In the text of Revised Standard Version there is no indication that a new speech by a new speaker begins here. It is important in many languages to make this kind of information explicit. Good News Translation has done so by adding the words “Then the LORD said to his people,” and many translators will need to do something similar, as have Bible en français courant (“says the Lord”) and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (“The Lord answers”). In Hebrew the second person verbs in verse 5 are all plural, making clear that the message is not for Habakkuk alone. The words of Good News Translation “to his people” indicate that the message is for all those who shared Habakkuk’s attitude toward the events of his day.
Look among the nations, and see: the words Look and see may need to be translated by a single word in some languages. Instead of the Hebrew word translated among the nations, the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, understood the text to have a different Hebrew word, which occurs also in 1.13 and 2.5. This understanding is followed by New English Bible, which translates as “you treacherous people.” Based on this interpretation, the whole paragraph, verses 5-11, is addressed to “the wicked” that Habakkuk complained about in verse 4. However, the Hebrew as it stands makes perfectly good sense, and translators are recommended to follow it rather than the Septuagint at this point (compare Hebrew Old Testament Text Project).
Wonder and be astounded translate two forms of the same verb in Hebrew. Some translators may choose to follow Revised Standard Version at this point and use two synonyms meaning “amazed” or “astounded.” Good News Translation, however, has translated only once, “you will be astonished.” Other versions use only one verb but intensify it (New International Version “utterly amazed”; New Jerusalem Bible “utterly astounded”), and many translators will wish to follow this example. The idea of astounded in many languages will be expressed in an idiomatic way, referring to the heart or some other bodily organ such as the liver; for example, “heart is uncomfortable,” “heart feels strange,” or “liver moves.”
I am doing a work translates a Hebrew participle with no subject expressed (compare New American Bible “a work is being done”). In more natural English one can say “Something is going to happen” or “Events are about to take place” (compare Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). However, in this context, as verse 6 makes clear, the subject can only be the LORD, and so several translations make the subject I explicit in verse 5 (Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, New International Version). The Hebrew words used here have the overtones of referring back to the great deeds that the LORD performed at the time of the exodus from Egypt (compare Psa 44.1; 95.9). The use of the participle in Hebrew gives the impression that the events referred to will take place very soon. Good News Translation tries to express this with “I am going to do something.” One can also say “I am about to do something.”
In your days means “during your lifetime.” The implication is that the events will take place soon, and the hearers will see them for themselves. Good News Translation has omitted any equivalent to this phrase, but most translators will have no difficulty expressing it in their language; for example, the use of the expression “about to” (see comment above) will convey this idea. Or one may say “In the very near future (or, Very soon) I am going to….”
That you would not believe if told indicates that what follows will be a surprise to the hearers. It thus prepares the way for Habakkuk’s second complaint in verses 12-17.
The passive expression if told may be difficult to translate in some languages. An alternative expression is “when someone tells you” or, as in Good News Translation, “when you hear about it.”
In Acts 13.41 this verse is quoted in the Septuagint translation, which is somewhat longer than the Hebrew. Translators should not alter either verse to make them more alike than they really are.
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 .