The second statement, in its kjv
form “the just shall live by his faith,” is the best known text in the book of
Habakkuk. rsv replaces “just” with righteous,
which is less ambiguous (compare neb, tev, niv, njv). jb uses the more modern
term “upright.” In Habakkuk’s time, to be “righteous” or “upright” meant to
obey God’s law and to treat other people fairly. So gecl translates “whoever
keeps faith with me and does what is right.” A good summary of the conduct
intended is given in Psalm 15. The righteous
here are the people of Judah, or at least those of them who share Habakkuk’s
concerns. Righteous may be rendered
as “good people,” “straight people,” “upright people,” “people who obey (are
loyal to) God,” or even figuratively as “people with straight livers.”
The word translated faith in rsv is more accurately
“faithfulness” (rsv footnote, jb; compare “faithful”
in mft, neb, tev). This means being loyal to God and obedient to his law, even
when outward circumstances make it difficult, as they did in Habakkuk’s day. In
modern speech we may perhaps use the word “integrity,” though this does not
have the religious overtones that “faithfulness” has. (David J.
Clark and Howard A. Hatton, A Translator’s Handbook on the Book of Habakkuk [UBS
Handbook Series; New York: United Bible Societies, 1989], 92)
