King James Version
Habakkuk 2
20 verses with commentary
The Lord's Second Answer
I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. tower: Heb. fenced place unto me: or, in me when: or, when I am argued with: Heb. upon my reproof, or, arguing
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KJV Study Commentary
After voicing his complaint, Habakkuk assumes a watchful posture: 'I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved' (al-mishmarti a'amodah ve'etyatzevah al-matzor va'atzappeh lir'oth mah-yedabber-bi umah-ashiv al-tokhachti). The prophet positions himself like a sentinel ('upon my watch,' 'upon the tow...
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(1) **The Tower.**—The practice of ascending a high place to secure an extensive view suggests the figure here. (See 2Kings 9:17; 2Samuel 18:24.) In a yet bolder metaphor Isaiah represents himself as appointing a watchman, who brings reports from his tower. We need not suppose that Habakkuk literally betook himself to a solitary height to wait for a revelation. Balaam, the heathen soothsayer, did ...
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**29. twelve months--**This respite was granted to him to leave him without excuse. So the hundred twenty years granted before the flood (Ge 6:3). At the first announcement of the coming judgment he was alarmed, as Ahab (1Ki 21:27), but did not thoroughly repent; so when judgment was not executed at once, he thought it would never come, and so returned to his former pride (Ec 8:11).
**in the pal...
Read full commentary →And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
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KJV Study Commentary
God instructs Habakkuk to write down the vision: 'Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it' (ketov chazon uva'er al-halluchoth lema'an yarutz qore vo). The command 'Write' (ketov) emphasizes permanence—this message must be recorded. 'Make it plain' (ba'er) means make clear, explicit, easy to understand. 'Upon tables' (al-halluchoth) suggests large tablets fo...
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(2) **On tables.**—Better, *on the tables.* The definite article probably indicates certain well-known tables on which the prophets were wont to inscribe their utterances for public edification. These tables may have been hung up in the Temple (Calvin) or market-place (Luther and Ewald).
**That he may run that readeth it**—*i.e.*, the prophecy is to be inscribed plainly and legibly, so that the re...
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**30. Babylon, that I have built--**Herodotus ascribes the building of Babylon to Semiramis and Nitocris, his informant under the Persian dynasty giving him the Assyrian and Persian account. Berosus and Abydenus give the Babylonian account, namely, that Nebuchadnezzar added much to the old city, built a splendid palace and city walls. Herodotus, the so-called "father of history," does not even men...
Read full commentary →For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
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KJV Study Commentary
God addresses the vision's timing: 'For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry' (ki-od chazon lamo'ed veyapheach laqqetz velo yekhazzev im-yithmahmeah chakkeh-lo ki-vo yavo lo ye'acher). The vision has an 'appointed time' (mo'ed)—divinely determined moment. 'At the end it shal...
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(3) **For the vision is yet for an appointed time** . . .—Better, *For the vision is to have its appointed day, and it pants for the end. and it shall not disappoint, i.e.,* it pants for the day of completion, which shall do it justice. It longs to fulfil its destiny.
**It will not tarry.**—This translation is unfortunate. The prophet has just said that it *will* tarry. Nevertheless, he adds, men ...
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**31. While, &c.--**in the very act of speaking, so that there could be no doubt as to the connection between the crime and the punishment. So Lu 12:19, 20.
**O king ... to thee it is spoken--**Notwithstanding thy kingly power, to thee thy doom is now spoken, there is to be no further respite.
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.</strong> This verse stands as one of the most theologically significant statements in the Old Testament, quoted three times in the New Testament (Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38) and forming a foundation for the doctrine of justification by faith. The contrast is stark: the proud who...
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(4) **Behold his soul**. . . .—Better, *Behold his soul within him is puffed up, it is not upright.* The soul of the Chaldæan invader is inflated with pride, self-dependence ousting from his mind all thoughts of God. It is therefore unsound and distorted. Habakkuk leaves the inference “and therefore it shall die” to be imagined, and hastens to the antithesis, “*But the righteous man shall live by ...
Read full commentary →Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people: Yea: or, How much more
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied.</strong> This verse introduces the five woes against Babylon (verses 6-20), beginning with a character portrait of the oppressor. <strong>He transgresseth by wine</strong> (יַיִן בּוֹגֵד/<em>yayin boged</em>)—wine is treacherous...
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(5) **Yea, also**. . . .—Better, *Add, too, that wine is treacherous* (and that) *he is a braggart and cannot be quiet, whose appetite is large as* (that of) *Hades.* The rest of the verse illustrates this last-named characteristic—restless, rapacious ambition. Two more charges are thus added to the gravamen of Habakkuk 2:4. Not only are the Chaldæans arrogant, but drunkards, and insatiably coveto...
