“Woe to him who gives his neighbor drink, pouring your inflaming wine until they are drunk, so that you may gaze at their naked bodies! You are filled with shame, and not glory. You will also drink, and be exposed! The cup of Yahweh’s right hand will come around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory. For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and the destruction of the animals, which made them afraid; because of men’s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to every city and to those who dwell in them.
Parallel Translations
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“Woe to him who gives his neighbor drink, pouring your inflaming wine until they are drunk, so that you may gaze at their naked bodies!
You are filled with shame, and not glory. You will also drink, and be exposed! The cup of Yahweh’s right hand will come around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory.
For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and the destruction of the animals, which made them afraid; because of men’s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to every city and to those who dwell in them.
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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!
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.
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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Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy venom thereto, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
Thou art filled with shame instead of glory, drink thou also, and be uncovered; the cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned unto thee, and filthiness shall be upon thy glory.
For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover thee, and the destruction of the beasts, which made them afraid; because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein.
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Contradictions (2)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (37)
- Jeremiah 51:7 (v15) Babylon has been a golden cup in Yahweh’s hand, who made all the earth drunk. The nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations…
- Habakkuk 2:8 (v17) Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples will plunder you, because of men’s blood, and for the violence done…
- Genesis 9:22 (v15) Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.
- Isaiah 47:3 (v16) Your nakedness will be uncovered. Yes, your shame will be seen. I will take vengeance, and will spare no one.”
- Hosea 7:5 (vv15–16) On the day of our king, the princes made themselves sick with the heat of wine. He joined his hand with mockers.
Show all 35 cross-references
- Psalms 55:23 (v17) But you, God, will bring them down into the pit of destruction. Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, but I…
- Nahum 3:5-6 (v16) “Behold, I am against you,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the nations your nakedness, and…
- Zechariah 11:1 (v17) Open your doors, Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars.
- Revelation 17:2 (v15) with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality. Those who dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her sexual…
- Revelation 17:6 (v15) I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered with great…
- Revelation 18:3 (v15) For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with…
- Jeremiah 25:15 (vv15–16) For Yahweh, the God of Israel, says to me: “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from my hand, and cause all the nations to whom I send you…
- Genesis 19:32-35 (v15) Come, let’s make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve our father’s family line.” They made their father…
- Exodus 32:25 (v15) When Moses saw that the people were out of control, (for Aaron had let them lose control, causing derision among their enemies),
- 2 Samuel 11:13 (v15) When David had called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. At evening, he went out to lie on his bed with the servants…
- 2 Samuel 13:26-28 (v15) Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.” The king said to him, “Why should he go with you?” But Absalom pressed…
- Psalms 75:8 (v16) For in Yahweh’s hand there is a cup, full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours it out. Indeed the wicked of the earth drink and…
- Psalms 137:8 (v17) Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, he will be happy who repays you, as you have done to us.
- Proverbs 3:35 (v16) The wise will inherit glory, but shame will be the promotion of fools.
- Proverbs 28:17 (v17) A man who is tormented by life blood will be a fugitive until death; no one will support him.
- Isaiah 20:4 (v16) so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with…
- Isaiah 28:7-8 (v16) They also reel with wine, and stagger with strong drink. The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink. They are swallowed up by wine.…
- Isaiah 49:26 (v16) I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh; and they will be drunk on their own blood, as with sweet wine. Then all flesh shall…
- Isaiah 51:21-23 (v16) Therefore now hear this, you afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: Your Lord Yahweh, your God who pleads the cause of his people,…
- Jeremiah 25:26-29 (v16) and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world, which are on the surface of the earth.…
- Jeremiah 50:28 (v17) Listen to those who flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of Yahweh our God, the vengeance of his…
- Jeremiah 50:33-34 (v17) Yahweh of Armies says: “The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together. All who took them captive hold them fast.…
- Jeremiah 51:24 (v17) “I will render to Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight,” says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 51:34-37 (v17) “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me. He has crushed me. He has made me an empty vessel. He has, like a monster, swallowed…
- Jeremiah 51:57 (v16) I will make her princes, her wise men, her governors, her deputies, and her mighty men drunk. They will sleep a perpetual sleep, and not…
- Lamentations 4:21 (v16) Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Edom, that dwells in the land of Uz. The cup will pass through to you also. You will be drunken, and will…
- Hosea 4:7 (v16) As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me. I will change their glory into shame.
- Philippians 3:19 (v16) whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who think about earthly things.
- Revelation 18:6 (v16) Return to her just as she returned, and repay her double as she did, and according to her works. In the cup which she mixed, mix to her…
- Revelation 18:20-24 (v17) “Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints, apostles, and prophets; for God has judged your judgment on her.” A mighty angel took up a stone…
35 distinct cross-references across this passage (37 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv15–17 This passage, in which the Prophet condemns the king…
This passage, in which the Prophet condemns the king of Babylon for his usual practice of rendering drunk his friends, is frigidly interpreted by most expounders. It has been already often said how bold the Jews are in contriving what is fabulous; when nothing certain occurs to them, they divine this or that without any discrimination or shame. Hence they say, that Nebuchadnezzar was given to excess, and led all whom he could into a participation of the same vice. They also think that his associates were captive kings, as though he bid them for the sake of sport to be brought to his table, and by drinking to their health, forced them to intoxication, that he might laugh at them when they made themselves base and ridiculous. But all this is groundless; for there is no history that relates any such thing. It is, however, easy to see that another matter is here treated of by the Prophet; for he does not speak of the king only, but he refers to the whole empire. I therefore doubt not but that this whole discourse, in which the Babylonian king is condemned for making drunk his associates or friends, is metaphorical or allegorical. But before I proceed further on the subject, I shall say something as to the words; for the meaning of the Prophet will thereby be made more evident.
