Charles Ellicott Commentary Habakkuk 3:13

"Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, For the salvation of thine anointed; Thou woundest the head out of the house of the wicked man, Laying bare the foundation even unto the neck. Selah." — Habakkuk 3:13 (ASV)

You went.—Here the verbs, though past, are best rendered by the English present.

Even for salvation ...—Better, even for the salvation of Your anointed — namely, Your chosen people, as also, perhaps, in Psalms 105:15. The rendering of the Authorized Version has the support of Aquila and the Quinta. It is a possible rendering, but few impartial Hebraists will deny that the other is preferable.

In the last half of the verse, two figures are blended—those of a house and a human body. Literally, it runs, You crush the head of the house of the wicked , laying bare the foundation even to the neck. The obvious meaning is that the house or race of the Chaldeans is to be destroyed, “root and branch.”