The verse falls into two halves, each of which contains two statements which are parallel with each other. In the first half the two statements are I will take my stand to watch and station myself on the tower. Since the two parts are practically the same in meaning, Good News Translation combines them into one as “I will climb my watchtower.” Many translators will wish to follow this example. In saying “my watchtower” rather than the tower, Good News Translation is following the Dead Sea Scroll text (compare Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). The picture given is of a watchman climbing a tower in order to see a long way (compare 2 Sam 18.24; 2 Kgs 9.17). The prophets are often compared with watchmen elsewhere in the Old Testament (compare Isa 21.6-12; Jer 6.17; Ezek 3.17; 33.7; Micah 7.4). “My watchtower” may also be rendered as “the tower which I watch from” or “my look-out point.” It is just possible that, in speaking of a watchtower, Habakkuk is speaking symbolically of waiting for a vision from God. However, it seems much more likely that he is speaking of a real watchtower (perhaps in a vineyard as in Isa 5.2; Mark 12.1), where he went to meditate.
In the second half of the verse, the parallelism is not quite as close in the Hebrew text. In the first statement Habakkuk says he will look forth to see what he (that is, the LORD) will say to me, but in the second statement he continues and what I (that is, the prophet himself) will answer concerning my complaint. My complaint refers to the questions raised by the prophet in 1.12-17. In the second statement the ancient Syriac translation has “what he [that is, the LORD] will answer.” The Syriac seems to be based on a Hebrew text which differs from the traditional text by only one letter. It gives a better parallelism and is followed by Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, as well as by Good News Translation, which has “what the LORD will tell me to say and what answer he will give to my complaint.” However, the traditional Hebrew text makes sense and is followed by New English Bible, New International Version, and Hebrew Old Testament Text Project. If the Hebrew text is followed, the idea is that the prophet will both wait for the LORD’s answer and try to think out the problem for himself. On the whole it seems unnecessary to depart from the Hebrew text. If translators decide to follow the Hebrew text here, but wish to structure the last sentence in a way similar to Good News Translation, they can say “… and what answer I will give to my complaint” or “… and how I will answer my criticism of the LORD.” If, however, translators follow Good News Translation‘s understanding of the text, one may say “… and how he will answer my criticism of him.”
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on the Book of Habakkuk. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1989. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .