Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.
Thou didst strike through with his staves - "his," with the "wicked" (Habakkuk 3:13) foe's own sword. Maurer translates [maTeym] 'spears' (Judges 7:22).
The head of his villages - not only kings were overthrown by God's hand, hut His vengeance passed through the foe's villages and dependencies. A just retribution, as the foe, Jabin of Hazor, king of Canaan, had made "the inhabitants of Israel's villages to cease" (Judges 5:7). Grotius translates х pªraazaayw (H6518)], 'of his warriors;' Gesenius, from the Arabic, 'the chief of his captains.' I prefer the English version. There is probably an allusion to the sine Hebrew word, Habakkuk 3:9. The tribal rods of Israel shall flourish at last, because of God's oaths to His people. The enemy's heads of villages shall be struck through with their own tribal rods or "staves."
They came out as a whirlwind to scatter me - Israel, with whom Habakkuk identifies himself (cf. note, Habakkuk 1:12, "My God, mine Holy One").
Their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly. "The poor" means the Israelites, for whom in their helpless state the foe lurks in his lair, like a wild beast, to pounce on and devour (Psalms 10:9, "He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor;" Psalms 17:12).