Woe, he says, to him who gives his friend drink; then he adds, מספח חמתך, mesephech chemetak, "who joinest and bottle.” חמה, cheme, is taken in Hebrew for a bottle; and we know, and it is sufficiently evident from Scripture, that the Jews used bottles of skin, as there are casks and larger vessels with us. Since, then, they put their wine into bottles, these were often taken for their cups, as it is in our language, when one says, Des flacons, des bouteilles. Hence some give this explanation—that the king of Babylon brought forth his flagons, that he might force to intoxication, by excessive drinking, those who could not and dared not to resist his will. But others render חמה, cheme, wrath, with a preposition understood: and in order that nothing may be understood, some render the participle, מספח, “displaying,” that is, “his fury.” But as חמה, cheme, means to be hot, we may, therefore, properly give this version, “Uniting thy heat;” that is, “It is not enough for thee to inebriate others, except thou implicates them with thyself.” We now perceive the meaning of this phrase. He adds, And thou also dost inebriate. We may hence learn that the Prophet had no other thing in view, but to show that the king of Babylon sought for himself many associates in his intemperance or excess: at the same time he takes, as I have said, excess in a metaphorical sense. I shall presently explain more fully what all this means; but now we only expound the words. And thou, he says, dost also inebriate: the particle אף, as it is well known, is laid down for the sake of amplifying. After having said, Thou unitest thy heat; that is, thou exhales thine intemperance, so that others also contract the same heat with thyself, he immediately adds, Thou inebriatest them. It follows, that their nakedness may be made open; that is, that they may disclose themselves with shame. The following verse I shall defer until we shall see more clearly what the Prophet had in view.
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As I have already said the Prophet charges the Babylonian king with having implicated neighboring kings in his own evil desires, and with having in a manner inebriated them. He indeed compares the insatiable avarice of that king to intemperance; for as it is the object of drunken men not to drink what may suffice them, but to glut themselves with wine, so also when avarice is dominant in the hearts of men, they are seized with a certain kind of fury, like a person who has an immoderate love for wine. This is the reason for the metaphor; for the Babylonian king, when he thirsted for the blood of men, and also for wealth and kingdoms, led into the same kind of madness many other kings; for he could not have succeeded except he had allured the favor of many others, and deceived them with vain expectations. As a person who gives himself up to drinking wishes to leave associates, so Habakkuk lays the same thing to the charge of the king of Babylon; for being himself addicted to insatiable avarice, he procured associates to be as it were his guests, and quaffed wine to them, that is, elicited their cupidity, that they might join him in his wars; for each hoped for a part of the spoil after victory. Since, then, he had thus blinded many kings, they are said to have been inebriated by him. We indeed know that such allurements infatuate the minds and hearts of men; for there is no intoxication that stultifies men more than that eager appetite by which they devour both lands and seas.
We now then apprehend what the Prophet meant—that the Babylonian king not only burnt with his own avarice, but kindled also, as it were, a flame in others, like drunken men who excite one another. As then he had thus inflamed all the neighboring kings to rush headlong without any consideration and without any shame, like a person suffocated and overcome by excessive drinking; so the Prophet designates this inflaming as quaffing wine to them.
And this metaphor ought to be carefully observed; for we see at this day as in a mirror what the Prophet teaches here. For all the great princes, when they devise any plans of their own, send their ambassadors here and there, and seek to involve with themselves other cities and princes; and as no one is willing to endanger himself without reason, they set forth many fallacious allurements. And when any city fears a neighboring prince, it will seek to fortify itself by a new protection; so a treaty, when offered, becomes like a snare to it. And then when any inferior prince wishes to enlarge his borders, or to revenge himself, he willingly puts on arms, nay, anxiously, that he may be able, by the help of a greater, to effect his purpose, which he could not otherwise accomplish. Thus we see that dukes and counts, as they are called, and free cities, are daily inebriated. They who are chief kings, abounding in wine, that is, full of many vain promises, give to drink, as it were with full flagons, bidding wine to be brought forth on a well furnished table—“I will make thine enemy to give way to thee, and thou shalt compel him according to thy wish, and when I shall obtain the victory a part of the spoil shall be allotted to thee; I desire nothing but the glory. With regard to you, the free cities, see, ye tremble continually; now if you lie under my shadow, it will be the best security for you.” Such quaffing is to be found at this day almost throughout the whole of Europe.
Then the Prophet does not without reason commemorate this vice in the king of Babylon—that he made those associates drunk whom he had bound to himself by perfidious treaties; for as it has been said, there is no intoxication so dangerous as this madness; that is, when any one promises this or that to himself, and imagines what does not exist. Hence he not only says, that the Babylonian king gave drink to his friends, but also that he joined his bottles; as though he had said that he was very liberal, nay, prodigal, while seeking associates in his intemperance; for if one condition did not suffice, another was added—“Behold, my king is prepared; but if he is not enough another will be joined with him.” They thus then join together their heat. If we take חמה, cheme, for a bottle, then to join together their bottles would mean, that they accumulated promises until they inebriated those whom they sought to deceive. But if the other interpretation be more approved, which I am disposed to follow, then the meaning would be—They join together their own heat, that is, they implicate others with themselves; as they burn themselves with insatiable cupidity, so they spread this ardor far and wide, so that the desires of many become united.
He afterwards adds—that thou mayest see their nakedness. It was not indeed an object to the king of Babylon to disclose the reproach of all those whom he had induced to take part in his wars; but we know that great kings are wont to neglect their friends, to whom at first they promise every thing. When a king wishes to entice to himself a free city or an inferior prince, he will say—“See, I seek nothing but to be thy friend”. We indeed see how shamefully they perjure themselves; nor is it enough for them to utter these perjuries in their courts; but not many years pass away before our great kings make public their abominable perjuries; and it appears immediately afterwards that they thus seek, without any shame, to mock both God and all mankind. After testifying that they seek nothing except to defend by their protection what is right and just, and to resist the tyranny and pride of others, they immediately draw back when anything adverse afterwards happens, and the city, which had hoped everything from so liberal a king, is afterwards forced to submit and to agree with its enemies, and to manage matters anyhow; thus its nakedness is disclosed. In the same manner also are inferior princes deprived of their power. And to whom is this to be imputed but to the principal author? For when any one, for the sake of ambition or avarice, leads others to inconvenience or to damage, he may justly and correctly be said to disclose their nakedness. We now apprehend the Prophet’s real meaning, which interpreters have not understood. I come now to the next verse—
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv15–17 He reproacheth thus the king of Babylon, who as…
He reproacheth thus the king of Babylon, who as he was drunken with covetousness and cruelty, so he provoked others to the same, and inflamed them by his rage, and so in the end brought them to shame.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv15–17 Hab 2:15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour…
Hab 2:15 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!
