Habakkuk 3:13
“Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →God goes forth to save His people and His anointed, shattering the head of the wicked from foundation to neck.
What Does Habakkuk 3:13 Mean?
Now the purpose of God's marching becomes explicit and central: He goes forth "for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed." His judgment serves His rescue. He strikes the head of the wicked house, laying it bare from foundation to neck — a total dismantling of the power of evil. "Selah" marks a final pause for reflection.
Twice in one verse the word "salvation" rings out: God's power is, at its heart, saving power. He acts to deliver His covenant people through His anointed one. Christians cannot read of God's anointed bringing salvation, and of the head of the wicked one crushed, without lifting their eyes to Christ, in whom God's deliverance fully comes and the power of evil is decisively broken. Here the deepest hope of the book shines: God comes, in the end, to save.
In the Original Language
mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ), 'anointed' — the anointed one through whom God brings salvation; the word that gives us 'Messiah.'