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I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; The curtains of the land of Midian trembled.
Habakkuk 3:7 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction. The dwellings of the land of Midian trembled.
  • KJV I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
  • BSB I saw the tents of Cushan in distress; the curtains of Midian were trembling.
  • NASB I saw the tents of Cushan under distress, The tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling.
  • NLT I see the people of Cushan in distress, and the nation of Midian trembling in terror.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The prophet sees distant peoples like Cushan and Midian trembling in distress at God's approach. It shows the nations shaken with fear before the advancing God.

Overview

Cushan and Midian, peoples associated with the wilderness regions, are pictured in anguish as God draws near. Their trembling testifies to the universal dread that God's glorious coming inspires. This portrait of the nations in fear underlines God's sovereignty over all peoples and assures Israel that the powers arrayed against them cannot stand before their God.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Exod 15:14–16The peoples have heard. They tremble. Pangs have taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.
  • Num 31:2–12“Avenge the children of Israel for the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”
  • Judg 7:24–25Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against Midian, and take before them the waters, as far as Beth Barah, even the Jordan!” So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and took the waters as far as Beth Barah, even the Jordan.
  • Josh 2:10For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
  • Josh 9:24They answered Joshua, and said, “Because your servants were certainly told how Yahweh your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you. Therefore we were very afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
  • Gen 10:6–7The sons of Ham were: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
  • Gen 25:1–4Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah.
  • Num 22:3–4Moab was very afraid of the people, because they were many. Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.
  • Ps 83:5–10For they have conspired together with one mind. They form an alliance against you.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Habakkuk videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Habakkuk 3:7YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on HabakkukMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

'The righteous shall live by his faith' (2:4) becomes a cornerstone of the gospel in Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews — the faith that lays hold of Christ.

How Habakkuk 3:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.