Ver. 15. Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink] The Babylonians (among other their flagitious practices afore mentioned) were much addicted to drunkenness, as is recorded by Herodotus, Ctesias, and others. Their land was sick of drink, and would therefore spue them out: themselves were men of wine, Hab 2:5 (see the note), and should therefore drink deep of the wine of God’s fierce wrath. They drank to their neighbours or companions, not in a way either of courtesy or charity, but purposely to intoxicate them, to make them drunk, that they might either deride them or abuse them to filthy pleasure, or both; they bucked them with drink, and then laid them out to be shunned and scorned, as Noah was by his graceless son. Therefore as he cursed Canaan (though Scaliger excuse him), and it stuck to his posterity for ever, so doth God here denounce a woe to drunkards, and so sets it on, as no creature shall ever be able to take it off.
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That puttest thy bottle to him] Not thy bowl only, but thy bottle, that he may drink, and be drunk, and spue, and fall, Jer 25:27. This is ordinarily practised by our roaring boys (as they will needs be called by a woeful prolepsis, here for hereafter), in their Cyclopical, κυκλοποσιαι. Either by persuasions or threats the bottle is set to the mouth, and must be emptied ere it come thence. The civil, sober, and temperate man is urged, and, it may be, forced to swallow down long and needless draughts, as a horse doth a drench, by domineering drunkards, that they may see his nakedness, triumph over him, as laid up, or (as the new term is), satisfied. Their vile courses are here graphically, and in lively colours, described by the Holy Ghost; to set forth the hatefulness thereof, and how woeful will be the issue. There are those who read the words thus, That puttest thine anger to him, thy fervour, and thy fury, viz. if he pledge thee not whole ones, and drink not all the outs, as they call them. Domitius, the father of Nero, slew Liberius, an honest Roman, because he refused to drink so much as he commanded him. Others read it, That puttest thy poison to him; and indeed, Ebrietas eat blandus daemon, dulce venenum, suave peccatum. Drunkenness is a fair spoken devil, a pleasant poison, a sweet sin, which he that hath in him hath not himself, and which he that runs into runs not into a single sin, but is wholly turned into sin. How often (saith a grave divine) have I seen vermin sucking the drunkard’s blood, as fast as he that of the grape or malt, yet would he not leave his hold or lose his draught? Gualther reads it, Coniungens fervorem tuum, Joining thine heat, inflaming thyself, that thou mayest drink him under the board. This was great Alexander’s sin and ruin; so it was Mark Antony’s (who wrote a book of his abilities to drink down others, De sua bibacitate librum conseripsit, seu potius evomuit), and before them both Darius’s, as Athenaeus hath left recorded. How much better his successor, Ahasuerus, who made a law at his great feast that every man should drink according to his pleasure, Est 1:8. So Minos, King of Crete, ordered that his subjects should not drink one to another, εις μεθην, unto drunkenness.
“ Quinetiam Spartae mos est laudabilis ille,
Ut bibat arbitrio pocula quisque sue. ”
Among the old Germans, diem noctemque continuare potando, nulli probrum, saith Tacitus, It was no disgrace to drink night and day together. It is still the sin of that nation, as Gualther upon this text heavily complaineth; and it is grown to a proverb, the drunken Dutchman. Of them the English, much commended for their sobriety, learned, in the Netherland wars, to drown themselves by immoderate drinking; and by drinking to others’ healths, to impair their own; so that in our days came forth the first restraint thereof by severity of laws, saith Camden; who yet, being so great an antiquity, could not but know that in the year 959 Edgar, king of this land, made an ordinance for putting pins in cups, that none should quaff whole ones.
And makest him drunk also] Robbest him of himself, and layest a beast in his room. The same Hebrew word, Zolel, signifieth a drunkard and a vile person: filthy venomous creatures breed in those fennish grounds, Job 40:21. Behemoth lieth in them; which Gulielmus Parisiensis applieth to the devil in drunken hearts; whereas in dry places, sober souls, he walketh about seeking rest but findeth none, Mat 12:43. The very heathen, in hatred of this sin, feigned that Cobali (a harmful and pernicious kind of devils) accompanied Bacchus; and that Acratus, or the intemperate devil, was their captain. Seneca calleth it a voluntary madness, another a noonday devil ( daemon meridianus), no more a night walker, as once, 1Th 5:7. The Lacedaemonians punished it severely; so do the Turks to this day, pouring ladlefuls of boiling lead down their throats sometimes; and at least thrashing of them on the bare feet, till they are disabled for walking in haste again to their societies of good fellowship. Morat Bassa commanded a pipe to be thrust through the nose of a Turk which was found taking tobacco; and so in derision to be led about Constantinople. Let men shun this shameful sin, and be far from drawing others to it; for have they not sins enough of their own to answer for? Must they needs go to hell in company? Dives desired that his brethren and companions in sin might not come to that place of torment, Luk 16:28. This he did not out of any goodwill to them, but because he knew if they were ever damned, he should be double damned.
That thou mayest look on their nakedness] Those parts that nature would have covered are called nakedness, per Antiphrasin. To look on them with delight is by some held a sin against nature; the ground of their opinion is Gen 3:7. To make men drunk for that purpose is worse. But if for further abuse of their bodies to uncleanness (as Attalus, the Macedonian, dealt by Pausanias, a young courtier, who afterwards slew King Philip, because he would not punish Attalus for so doing), that is worst of all; and hath a woe, woe, woe, hanging at the heels of it, Pausaniam solutum mero Attalus non suae tantum verum et convivarum libidini, velut scortum vile subiecit, ludibriumque omnium inter aequales reddidit.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv15–17 Another public and crying sin of this Chaldean kingdom…
Another public and crying sin of this Chaldean kingdom was excessive drinking, and making one another drunk, and for this God will severely punish.
Puttest thy bottle to him; forcing them by importunity or threats to drink by greater measures then they can bear.
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Makest him drunken also; never givest over till thou hast made him vile and loathsome, as well as senseless in his drink.
That thou mayest look on their nakedness; designing to put the greatest abuse on them, exposing them to view, scorn, and derision, or to beastly or not to be named uncleanness, which vice the Babylonians are charged with by Herodotus and Ctesias.
Another public and crying sin of this Chaldean kingdom was excessive drinking, and making one another drunk, and for this God will severely punish.
Puttest thy bottle to him; forcing them by importunity or threats to drink by greater measures then they can bear.
Makest him drunken also; never givest over till thou hast made him vile and loathsome, as well as senseless in his drink.