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**33. driven from men--**as a maniac fancying himself a wild beast. It is possible, a conspiracy of his nobles may have co-operated towards his having been "driven" forth as an outcast.
**hairs ... eagles' feathers--**matted together, as the hair-like, thick plumage of the ossifraga eagle. The "nails," by being left uncut for years, would become like "claws."
Woe to the Wicked
Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! Woe: or, Ho, he
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his!</strong> The conquered nations will <strong>take up a parable</strong> (יִשְׂאוּ מָשָׁל/<em>yis'u mashal</em>)—lift up a proverbial taunt song. The term מָשָׁל (<em>mashal</em>) can mean proverb, parable, or mocking poem. The oppressed will mock ...
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(6-20) The destruction of the Chaldæans has hitherto been only implied. It is now plainly foretold in a denunciatory song, put into the mouths of the invader’s victims. In this song there are five strophes, of three verses each, 6-8; 9-11; 12-14; 15-17; 18-20.
(6-8) Woe on the reckless rapacity which has spared neither life nor property.
(6) **How long?**—*i.e.,* how long shall this continual anne...
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**34. lifted up mine eyes unto heaven--**whence the "voice" had issued (Da 4:31) at the beginning of his visitation. Sudden mental derangement often has the effect of annihilating the whole interval, so that, when reason returns, the patient remembers only the event that immediately preceded his insanity. Nebuchadnezzar's looking up towards heaven was the first symptom of his "understanding" havin...
Read full commentary →Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?
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<strong>Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?</strong> The rhetorical question expects the answer: yes, absolutely. Those you oppressed <strong>shall rise up suddenly</strong> (יָקוּמוּ פֶתַע/<em>yaqumu feta</em>)—will arise unexpectedly, without warning. <strong>That shall bite thee</strong> (נֹשְׁכֶיךָ/<em>no...
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(7) **Bite.**—This verb *nâshac* also means “to oppress with usury,” and this is its force here. *Thy* turn shall come, and men shall exact usury from thee. Similarly, the verb translated “vex” is, literally, *to shake violently,* in allusion to a creditor’s forcible seizure of his debtor. (Comp. Matthew 18:28.) The prediction of Habakkuk in these verses was fulfilled by the rise of the Medo-Persi...
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**35. all ... as nothing--**(Is 40:15, 17).
**according to his will in ... heaven--**(Psa 115:3; 135:6; Mt 6:10; Ep 1:11).
**army--**the heavenly hosts, angels and starry orbs (compare Is 24:21).
**none ... stay his hand--**literally, "strike His hand." Image from striking the hand of another, to check him in doing anything (Is 43:13; 45:9).
**What doest thou--**(Job 9:12; Ro 9:20).
Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. blood: Heb. bloods
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.</strong> God states the principle of proportional justice: <strong>Because thou hast spoiled</strong> (כִּי־אַתָּה שַׁלּוֹתָ/<em>ki-attah shallota</em>)—you have plundered. The verb שָׁלַל (<em>shalal</...
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(8) **Violence of.**—Scil., *violence wreaked on,* both here and in Habakkuk 2:17.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
36. An inscription in the East India Company's Museum is read as describing the period of Nebuchadnezzar's insanity [G. V. Smith]. In the so-called standard inscription read by Sir H. Rawlinson, Nebuchadnezzar relates that during four (?) years he ceased to lay out buildings, or to furnish with victims Merodach's altar, or to clear out the canals for irrigation. No other instance in the cuneiform ...
Read full commentary →Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! coveteth: or, gaineth and evil gain power: Heb. palm of the hand
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!</strong> The second woe addresses security through exploitation. <strong>Coveteth an evil covetousness</strong> (בֹּצֵעַ בֶּצַע רָע/<em>botze'a betza ra</em>)—literally 'gains gain of evil,' using repetition for emphasis. בֶּצַע (<em>betza</em>) mea...
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(9-11) Woe on the aggrandisement of the new dynasty by force and cunning.
(9) **Woe to him** **that coveteth** . . .—Better, *Woe to him who accumulates wicked gain for his house, who sets his nest on high to save himself from the hand of evil*—*i.e.,* who gathers spoil from the nations, and stows it away in an impregnable treasure- house. The expression *sets his nest on high* finds more than suf...
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**37. praise ... extol ... honour--**He heaps word on word, as if he cannot say enough in praise of God.
