Habakkuk 3:19

GOD the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights! For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Habakkuk addresses Yahweh directly, closing his prayer (3:1–19) after depicting God's theophanic coming. The superscription "For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments" marks it for liturgical, musical use.

The words — כּֽאַיָּלוֹת (ka-'ayyalot), "like does," specifies a female deer, not a stag; the image is lightness and sure-footedness on steep ground. The verb יָּשֶׂם (yasseem, H7760), "he makes/stations," is the same word used in the Davidic psalm.

The thread — 2 Samuel 22:34 and Psalm 18:33 are near-verbatim echoes of this line, suggesting a shared liturgical or poetic source. Philippians 4:13 picks up the strength theme but drops the physical image.

Why it lands — It follows "I will exult in the LORD" (v.18), so the claim is not that the ground is safe but that the speaker can still move on it. It asks the reader to name a concrete, bodily confidence when the surrounding situation is one of judgment and shaking.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

יְהוִ֤הּYah.wehYahweh אֲדֹנָי֙'a.do.Nai[the] Lord חֵילִ֔יchei.L/i[is] strength/ my וַיָּ֤שֶׂםva/i.Ya.semand/ he makes רַגְלַי֙rag.La/ifeet/ my כָּֽאַיָּל֔וֹתka./'ai.ya.Lotlike <the>/ does וְעַ֥לve./'Aland/ on בָּמוֹתַ֖יba.mo.Ta/ihigh places/ my יַדְרִכֵ֑נִיyad.ri.Khe./nihe makes tread/ me לַמְנַצֵּ֖חַla/m.na.Tze.achto the/ choirmaster בִּנְגִינוֹתָֽי׃bi/n.gi.no.Ta/iwith/ stringed instruments/ my

King James Version

The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.

Cross-references

2 Samuel 22:34 He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.
Psalms 18:33 He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
Psalms 46:1 For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.
Deuteronomy 32:13 He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him the produce of the field. He nourished him with honey from the rock and oil from the flinty crag,
Psalms 27:1 Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?
Isaiah 58:14 then you will delight yourself in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
2 Corinthians 12:9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.
Isaiah 12:2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”
Ephesians 3:16 I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,