That thou mayest look on their nakedness; designing to put the greatest abuse on them, exposing them to view, scorn, and derision, or to beastly or not to be named uncleanness, which vice the Babylonians are charged with by Herodotus and Ctesias.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v15 The three foregoing articles, upon which the woes here…
The three foregoing articles, upon which the woes here are grounded, are very near akin to each other. The criminals charged by them are oppressors and extortioners, that raise estates by rapine and injustice; and it is mentioned here again (Hab 2:17), the very same that was said Hab 2:8, for that is the crime upon which the greatest stress is laid; it is because of men's blood, innocent blood, barbarously and unjustly shed, which is a provoking crying thing; it is for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein, which God will certainly reckon for, sooner or later, as the asserter of right and the avenger of wrong.
But here are two articles more, of a different nature, which carry a woe to all those in general to whom they belong, and particularly to the Babylonian monarchs, by whom the people of God were taken and held captives.
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I. The promoters of drunkenness stand here impeached and condemned. Belshazzar was one of those; he was so, remarkably that very night that the prophecy of this chapter was fulfilled in the period of his life and kingdom, when he drank wine before a thousand of his lords (Dan 5:1), began the healths, and forced them to pledge him. And perhaps it was one reason why the succeeding monarchs of Persia made it a law of their kingdom that in drinking none should compel, but they should do according to every man's pleasure (as we find, Est 1:8), because they had seen in the kings of Babylon the mischievous consequences of forcing healths and making people drunk. But the woe here stands firm and very fearful against all those, whoever they are, who are guilty of this sin at any time, and in any place, from the stately palace (where that was) to the paltry ale-house. Observe,
1. Who the sinner is that is here articled against; it is he that makes his neighbour drunk, Hab 2:15. To give a neighbour drink who is in want, who is thirsty and poor, though it be but a cup of cold water to a disciple, in the name of a disciple, to give drink to weary traveller, nay, and to give strong drink to him that is ready to perish, and wine to those that are heavy of heart, is a piece of charity which is required of us, and shall be recompensed to us. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. But to give a neighbour drink who has enough already, and more than enough, with design to intoxicate him, that he may expose himself, may talk foolishly, and make himself ridiculous, may disclose his own secret concerns, or be drawn in to agree to a bad bargain for himself - this is abominable wickedness; and those who are guilty of it, who make a practice of it, and take a pride and pleasure in it, are rebels against God in heaven, and his sacred laws, factors for the devil in hell, and his cursed interests, and enemies to men on earth, and their honour and welfare; they are like the son of Nebat, who sinned and made Israel to sin. To entice others to drunkenness, to put the bottle to them, that they may be allured to it by its charms, by looking on the wine when it is red and gives its colour in the cup, or to force them to it, obliging them by the rules of the club (and club-laws indeed they are) to drink so many glasses, and so filled, is to do what we can, and perhaps more than we know of, towards the murder both of soul and body; and those that do so have a great deal to answer for.
2. What the sentence is that is here passed upon him. There is a woe to him (Hab 2:15), and a punishment (Hab 2:16) that shall answer to the sin. (1.) Does he put the cup of drunkenness into the hand of his neighbour? The cup of fury, the cup of trembling, the cup of the Lord's right hand, shall be turned unto him; the power of God shall be armed against him. That cup which had gone round among the nations, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, and a hissing, which had made them stumble and fall, so that they could rise no more, shall at length be put into the hand of the king of Babylon, as was foretold, Jer 25:15, Jer 25:16, Jer 25:18, Jer 25:26, Jer 25:27. Thus the New Testament Babylon, which had made the nations drunk with the cup of her fornications, shall have blood given her to drink, for she is worthy, Rev 18:3, Rev 18:6. (2.) Does he take a pleasure in putting his neighbour to shame? He shall himself be loaded with contempt: "Thou art filled with shame for glory, with shame instead of glory, or art filled now with shame more than ever thou wast with glory; and the glory thou hast been filled with shall but serve to make thy shame the more grievous to thyself, and the more ignominious in the eyes of others. Thou also shalt drink of the cup of trembling, and shalt expose thyself by thy fear and cowardice, which shall be as the uncovering of thy nakedness, to thy shame; and all about thee shall load thee with disgrace, for shameful spewing shall be on thy glory, on that which thou hast most prided thyself in, thy dignity, wealth, and dominion; those whom thou hast made drunk shall themselves spew upon it. For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts (Hab 2:17); thou shalt be hunted and run down with as much violence as ever any wild beasts in Lebanon were, shall be spoiled as they are, and thy fall made a sport of; for thou art as one of the beasts that made them afraid, and therefore they triumph when they have got the mastery of thee." Or, "It is because of the violence thou hast done to Lebanon, that is, the land of Israel (Deu 3:25) and the temple (Zac 11:1), that God now reckons with thee; that is the sin that now covers thee."
II. The promoters of idolatry stand here impeached and condemned; and this also was a sin that Babylon was notoriously guilty of; it was the mother of harlots. Belshazzar, in his revels, praised his idols. And for this, here is a woe against them, and in them against all others that do likewise, particularly the New Testament Babylon. Now see here,
1. What they do to promote idolatry; they are mad upon their idols; so the Chaldeans are said to be, Jer 50:38. For, (1.) They have a great variety of idols, their graven images and molten images, that people may take their choice, which they like best. (2.) They are very nice and curious in the framing of them: The maker of the work has performed his part admirably well, the fashioner of his fashion (so it is in the margin), that contrived the model in the most significant manner. (3.) They are at great expense in beautifying and adorning them: They lay them over with gold and silver; because these are things people love and dote upon wherever they meet with them, they dress up their idols in them, the more effectually to court the adoration of the children of this world. (4.) They have great expectations from them: The maker of the work trusts therein as his god, puts a confidence in it, and gives honour to it as his god. The worshippers of God give honour to him, by offering up their prayers to him, and waiting to receive instructions and directions from him; and these honours they give to their idols. [1.] They pray to them: They say to the wood, Awake for our relief, "awake to hear our prayers;" and to the dumb stone, "Arise, and save us," as the church prays to her God, Awake, O Lord! arise, Psa 44:23. They own their image to be a god by praying to it. Deliver me, for thou art my God, Isa 44:17. Deos qui rogat ille facit - That to which a man addresses petitions is to him a god. [2.] They consult them as oracles, and expect to be directed and dictated to by them: They say to the dumb stone, though it cannot speak, yet it shall teach. What the wicked demon, or no less wicked priest, speaks to them from the image, they receive with the utmost veneration, as of divine authority, and are ready to be governed by it. Thus is idolatry planted and propagated under the specious show of religion and devotion.
