Habakkuk 3:13 (YLT)

Passage

Thou hast gone forth for the salvation of Thy people, For salvation with Thine anointed, Thou hast smitten the head of the house of the wicked, Laying bare the foundation unto the neck. Pause!

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 3:11 Sun--moon--hath stood--a habitation, At the light thine arrows go on, At the brightness, the glittering of thy spear.

Habakkuk 3:12 In indignation Thou dost tread earth, In anger Thou dost thresh nations.

Habakkuk 3:13 Thou hast gone forth for the salvation of Thy people, For salvation with Thine anointed, Thou hast smitten the head of the house of the wicked, Laying bare the foundation unto the neck. Pause!

Habakkuk 3:14 Thou hast pierced with his staves the head of his leaders, They are tempestuous to scatter me, Their exultation <FI>is<Fi> as to consume the poor in secret.

Habakkuk 3:15 Thou hast proceeded through the sea with Thy horses--the clay of many waters.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "hast", "gone", "forth", "salvation", "people", and "thine". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "hast", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "In indignation Thou dost tread earth In..." into verse 14's "Thou hast pierced with his staves the...", so "thou" and "hast" 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 "hast" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.