This verse gives the content of the surprise promised in verse 5. This relationship is expressed by the first word of the Revised Standard Version For. In many languages it will be necessary to show this relationship clearly with an introductory word of some kind.

The next word lo is an old-fashioned word which only draws attention to what follows. In modern English one may say “look” or “see” (New American Bible). However, Good News Translation and several other modern versions (Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) simply omit it. Many languages will render For lo as “So look!” or “So pay attention.”

Rousing or “raising up” (New American Bible, New English Bible, New International Version) is expressed in political terms in Good News Translation as “bringing … to power.” One may also say “I am causing the Babylonians … to become powerful (politically)” or “I am causing the Babylonians … to gain political power.”

The Chaldeans were originally the inhabitants of southern Babylonia, but by the time of Habakkuk, this name carried a wider meaning. Thus it is translated by the more general word “Babylonians” in Good News Translation and New International Version. The Babylonians had lived in lower Mesopotamia for many centuries, but their recent conquest of Assyria had made them a major world power for the first time.

The words translated bitter and hasty have similar sounds in Hebrew. Some translators have tried to keep this similarity in English. Moffatt and Jerusalem Bible use “fierce and fiery” for instance. If other languages have two words of similar sound that can be used together here, that will be good. However, if such a pair of words will not sound natural, it should not be forced. Bitter (Good News Translation “fierce”) emphasizes the cruelty of the Babylonians, and the Hebrew word translated hasty emphasizes the speed with which they conquered most of western Asia.

Another translation model for the first half of this verse is “So pay attention, because I am causing those cruel and restless Babylonians to gain political power.”

The pronouns and possessives from verses 6b-11 are singular in Hebrew, agreeing with the singular noun nation. However, they are collective in meaning and are translated as plural in Revised Standard Version and most other English versions. Some translators may be able to use a collective singular, but many will need to use the plural in these verses.

The second half of the verse strengthens the description and adds more detail. March through the breadth of the earth means “march everywhere in the world” (Jerusalem Bible “march miles across country”). To seize habitations not their own means “to capture other people’s homes.” Good News Translation makes this into a more general statement and says “They are marching out across the world to conquer other lands.” Some translators may find it helpful to follow this example. The word march in English always carries the overtones of soldiers on the move. So in some languages it will be helpful to render this sentence as “Their soldiers march everywhere in the world to conquer….”

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 .