2. How the extreme folly of this is exposed. God, by Isaiah, when he foretold the deliverance of his people out of Babylon, largely showed the shameful stupidity and sottishness of idolaters, and so he does here by the prophet, on the like occasion. (1.) Their images, when they have made them, are but mere matter, which is the meanest lowest rank of being; and all the expense they are at upon them cannot advance them one step above that. They are wholly void both of sense and reason, lifeless and speechless (the idol is a dumb idol, a dumb stone, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it), so that the most minute animal, that has but breath and motion, is more excellent then they. They have not so much as the spirit of a beast. (2.) It is not in their power to do their worshippers any good (Hab 2:18): What profits the graven image? Though it be mere matter, if it were cast into some other form it might be serviceable to some purpose or other of human life; but, as it is made a god of, it is of no profit at all, nor can do its worshippers the least kindness. Nay, (3.) It is so far from profiting them that it puts a cheat upon them, and keeps them under the power of a strong delusion; they say, It shall teach, but it is a teacher of lies; for it represents God as having a body, as being finite, visible, and dependent, whereas he is a Spirit, infinite, invisible, and independent, and it confirms those that become vain in their imaginations in the false notions they have of God, and makes the idea of God to be a precarious thing, and what every man pleases. If we may say to the works of our hands, You are our gods, we may say so to any of the creatures of our own fancy, though the chimera be ever so extravagant. An image is a doctrine of vanities; it is falsehood, and a work of errors, Jer 10:8, Jer 10:14, Jer 10:15. It is therefore easy to see what the religion of those is, and what they aim at, who recommend those teachers of lies as laymen's books, which they are to study and govern themselves by, when they have locked up from them the book of the scriptures in an unknown tongue.
3. How the people of God triumph in him, and therewith support themselves, when the idolaters thus shame themselves (Hab 2:20): But the Lord is in his holy temple. (1.) Our rock is not as their rock, Deu 32:31. Theirs are dumb idols; ours is Jehovah, a living God, who is what he is, and not, as theirs, what men please to make him. He is in his holy temple in heaven, the residence of his glory, where we have access to him in the way, not which we have invented, but which he himself has instituted. Compare Psa 115:3, But our God is in the heavens, and Psa 11:4. (2.) The multitude of their gods which they set up, and take so much pains to support, cannot thrust out our God; he is, and will be, in his holy temple still, and glorious in holiness. They have laid waste his temple at Jerusalem; but he has a temple above that is out of the reach of their rage and malice, but within the reach of his people's faith and prayers. (3.) Our God will make all the world silent before him, will strike the idolaters as dumb as their idols, convincing them of their folly, and covering them with shame. He will silence the fury of the oppressors, and check their rage against his people. (4.) It is the duty of his people to attend him with silent adorings (Psa 65:1), and patiently to wait for his appearing to save them in his own way and time. Be still, and know that he is God, Zac 2:13.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv15–17 Thou art filled with shame for glory,.... This is…
Thou art filled with shame for glory,.... This is said by the Lord to the man that gives his neighbour drink to intoxicate him, that he may draw him into uncleanness, and please himself with it; who, instead of being filled with the glory of the Lord, and the knowledge of it, as the earth is before said to be, such are filled with shameful doctrines and abominable practices, as those of the church of Rome are; and instead of seeking the glory of God, and the honour of their neighbours, they are satiated with the shameful spectacle of their apostasy, they have been the instruments of; and yet, instead of taking shame to themselves, as they ought to do, they glory in their shame; count it an honour they have been the instruments of bringing them into such uncleanness and idolatry; and glut themselves with the delightful sight; which in the esteem of God, was filling themselves with shame, instead of bringing any glory to him, to themselves, or their neighbours; and therefore should severely smart for it:
drink thou also: of another cup, the cup "of the wine of the wrath of God"; as a just retaliation for giving to others "the wine of wrath of fornication" to drink, and to intoxicate men with; which will be given to mystical Babylon at the time she comes into remembrance before God, or when the time to punish her is come, and to all the followers and worshippers of the beast; see Rev 14:10,
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and let thy foreskin be uncovered; in retaliation for uncovering the nakedness of others, and looking with pleasure on it; by which it will appear that the men here spoken of, that take all the above methods to draw or force others into the communion of their church, are no other than heathens; their religion consisting greatly of Gentilism; or what has a very great likeness to it; hence the Papists are sometimes called Heathens and Gentiles; see Psa 10:16,
the cup of the Lord's right hand shall be turned unto thee; who, in their turn, shall drink of it, when his right hand, in which it is, shall reach it out; for there is no resisting the power of that; when he gives the orders to drink it, they must; and this cup in his right hand is a cup of red wine, of the wrath, fury, and indignation of God, the dregs of which these wicked men must wring out, and drink up; see Psa 75:8. It is no unusual thing in Scripture for the wrath, vengeance, and judgments of God to be represented by a cup, as in Isa 51:17,
and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory: signifying that they should be like a man intoxicated with wine, that vomits it up again; and which, falling on his fine clothes, spoils the glory of them: so when this cup of wrath and vengeance should be given unto them, and they be made to drink of it, they should be so full of it, that all their glory should be covered with shame; or all their glorious things should be spoiled, and they deprived of all their riches and honours, their titles and grandeur; the magnificence of their temples, altars, idols, and vestments, &c.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv16–17 Thou - O king of Babylon. Shall be turned…
Thou - O king of Babylon. Shall be turned - They turned the cup of pleasure about, God will carry the cup of indignation about also, and make them drink deep of it. Shameful spewing - Thou shalt be as much loathed as a shameful drunkard is in his vomit.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv15–17 Verse 15. Wo unto him that giveth his neighbour…
Verse 15. Wo unto him that giveth his neighbour drink] This has been considered as applying to Pharaoh-hophra, king of Egypt, who enticed his neighbours Jehoiachin and Zedekiah to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar, whereby the nakedness and imbecility of the poor Jews was soon discovered; for the Chaldeans soon took Jerusalem, and carried its kings, princes, and people, into captivity.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv15, 17 Hab 2:15-16. Wo unto him that giveth his neighbour…
