Just as verse 2 introduced the theophany with a prayer in the first person, so verse 16 concludes the theophany with a statement of the prophet’s response, again in the first person. This link is also explicit in the repetition of the verb hear in verses 2 and 16. For possible ways of indicating the relationship between the two verses, see the discussion of indentation at verse 8.
I hear, and my body trembles: the object of I hear is the sound of the storm which accompanied the presence of God (verses 3-15). Good News Translation makes this clear by saying “I hear all this.” The trembling is the result of the hearing, the involuntary reaction of a human being to the deep experience of God’s majesty and power. In some languages one may need to say “I hear all this, and so I tremble” or “I hear the sounds of the storm, and so I tremble.”
The Hebrew word translated body in Revised Standard Version is literally “belly” (King James Version, Revised Version, New English Bible). Because this sounds undignified in English, Revised Standard Version has used the more general term body (compare Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible), while Good News Translation simply says “I.” In some languages it may be perfectly natural to speak of the “belly” here. In others, perhaps some other organ such as the heart, liver, or kidneys will be more natural. It certainly helps to make the passage sound more vivid and poetic if some specific part of the body is mentioned. New International Version does this in English with “my heart pounded.” New Jerusalem Bible attempts it with “my bowels quaked,” but this is both old fashioned and rather coarse. Translators should avoid any expression like this which makes it sound as if Habakkuk had a sudden attack of diarrhea!
My lips quiver at the sound: Good News Translation makes the cause explicit by saying “my lips quiver with fear.” Again, if necessary, one can substitute some similar action which is considered to show fear, such as “my teeth chatter.” In some languages translators may need to say “I am so afraid that my lips quiver (or, my teeth chatter)” or “my fear makes my lips quiver.”
The words at the sound have no equivalent in Good News Translation, because their meaning is included in the “all this” of the previous line.
Rottenness enters into my bones is another expression which is natural in Hebrew (compare Pro 12.4; 14.30) but which may sound strange if translated literally into other languages. Most English versions mention bones, but the thought is really of the bones as the framework for the body. If the bones are rotten, the body has no support and loses its shape. Good News Translation expresses this meaning in plain language as “My body goes limp.” A more idiomatic expression in English is “my bones turn to jelly.” Some translators may be able to find a natural expression in their own language which is of equivalent force.
The last symptom of the prophet’s fear is my steps totter beneath me. This translation depends on changing three letters of the traditional Hebrew text and has some support from the Septuagint. Good News Translation accepts this change also and says “my feet stumble beneath me” (compare Jerusalem Bible and New American Bible). In some languages it may not be necessary to translate the words beneath me, since it will be understood that the feet are below the rest of the body. New English Bible makes a change involving only one Hebrew letter and comes out with a very similar meaning, “my feet totter in their tracks.” The traditional Hebrew text is translated “I trembled in my place” (Revised Version) or “I trembled where I stood” (New Jerusalem Bible), so that the difference in meaning between the various possibilities is not very great. The problem with the traditional text is that it necessitates a close connection between this clause and the next, which makes awkward sense. As the footnotes indicate, this would mean translating “I tremble because I will quietly wait…” (Revised Standard Version) or “I am excited because I will quietly wait…” (Good News Translation). Some versions try to lessen the problem by translating as “yet” instead of “because” (Moffatt, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible). On the whole, however, it seems better to accept the change in the traditional text and translate as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation.
The second half of the verse gives a different kind of reaction to the theophany. It is as though the prophet’s physical fear passes, and he sees the implication of God’s ability and willingness to help his people as he did in ancient times. This implication is that God’s people do not need to worry about the political situation, however bad it may seem, because God will never abandon them. When the realization of this has penetrated the prophet’s fear, he can say I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us. Here at last is an answer to the problem of 1.13. Though God may punish his own people’s sins by using other nations whose sins are even greater, nevertheless he will not overlook the sins of these other nations but will bring the day of trouble upon them also in due time. Good News Translation gives the same meaning but makes it explicit that God is the one who is responsible for punishing the enemy: “I will quietly wait for the time to come when God will punish those who attack us.” In certain languages this sentence may be expressed as “I will wait with a quiet heart for the day….”
There are some difficulties in deciding the exact meaning of the traditional Hebrew text, but all available modern versions except one give the same sense as Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. The exception is New Jerusalem Bible, which has “yet I wait calmly for the day of distress, for a people to come to attack us.” This can also be seen as a response of faith to the problems of 1.13, but it seems less appropriate than the alternative. We therefore recommend that translators follow the sense given in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation.
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 .