**all whose works ... truth ... judgment--**that is, are true and just (Re 15:3; 16:7). God has not dealt unjustly or too severely with me; whatever I have suffered, I deserved it all. It is a mark of true contrition to condemn one's self, and justify God (Psa 51:4).
**those that walk in pr...
Read full commentary →Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.
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<strong>Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.</strong> The verdict on the second woe: attempts to secure your house have <strong>consulted shame</strong> (יָעַצְתָּ בֹּשֶׁת/<em>ya'atsta boshet</em>)—planned or devised disgrace. The verb יָעַץ (<em>ya'atz</em>) means to counsel, advise, plan. You thought you were securing glory but actu...
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(10) **And hast sinned** . . .—Literally, *and sinning in thy soul.* All the time the Babylonian oppressor was plundering these peoples he was involving his soul in guilt. (Comp. Habakkuk 1:11.)
For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. beam: or, piece, or, fastening answer it: or, witness against it
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.</strong> This poetic image personifies creation itself as witness against injustice. <strong>The stone shall cry out</strong> (כִּי־אֶבֶן מִקִּיר תִּזְעָק/<em>ki-even miqqir tiz'aq</em>)—even inanimate stones in the wall will cry out in testimony. The verb זָעַק (<em>za'aq</em>) means to cry out in dis...
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(11) **The stone shall cry out.**—Every stone in those giant walls reared by the enforced labour of captives cries aloud to accuse the Babylonian. Every spar out of the woodwork attests the charge.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 5 Da 5:1-31. Belshazzar's Impious Feast; the Handwriting on the Wall Interpreted by Daniel of the Doom of Babylon and Its King.
**1. Belshazzar--**Rawlinson, from the Assyrian inscriptions, has explained the seeming discrepancy between Daniel and the heathen historians of Babylon, Berosus and Abydenus, who say the last king (Nabonidus) surrendered in Borsippa, after Babylon was taken, and...
Read full commentary →Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity! blood: Heb. bloods
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<strong>Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!</strong> The third woe directly addresses violent urbanization. <strong>Buildeth a town with blood</strong> (בֹּנֶה עִיר בְּדָמִים/<em>boneh ir bedamim</em>)—constructing a city through bloodshed. דָּמִים (<em>damim</em>) is the plural of blood, emphasizing multiplied murders. <strong>And stablisheth a city by ...
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(12-14) “Woe on the extension of Babylon by oppression and enforced labour.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. whiles he tasted the wine--**While under the effects of wine, men will do what they dare not do when sober.
**his father Nebuchadnezzar--**that is, his forefather. So "Jesus ... the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Mt 1:1). Daniel does not say that the other kings mentioned in other writers did not reign between Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar, namely, Evil-merodach (Jr 52:31), Neriglissar,...
Read full commentary →Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? for: or, in vain?
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<strong>Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?</strong> God declares the futility of unjust labor. <strong>Is it not of the LORD of hosts</strong> (הֲלוֹא הִנֵּה מֵאֵת יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת/<em>halo hinneh me'et YHWH tseva'ot</em>)—this comes from the LORD of armies, the sovereign commander of heaven's ...
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(13) **In the very fire . . . for very vanity.** The preposition is the same in both clauses, and means “for an equivalent in.” The sense is sufficiently conveyed if we render “*labour only for the fire* . . . *weary themselves all for nothing.*” The same expressions occur in Jeremiah’s denunciation of Babylon (Jeremiah 51:58). Both prophets predict that Jehovah shall render all this compulsory se...
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3. This act was not one of necessity, or for honor's sake, but in reckless profanity.
For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. with: or, by knowing the glory
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KJV Study Commentary
Amidst woe oracles against Babylon, God promises ultimate restoration: 'For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea' (ki-timale ha'aretz lade'ath eth-kevod Yahweh kammayim yal-yam yekhassu). This is one of Scripture's most magnificent promises. 'The earth shall be filled' (timale ha'aretz)—complete, comprehensive saturation. 'With the know...
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(14) **With the knowledge.**—Better, *as concerns the knowledge.* See the same promise in Isaiah 11:9. It is here introduced in contrast to the short-lived glory of Babylon. The enslaved nations raised the Babylonian palaces only for the fire to destroy them. But Jehovah’s glory shall be made known all the world over, and shall not be effaced.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. praised--**sang and shouted praises to "gods," which being of gold, "are their own witnesses" (Is 44:9), confuting the folly of those who fancy such to be gods.
Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!</strong> The fourth of five woe oracles condemns Babylon's brutal exploitation of conquered nations. The imagery of forcing drink to expose shame depicts deliberate humiliation—making victims vulnerable to mock their degradation. The Hebrew חֶ...
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(15-17) Woe on the cruel invader who has made the world drink of the cup of wrath.
(15, 16) **Woe unto him.**—It is possible that wanton outrages committed by the debauched Babylonian soldiery in the hour of triumph are here meant. And this is in accordance with the mention of drunkenness as their special sin in Habakkuk 2:5. But we much prefer to treat the language as figurative. The invader has ...
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**5. In the same hour--**that the cause of God's visitation might be palpable, namely, the profanation of His vessels and His holy name.
**fingers of ... hand--**God admonishes him, not by a dream (as Nebuchadnezzar had been warned), or by a voice, but by "fingers coming forth," the invisibility of Him who moved them heightening the awful impressiveness of the scene, the hand of the Unseen One a...
Read full commentary →Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory. with: or, more with shame than with glory
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.</strong> Divine reversal: Babylon forced others to drink and be shamed; now God forces Babylon to drink His cup of wrath. "Filled with shame for glory" (שָׂבַעְתָּ קָלוֹן מִכָּבוֹד/<em>sava'ta qalon...
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**6. countenance--**literally, "brightness," that is, his bright look.
**joints of his loins--**"the vertebræ of his back" [Gesenius].
For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.</strong> Babylon's specific crimes are detailed. "The violence of Lebanon" (חֲמַס לְבָנוֹן/<em>chamas Levanon</em>) likely refers to deforestation—stripping Lebanon's famous cedars for building p...
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(17) **For the violence of Lebanon. . . .**—Better, *For the violence done to Lebanon shall overwhelm thee, and the destruction of the beasts which it frightened away.* The rest of the verse is a refrain taken from the first woe, that of Habakkuk 2:8. The “destruction of beasts” points, we think, to a raid on the cattle feeding on the sides of Lebanon. But more than this is probably included in th...
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7. He calls for the magicians, who more than once had been detected in imposture. He neglects God, and Daniel, whose fame as an interpreter was then well-established. The world wishes to be deceived and shuts its eyes against the light [Calvin]. The Hebrews think the words were Chaldee, but in the old Hebrew character (like that now in the Samaritan Pentateuch).
**third ruler--**The first place ...
Read full commentary →What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? maker of: Heb. fashioner of his fashion
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KJV Study Commentary
God mocks idolatry: 'What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?' (mah-ho'il pesel ki-fesalo yotzro massekhah umoreh sheqer ki-vatach yotzer yitzro alav la'asoth elilim illeim). The rhetorical question expects the answer: nothing. Idols profit nothing because they're...
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(18-20) *Woe* on him who neglects Jehovah to worship dumb idols of his own making.
(18) **A teacher of lies.**—Not the false prophet, but the idol itself, as pointing out false ways in opposition to God, the teacher of truth.
**That the maker** . . .—Better, *that he who frames his image trusts in it, so as to make dumb idols. Dumb nothings* is, perhaps, the literal translation of *e*’*lîlîm ill*’...
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8. The words were in such a character as to be illegible to the Chaldees, God reserving this honor to Daniel.
Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.</strong> The fifth woe mocks idolatry, exposing its absurdity. Commanding wood to "Awake" (הָקִיץ/<em>haqitz</em>) and stone to "Arise" (עוּרִי/<em>uri</em>) reveals the foolishness of expecting lifeless materi...
Read full commentary →But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him. let: Heb. be silent all the earth before him
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KJV Study Commentary
After mocking dead idols, God declares His living presence: 'But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him' (vaYahweh beheikhal qodsho has mipanav kol-ha'aretz). Contrast is stark: idols are dead; Yahweh lives and reigns. 'In his holy temple' (beheikhal qodsho) indicates both heavenly throne room and earthly presence. 'Let all the earth keep silence before him' (has...
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(20) **But the Lord.**—And while all this false worship prevails, the true World-ruler abides, and His presence is in His temple at Jerusalem. To Him the prophet’s eyes are now turned. He ceases his denunciations of the invader, and finds solace in the glorious anticipations of the lyrical ode (Habakkuk 3:1-15) which follows.
**Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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**10. queen--**the queen mother, or grandmother, Nitocris, had not been present till now. She was wife either of Nebuchadnezzar or of Evil merodach; hence her acquaintance with the services of Daniel. She completed the great works which the former had begun. Hence Herodotus attributes them to her alone. This accounts for the deference paid to her by Belshazzar. (See on Da 4:36). Compare similar ra...
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