Hab 2:15-16. Wo unto him that giveth his neighbour drink — By the metaphorical expressions used in this verse is signified the perfidy of Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans, who gained advantage over other nations by cunning arts of policy, and taking them off their guard by pretences of friendship, and the like; just as some men gain advantage over others by persuading them to drink too much. Thou art filled with shame for glory, &c. — Thy glory shall now be turned into shame. Perhaps this might be intended to signify the rejoicing of the nations at the downfall of the Chaldean empire. Drink thou also — Now it is come to thy turn to drink of the cup of God’s anger. Be thou also naked, as thou hast made others naked. All this is spoken in derision, or by way of mockery. The cup of the Lord’s right hand shall be turned unto thee — Or, upon thee; that is, thou shalt drink out the whole cup, or experience all the indignation of God. “Grotius justly observes, that these two verses contain an allegory. The Chaldeans gave to the neighbouring nations the cup of idolatry and of deceitful alliance, and in return they received from Jehovah the cup of his fury.” — Newcome.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv15–17 From cruelty the prophet goes on to denounce the…
From cruelty the prophet goes on to denounce the woe on insolence. “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor” (to whom he owes love) drink (literally, that maketh him drink); that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also , that thou mayest look (gaze with devilish pleasure) on their nakedness.” This may either be of actual insults (as in the history of Noah), in keeping certainly with the character of the later Babylonians, the last wantonness of unbridled power, making vile sport of those like himself (his neighbor), or it may be drunkenness through misery Isa 29:9 wherein they are bared of all their glory and brought to the lowest shame. The woe also falls on all, who in any way intoxicate others with flattering words or reigned affection, mixing poison under things pleasant, to bring them to shame.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv15–17 Wo. All this may refer to the king of…
Wo. All this may refer to the king of Egypt, who deceived Joakim, Sedecias, &c. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "O, he who giveth drink to his neighbour, a cruel overthrow, and who maketh," &c. --- Nakedness. Septuagint, "caverns;" deluding him, so that his places of retreat become useless. (Haydock) --- The Jews relate that Sedecias was intoxicated, and then acted with indecency. (St. Jerome) --- But these accounts deserve little credit.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv15–17 giveth . . . neighbour drink . . .…
giveth . . . neighbour drink . . . puttest . . . bottle to him--literally, "skin," as the Easterns use "bottles" of skin for wine. MAURER, from a different Hebrew root, translates, "that pourest in thy wrath." English Version keeps up the metaphor better. It is not enough for thee to be "drunken" thyself, unless thou canst lead others into the same state. The thing meant is, that the Chaldean king, with his insatiable desires (a kind of intoxication), allured neighboring states into the same mad thirst for war to obtain booty, and then at last exposed them to loss and shame (compare Isa 51:17; Oba 1:16). An appropriate image of Babylon, which at last fell during a drunken revel (Dan. 5:1-31).
that thou mayest look on their nakedness!--with light, like Ham of old (Gen 9:22).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v15 Woe upon cruelty toward other nations, Hab_2:15-17.
Woe upon cruelty toward other nations, Hab_2:15-17.
Hab_2:15 presents a figurative description of the craftiness, cruelty, and cunning by the use of which the Chaldeans have reduced the nations to helplessness. The picture is that of a man giving poisonous or intoxicating drink to another, for the express purpose of taking delight in his shame (Gen_9:21), or taking advantage of him. But the oppressor will be compelled to drink of the same cup and suffer shame, only in an intensified form (Hab_2:16-17).
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The thought of Hab_2:15 is clear, but there is some uncertainty as to details.
That giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle to him — The meaning of some of the words is uncertain; hence the difference between A.V. and R.V., “that giveth his neighbor drink, to thee that addest thy venom.” The grammatical construction differs from that in the preceding woes (Hab_2:6; Hab_2:9; Hab_2:12). The meaning of the verb translated “add” or “puttest” is uncertain; the translation “bottle” requires a change of vowel points; on the other hand, the expression “to add venom” is peculiar. This accumulation of peculiarities has led most scholars to suspect a corruption of the text, and various emendations have been attempted. That of Wellhausen is the simplest; it requires but slight alterations, removes the difficulties, and gives a very satisfactory sense: “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink out of the cup of his wrath, and maketh him drunken also” (compare Zec_12:2). The cup of wrath is one offered in wrath, which, therefore, does not contain a pleasant, refreshing drink, but one bitter and destructive. The cruel, heartless man offers this cup and compels his enemy to drink it to the dregs, until he becomes helpless in his intoxication. An apt illustration of the manner in which the Chaldeans treated other nations.
That thou mayest look on their nakedness — An indication of the shameful purpose inspiring the act. The one who gives the drink is the Chaldean, those who drink it are the nations; the prostrate condition of the drunken man represents the pitiful condition of the conquered nations, the uncovering of the nakedness suggests the depth of ignominy the conquered nations were made to suffer (Nah_3:5).
Hab_2:16 announces the divine judgment upon the Chaldean; he hoped to exalt himself by bringing shame upon others, and temporarily his hopes appear to be realized, but in the end the ignominy will return upon his own head.
Thou art filled with shame for glory — R.V., “with shame, and not glory.” A somewhat freer rendering expresses the thought more clearly, “Thou art filled with shame instead of glory.” The Chaldean’s object in conquest was to win glory; instead he has brought upon himself shame, for he must suffer the same treatment which he has accorded to others.
Drink thou — The cup of the divine wrath.
Let thy foreskin be uncovered — R.V., “be as one uncircumcised.” Here equivalent to “show thy nakedness.” He compelled others to do this (Hab_2:15). LXX. and other ancient versions read “stagger” instead of “let thy foreskin be uncovered”; the whole clause, “drink thou also and stagger,” which may be original (Nah_2:4; Zec_12:2).
The cup of Jehovah’s right hand — Thus far he has compelled the nations to drink the cup he handed them, now he must take from Jehovah’s right hand the cup containing a similar drink.
Shameful spewing — R.V., “foul shame.” The translation of A.V. is due to the erroneous dividing of one word into two; it is one word, an intensive form of the ordinary word for shame.
Shall be on thy glory — Shall cover it so that it is seen no more; it will entirely displace it.
R.V. expresses more clearly the thought of 17a: “For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover thee, and the destruction of the beasts, which made them afraid.”
