Habakkuk 3:15 (YLT)

Passage

Thou hast proceeded through the sea with Thy horses--the clay of many waters.

Nearby Context

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.

Habakkuk 3:16 I have heard, and my belly trembleth, At the noise have my lips quivered, Rottenness doth come into my bones, And in my place I do tremble, That I rest for a day of distress, At the coming up of the people, he overcometh it.

Habakkuk 3:17 Though the fig-tree doth not flourish, And there is no produce among vines, Failed hath the work of the olive, And fields have not yielded food, Cut off from the fold hath been the flock, And there is no herd in the stalls.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "hast", "proceeded", "through", "horses--the", "clay", and "waters". 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 14's "Thou hast pierced with his staves the..." into verse 16's "I have heard and my belly trembleth...", 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.