Habakkuk 3:9 (YLT)

Passage

Utterly naked Thou dost make Thy bow, Sworn are the tribes--saying, `Pause!' <FI>With<Fi> rivers Thou dost cleave the earth.

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 3:7 Under sorrow I have seen tents of Cushan, Tremble do curtains of the land of Midian.

Habakkuk 3:8 Against rivers hath Jehovah been wroth? Against rivers <FI>is<Fi> Thine anger? Against the sea <FI>is<Fi> Thy wrath? For Thou dost ride on Thy horses--Thy chariots of salvation?

Habakkuk 3:9 Utterly naked Thou dost make Thy bow, Sworn are the tribes--saying, `Pause!' <FI>With<Fi> rivers Thou dost cleave the earth.

Habakkuk 3:10 Seen thee--pained are mountains, An inundation of waters hath passed over, Given forth hath the deep its voice, High its hands it hath lifted up.

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "utterly", "naked", "thou", "dost", "make", "sworn", "tribes--saying", and "pause". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "utterly" and "naked", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Against rivers hath Jehovah been wroth Against..." into verse 10's "Seen thee--pained are mountains An inundation of...", so "utterly" and "naked" 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 "utterly" and "naked" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.