The violence of [“done to”] Lebanon — This might be understood as a figurative representation of the devastation of Palestine; it is more likely, however, that it is meant literally. The violence is that done to Lebanon by cutting down its stately cedars for use in building enterprises. The inscriptions of both Assyrian and Chaldean kings state that the cedar wood was brought from great distances — sometimes Mount Lebanon is mentioned by name — to be used in the erection of temples and palaces. The more extensive the building enterprises, the greater the violence to Lebanon. The use of the cedars of Lebanon in the building of heathen temples may have been considered by the Israelites an act of profanity (Isa_14:8).
Shall cover thee — Shall return upon thine own head (Oba_1:10; Jer_3:25).
The spoil of beasts [“the destruction of the beasts”] — That is, of Lebanon. The inscriptions and monuments reveal what enthusiastic hunters were the kings of the East.
The invasion of Lebanon for such purposes may also have been considered desecration.
Which made them afraid — The destruction which made afraid the beasts of Lebanon shall return upon the Chaldean’s own head. Though this thought, which can be had from the present Hebrew text, is not unsuitable, many commentators prefer the reading of some of the ancient versions, “and the destruction of the beasts shall make thee afraid.”
The refrain is repeated from Hab_2:11.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv15–17 15–17. Fourth woe: his contemptuous humiliation of prostrate potentates…
15–17. Fourth woe: his contemptuous humiliation of prostrate potentates and nations
15. The helplessness of the nations before the power or the craft of the Chaldean and his contemptuous treatment of them when subject to him is represented under the figure of giving one to drink to intoxication and then making brutal merriment over the exposure of his nakedness (Gen_9:21).
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That puttest thy bottle to him] As the text stands the verse reads: Woe to him that giveth his neighbour drink, mixing therewith (or, adding thereto) thy wrath, and makest him drunken also. The idea would be, not that the wrath was the drink, but only mixed with it or added to it (1Sa_2:36; Isa_14:1). This is not natural. A.V. “bottle” (Gen_21:14) is in Heb. a word similar to “wrath,” and might be read if the vowel points were altered, but its use is quite improbable. The ancient “bottle,” being a wine-skin, would not suggest the figure. Wellh. makes the ingenious conjecture that the term “mixing,” or adding to, has arisen by accidental repetition of a letter, and that its true sense is “from the cup” (Zec_12:2)—Woe to him that giveth his neighbour drink from the cup of his (lit. thy) wrath, and makest him drunken also.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv15, 17 (15, 16) Woe unto him.—It is possible that wanton…
(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 Hab_2:5. But we much prefer to treat the language as figurative. The invader has made his neighbours drink the cup of his cruel anger till they have reached the depths of shameful degradation. He, too, shall drink “of the cup of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God” (Rev_16:19; see also Psa_76:8, Jer_25:26, Lam_4:21); and then foul shame, as of a man stupefied with drink, shall take the place of glory and dignity.
Puttest thy bottle.—It is possible to render, pourest out thy wrath, and this makes the metaphor less obscure.
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(15-17) Woe on the cruel invader who has made the world drink of the cup of wrath.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv15–17 Vers. 15-1711. The fourth woe: for base and degrading…
Vers. 15-1711. The fourth woe: for base and degrading treatment of subject nations.
Not only do the Chaldeans oppress and pillage the peoples, but they expose them to the vilest derision and contumely. The prophet uses figures taken from the conduct produced by intemperance. That giveth his neighbour drink. The Chaldeans behaved to the conquered nations like one who gives his neighbour intoxicating drink to stupefy his faculties and expose him to shame (comp. ver. 5). The literal drunkenness of the Chaldeans is not the point here. That puttest thy bottle to him. If this translation is received, the clause is merely a strengthened repetition of the preceding with a sudden change of person. But it may be rendered, "pouring out, or mixing, thy fury," or, as Jerome, "mittens fel suum," "adding thy poison thereto." This last version seems most suitable, introducing a kind of climax, the "poison" being some drug added to increase the intoxicating power. Thus: he gives his neighbour drink, and this drugged, and in the end makes him drunken also. For the second clause the Septuagint gives, ajnatroph| qolera|, subversione turbida and the versions collected by Jerome are only unanimous in differing from one another That thou mayest look on their nakedness. There seems to be an allusion to the case of Noah; (Gen_9:21, etc.) but the figure is meant to show the abject state to which the conquered nations were reduced, when, prostrated by fraud and treachery, they were mocked and spurned and covered with ignominy. (comp. Nah_3:5, Nah_3:11) So the mystic Babylon is said to have made the nations drink of her cup. (Rev_14:8 Rev_17:2 Rev_18:3)
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Vers. 15-17A parable of woes: 4. Woe to the insolent!
I WANTON WICKEDNESS.
1. Symbolically set forth. The image employed is that of giving to one"s neighbour drink from a bottle with which "vengeance," "fury," or "wrath," or, according to another interpretation, "poison," has been mixed, in order to intoxicate him, that one might have the devilish enjoyment of looking on his nakedness, as Ham did on that of Noah, or generally of glorying in his shame. To infer from this that the bare act of giving to a neighbour drink is sinful, is not warranted by Scripture (Pro_31:6; 1Ti_5:23) and is going beyond the intention of the prophet, who introduces the "picture from life," not as an instance of one sort of wickedness in itself, but as a symbol of another sort of wickedness on the part of the Chaldean. Still, the action selected by the prophet has in it several elements of wickedness which are worthy of consideration. It the mere giving of drink to another is not sinful, (Pro_31:6) the doing so out of malice ("adding venom or wrath thereto") is, while the sin is aggravated by practising deception in connection therewith ("mixing poison therewith the wine," as the modern phrase is), and intensified further by the motive impelling thereto (to be able to gloat over the neighbour"s degradation), and most of all condemned by being done against a neighbour to whom one owes not wrath but love, not casting down but lifting up, not exulting in his shame but rejoicing in his welfare. The words can hardly be construed into a condemnation of those who give and take wine or other drinks in moderation and to the glory of God; but they unquestionably pronounce him guilty in God"s sight who deliberately and maliciously makes his fellow man drunk in order to enrich or amuse himself at that fellow man"s expense.
