Habakkuk 3:4 (WEB)

Passage

His splendor is like the sunrise. Rays shine from his hand, where his power is hidden.

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 3:2 Yahweh, I have heard of your fame. I stand in awe of your deeds, Yahweh. Renew your work in the middle of the years. In the middle of the years make it known. In wrath, you remember mercy.

Habakkuk 3:3 God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and his praise filled the earth.

Habakkuk 3:4 His splendor is like the sunrise. Rays shine from his hand, where his power is hidden.

Habakkuk 3:5 Plague went before him, and pestilence followed his feet.

Habakkuk 3:6 He stood, and shook the earth. He looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains were crumbled. The age-old hills collapsed. His ways are eternal.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "splendor", "like", "sunrise", "rays", "shine", "hand", "where", and "power". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "splendor" and "like", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "God came from Teman the Holy One..." into verse 5's "Plague went before him and pestilence followed...", so "splendor" and "like" 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 "splendor" and "like" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.