The prophet now speaks of the effect of God’s presence on the world. The description mingles language appropriate to a thunderstorm with language appropriate to an earthquake. This kind of mixture is acceptable in Hebrew poetry, which sees God’s presence in all the major events in the world of nature.
He stood is ambiguous. It may refer either to standing up from a sitting position (Jerusalem Bible “When he stands up”) or to standing still in contrast with moving (New American Bible “He pauses,” New English Bible “He stands still”). Since the previous verse implied that God was moving, the second possibility seems much more apt. Good News Translation accepts it and translates unambiguously as “When he stops.” In some languages it will be necessary to indicate what action was completed or stopped. In such a case one may say “When he stops moving…” or “When he stops walking…” (compare Bible en français courant).
Measured the earth: the word translated measured in Revised Standard Version is doubtful in meaning. Many scholars think that the Hebrew form comes from a different verb which means “to shake” (Moffatt, Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch; compare the Septuagint). Good News Translation accepts this interpretation and renders “the earth shakes.” This fits the context better and is recommended to translators.
He looked and shook the nations: the second line is parallel to the first but extends its thought to include the effect of God’s presence on people. Good News Translation expresses this from the point of view of the people concerned and says “at his glance the nations tremble.” “At his glance” will be difficult to translate in certain languages. An alternative translation is “When he looks….” “The nations” will be rendered in certain languages as “all the people of the world.”
The next two lines say the same thing twice in different words: then the eternal mountains were scattered, the everlasting hills sank low. The language here is drawn from the effect of an earthquake (compare Micah 1.4). The Hebrew verb translated scattered in Revised Standard Version is taken by Good News Translation to come from another root meaning “to shatter.” “Scatter” means to be dispersed or to move away from something (in this case, from the LORD), and “shatter” means to break into little pieces. Major translations are evenly divided between them. “Scatter” or something similar is found in Revised Standard Version, Moffatt, Bible de Jérusalem, Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, and Bible en français courant, while “shatter” or the like occurs in New American Bible, New English Bible, Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch. Both meanings fit the context well, and it makes little difference to the overall effect of the verse which one is chosen.
The words translated eternal and everlasting do not imply that the mountains and hills were not created by God. Rather they refer to the apparent permanence and stability of the mountains in contrast with the brief span of a human life. It may perhaps be better to use terms like “ancient mountains” and “age-old hills” (New International Version; compare Gen 49.26; Deut 33.15). In languages which do not use the passive, one may say “He causes the ancient mountains to shatter into pieces (or, to scatter) and the hills to sink down.”
The last line, His ways were as of old, may be understood in two ways. First, it may be taken as a separate statement about God (compare New International Version “His ways are eternal”). Second, it may be taken as in apposition to the previous statement about the mountains and hills. His ways then refers to the mountains and hills as the route by which God moves over the earth. This would be another allusion to the giving of the Law, when the LORD appeared to Moses at the top of Mount Sinai amidst storm and earthquake (Exo 19.16-20). This second interpretation fits the context better and is preferable. Good News Translation accepts it and translates “the hills where he walked in ancient times” (compare Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Some translators will prefer to begin a new sentence with this final clause: “These are the hills where he walked….” See Nahum 1.5 for an alternative translation of “mountains.”
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• When he stops walking, the earth shakes; as he looks, all the people of the earth tremble. He causes the ancient (or, very old) mountains to shatter into pieces (or, to scatter) and the hills to sink down (low), the hills (or, high ground) where he walked in times long ago.
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 .