This verse is very similar in thought to Isaiah 11.9, though the wording is not exactly the same. It was the LORD’s will to destroy the building work of verse 13, but in contrast, here is a description of the lasting purpose of God: the earth will eventually be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD (compare Num 14.21). Knowledge here means “understanding of and reverence for.” Glory in this context refers to the “power and greatness of God.”

The expression the waters cover the sea sounds rather odd in English. It is more natural to speak of the water filling the sea, or as Good News Translation expresses it, the sea being “full of water.” In Hebrew, different words are used for filled and cover, but in English, the repeated use of the root “fill” helps to bring out the comparison between the two halves of the verse. Good News Translation does this well with “the earth will be as full of the knowledge of the LORD’s glory as the seas are full of water.”

Alternative translation models for this verse are “But the people of the earth will be full of knowledge about the power and greatness of the LORD, just as the seas are full of water” or “Just as the seas are full of water, so the people of the earth will….” In languages in which it is difficult to speak about people being “full of knowledge,” one may say “Just as the sea has a vast amount of water, so the people of the earth will have a vast amount of knowledge about the power and greatness of the LORD.”

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 .