Habakkuk Chapter 3 verse 11 Holy Bible
The sun and moon stood still in their habitation, At the light of thine arrows as they went, At the shining of thy glittering spear.
read chapter 3 in ASV
At the light of your arrows they went away, at the shining of your polished spear.
read chapter 3 in BBE
The sun [and] moon stood still in their habitation, At the light of thine arrows which shot forth, -- At the shining of thy glittering spear.
read chapter 3 in DARBY
The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.
read chapter 3 in KJV
read chapter 3 in WBT
The sun and moon stood still in the sky, At the light of your arrows as they went, At the shining of your glittering spear.
read chapter 3 in WEB
Sun -- moon -- hath stood -- a habitation, At the light thine arrows go on, At the brightness, the glittering of thy spear.
read chapter 3 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 11. - The sun and moon stood still in their habitation; or, stand still, or withdraw into their habitation. They hide themselves in the tabernacles whence they are said to emerge when they shine (Psalm 19:4, etc.). Overpowered with the splendour of God's presence, the heavenly luminaries hide their light in this day of the Lord (comp. Isaiah 13:10; Joel 2:2, 10, 31; Joel 3:15; Amos 5:20; Matthew 24:29). The miracle of Joshua (Joshua 10:12, etc.) may have suggested some of the language here, but the idea is quite different. At the light of thine arrows they went; i.e. the sun and moon fled away discomfited at the glory of God's weapons, his arrows gleaming with light. The idea may be that, in the absence of the sun and moon, the terrific scene was illuminated only by flashes of lightning. "Lightnings" are sometimes celled God's "arrows," as in Psalm 18:14; Psalm 77:17, etc.; but the image here is rather of the arms of a warrior. Many supply the relative in the sentence, and render, "arrows which shoot along." This seems to be unnecessary, and is not supported by the versions. There is no special reference to the hailstorm at Beth-horon, which discomfited the Cananites, but enabled the Israelites to pass on to victory (Joshua, loc. cit.). It is the terror of the judgment that is adumbrated, when the Lord shall come in flames of fire (2 Thessalonians 1:8), and the heavens shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat (2 Peter 3:12).
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(11) The sun and moon stand still in their habitation--scil., where they were at the beginning of the judgment. Here, of course, Habakkuk has in mind Joshua 10:12-13. The rest of the verse is best rendered, at the light of Thine arrows which go abroad, at the bright glancing of Thy spear. Apparently, the conception is that the surpassing brightness of the theophany shames the heavenly bodies, which accordingly cease to pursue their journey.
