "fury" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.