The Hebrew, Greek, and Latin that is transliterated as “Habakkuk” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign for “dialog,” referring to the dialog between Habakkuk and God in chapters 1 and 2. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign referring to direct communication with God; the hand shape is the same as the one used for the sign for complaint. Here, it is directed toward God, as if the prophet were lodging a complaint with him (see Habakkuk 1:2ff.) (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)
“Habakkuk” in Hungarian Sign Language — note that only the first part refers to “Habakkuk,” the second and third parts refer to “prophet” and “book” (source )
Eugene Nida wrote the following about the translation of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek terms that are typically translated with “prophet” in English:
“The tendency in many translations is to use ‘to foretell the future’ for ‘prophesy,’ and ‘one who foretells the future’ for ‘prophet.’ This is not always a recommended usage, particularly if such expressions denote certain special native practices of spirit contact and control. It is true, of course, that prophets of the Bible did foretell the future, but this was not always their principal function. One essential significance of the Greek word prophētēs is ‘one who speaks forth,’ principally, of course, as a forth-teller of the Divine will. A translation such as ‘spokesman for God’ may often be employed profitably.” (1947, p. 234f.)
Following is a list of (back-) translations from other languages (click or tap for details):
Ayutla Mixtec: “one who talks as God’s representative”
Isthmus Mixe: “speaker for God” (source for this and two above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Mezquital Otomi / Paasaal: “God’s messenger” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff. and Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
Noongar: Warda Marridjiny or “News Traveling” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Kutu: mtula ndagu or “one who gives the prediction of the past and the future” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ebira: ọnịsẹ, a neologism that combines the prefix ọn for “a person” with ịsẹ for “prediction” (source: Scholz /Scholz 2015, p. 49)
French 1985 translation by Chouraqui: inspiré or “inspired one” (“someone in whom God has breathed [Latin: in + spiro]) (source: Watson 2023, p. 45)
Cherokee: adolehosgi (ᎠᏙᎴᎰᏍᎩ) or “discoverer of things,” a “term that was was traditionally applied to Cherokee medicine men or women who used divining.” (Source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 49)
In Ixcatlán Mazatec a term is used that specifically includes women. (Source: Robert Bascom)
“In some instances these spiritual terms result from adaptations reflecting the native life and culture. Among the Northern Grebo people of Liberia, a missionary wanted some adequate term for ‘prophet,’ and she was fully aware that the native word for ‘soothsayer’ or ‘diviner’ was no equivalent for the Biblical prophet who spoke forth for God. Of course, much of what the prophets said referred to the future, and though this was an essential part of much of their ministry, it was by no means all. The right word for the Gbeapo people would have to include something which would not only mean the foretelling of important events but the proclamation of truth as God’s representative among the people. At last the right word came; it was ‘God’s town-crier.’ Every morning and evening the official representative of the chief goes through the village crying out the news, delivering the orders of the chief, and announcing important coming events. ‘God’s town-crier’ would be the official representative of God, announcing to the people God’s doings, His commands, and His pronouncements for their salvation and well-being. For the Northern Grebo people the prophet is no weird person from forgotten times; he is as real as the human, moving message of the plowman Amos, who became God’s town-crier to a calloused people.” (source: Nida 1952, p. 20)
In British Sign Language it is is translated with a sign that depicts a message coming from God to a person (the upright finger) and then being passed on to others. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Prophet” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
This verse serves as a title for the first two chapters. The first verse of chapter 3 gives a new title for the rest of the book.
The word translated oracle is a common word in the prophetic books (compare Nahum 1.1) and is often used when the prophet speaks against pagan nations (for example Isa 13.1). In modern English it means “message” (Good News Translation). The Hebrew word implies that the message is a religious one, and so Revised Standard Version translates it as The oracle of God. The terms God and “the LORD” both occur in Habakkuk, but since “LORD” occurs in verse 2, it may be better to use it also in verse 1. This is what Good News Translation has done (“This is the message that the LORD revealed”). For comments on the translation of “LORD,” please see the sources referred to under Nahum 1.2.
The term oracle or “message” is applied to the whole of chapters 1 and 2, even though they include Habakkuk’s questions as well as the LORD’s answers.
For notes on the name of Habakkuk, see the introduction above, “Translating the Book of Habakkuk.” The prophet translates a common Hebrew word and means “one who proclaims the LORD’s message.” It is unusual for this term to be used in the title of a prophetic book. It occurs in a similar position elsewhere only in Haggai 1.1 and Zechariah 1.1.
The Hebrew word for saw is often used to describe prophetic activity (compare Micah 1.1). It usually implies that the prophet received his message in a trance or some similar condition. Thus Jerusalem Bible and New English Bible render it as “received in a vision.” For further discussion on “vision” see Nahum 1.1. Good News Translation restructures as “the message that the LORD revealed.” The word “revealed” emphasizes the divine origin of the message but does not indicate the method by which it reached the prophet. An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• Here is the message that the LORD caused the prophet Habakkuk to see in a vision (or, dream).
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 .
1:1 This is the burden that Habakkuk the prophet received in a vision:
This is the message that the prophet Habakkuk received in a vision. (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
This is the vision/dream that ⌊Yahweh⌋ showed/revealed to Habakkuk, his speaker/representative. -or-
⌊I am⌋ Habakkuk, the one who brings/speaks words from Yahweh. This is ⌊what Yahweh⌋ showed me in a vision.
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