Bible Strands
Habakkuk 3:5
Plague went before Him, and fever followed in His steps.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Habakkuk pronounces this declaration during a vision of God’s theophany, framed by the description of divine radiance in 3:4 and the earth-shaking judgment in 3:6. The prophet addresses God directly as he records the manifestation of His advancing power.
The words — The text uses דָּבֶר (Daver), literally pestilence, and רֶשֶף (Reshef), literally lightning. These nouns describe the lethal phenomena that precede and follow the divine figure’s movement.
The thread — The plague imagery aligns with Exodus 12:29, where God strikes the firstborn of Egypt, and Numbers 16:46, which ties pestilence to divine judgment on rebellion. The avenging character of the passage corresponds to Nahum 1:2, which identifies the Lord as jealous and full of wrath.
Why it lands — The verse states that divine presence advances alongside destructive forces, requiring the reader to acknowledge that God’s power executes judgment without restraint. It demands sober recognition of His authority rather than comfort or abstraction.
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
King James Version
Before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet.
Cross-references
- Exodus 12:29 Now at midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as all the firstborn among the livestock.
- Numbers 16:46 Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has begun.”
- Nahum 1:2 The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and full of wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on His foes and reserves wrath for His enemies.
- Numbers 14:12 I will strike them with a plague and destroy them—and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are.”
- Deuteronomy 32:24 They will be wasted from hunger and ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague; I will send the fangs of wild beasts against them, with the venom of vipers that slither in the dust.
- Psalms 18:7 Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
- Psalms 78:50 He cleared a path for His anger; He did not spare them from death but delivered their lives to the plague.