2. Historically acted out.
(1) By the Chaldean, who drew the nations of the earth into his power by means of poisoned flatteries Enticed to place themselves beneath his tutelage, these nations ultimately fell into his power, and were by him oppressed, degraded, and insulted.
(2) By modern nations, who to enrich themselves enforce upon weaker tribes treaties and traffic (whether of opium or of strong drink) which lead to their moral enfeeblement.
(3) By private individuals, who for their own gain or pleasure hurl their neighbours with sublime indifference into gulfs of misery and shame.
II APPROPRIATE PUNISHMENT.
1. Of Divine sending. Jehovah"s goblet, of which he had caused the nations to drink, should be handed round to the Chaldeans and other guilty nations and individuals, who should all be compelled to drink of it. (Psa_75:8)
2. Of terrible severity. It should be as shameful as that which the Chaldeans had inflicted upon the nations. It should cause him also to be drunken, and should expose his foreskin to others. (cf. Isa_47:3) It should cover his glory with shame as when the attire of a drunken man is bespattered with his vomiting. Of sinners generally it is written that "shame shall be the promotion of fools". (Pro_3:35)
3. Of retributive character. The wickedness of the Chaldean should return upon his own pate. The violence he had done to Lebanon (the Holy Land or the fair regions of the earth generally) should rebound upon himself. The destruction of the beasts, i.e. practised upon wild animals which, by their incursions, cause men to assemble against them, should crush the Chaldean who had become as a ferocious beast (Pusey); or the destruction inflicted by the Chaldean on the wild beasts of Lebanon and other districts by cutting down the wood thereof for military purposes or for state buildings, should return upon them with avenging fury (Keil). The same law of retribution obtains in the punishment of sinners generally. (Mat_7:2)
Learn:
1. The sin of drunkenness.
2. The greater sin of making others drunk.
3. The acme of sin, exulting in the moral overthrow of others.
4. The certainty that none of these acts of sin will go unpunished.
5. The fitness that this should be so.
Vers. 18, 19A parable of woes: 5. Woe to the idolatrous!
I IDOLATRY AN ABSURDITY. It must ever be so. The notion that any figure fashioned by man out of wood or stone, silver or gold, however carved or gilded, can either be or represent the Infinite and Eternal One, carries the stamp of unreason on the face of it. (Psa_115:4-8; Isa_44:19; Jer_10:5)
II IDOLATRY A FRAUD. Set up as gods, and worshipped as such, graven and molten images are a hideous imposition upon man"s credulity, being
(1) lifeless, is no breath at all in the midst of them;
(2) speechless, the carved wood and graven stone are Mike "dumb", (1Co_12:2) and only fools would say to them, "Arise, and teach!
(3) truthless, in so far as they can be supposed to impart instruction being veritable "teachers of lies;" and
(4) valueless, of no use or profit to any one on earth and beneath the. (Jer_10:5)
III IDOLATRY A RUINATION. It brings with it a woe upon all who are deluded by it. It entails upon them God"s curse (Deu_27:15) and endless sorrow (Psa_16:4) and everlasting death. (Rev_21:8)
LESSON. "Little children, keep yourselves from idols". (1Jn_5:21)
Vers. 15-17God"s retributive justice.
It is a Divine law that "whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap". (Gal_6:7) God is just, and hence will cause retribution to be experienced by evil doers. A striking illustration of the operation of this great law is presented in these verses. Consider
I THE COURSE THE CHALDEANS HAD ADOPTED TOWARD OTHERS. (Ver. 15.) The reference in this verse is not to the sin of drunkenness. That sin is a distressing and degrading one, and they are true lovers of their kind who seek to lessen its ravages, to deliver men from its thraldom. It has proved a blight to the children of men all down the ages. The Chaldeans were notorious for it; revellings, banquetings, excess of wine, marked them all through their history, and specially signalized the close of their career. The prophet, however, here simply used this vice as a symbol in order to set forth vividly the course the Babylonians had adopted towards others, and specially to indicate their deceitfulness. Drink drowns the reason, and places its victim at the mercy of any who are mean enough to take advantage of him. And the thought the prophet wished to convey here (ver. 15) seems to be that as a man, desiring to injure another, persuades him to take stimulant, and thus, whilst professing good intentions, effects his evil purpose, so had the Chaldeans intoxicated feebler powers by professions of friendship and regard, drawing them into alliance, and then turning upon them to their discomfiture and ruin. And he proceeds to indicate
II THE COURSE GOD WOULD ADOPT TOWARDS THEM. (Vers. 16, 17.) And in this he traced the Divine retribution of their iniquity. He saw prophetically that:
1. As they had taken advantage of others, so others should in due coursetake advantage of them (ver. 16) and bring them to shame.
2. As they would lay waste his country and take his people into captivity,so subsequently they should themselves be brought to nought, and their empire pass out of their hands. (ver. 17; comp. Isa_14:8, in which the fir trees and cedars are made to rejoice in the overthrow of Babylon) Our prophet had been perplexed at the thought of the Chaldeans as being the instruments of the Divine justice in reference to his own sinful people, but the mystery was clearing away, and in the final overthrow of Babylon he here foreshadowed, he traced another token that "the Lord is righteous in all his ways. S.D.H.
Vers. 15-17National wrongs ending in national woes. No. 4.
"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! 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," etc. "This," says Henderson, "is the commencement of the fourth stanza. Though the idea of the shameless conduct of drunkards here depicted may have been borrowed from the profligate manners of the Babylonian court, yet the language is not to be taken literally, as if the prophet were describing such manners, but, as the sequel shows, is applied allegorically to the state of stupefaction, prostration, and exposure to which the conquered nations were reduced by the Chaldeans (see Isa_51:17-20; and comp. Psa_75:8; Jer_25:15-28 Jer_49:12 Jer_51:7; Eze_23:31, Eze_23:32; Rev_14:10 Rev_16:19 Rev_18:6) Notice
I THE NATIONAL WRONGS. What are the wrongs referred to in this passage?
1. The promotion of drunkenness. "Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink!" The Babylonians were not only drunkards, but the promoters of drunkenness. The very night on which this prophecy was fulfilled, Belshazzar drank wine with a thousand of his lords. More than once in these homilies we have had to characterize and denounce this sin. Who are the promoters of drunkenness? Brewers, distillers, tavern keepers, and, I am sorry to add, doctors, all of whom, with a few exceptions, recommend intoxicating drinks. In doing so these men inflict a thousand times as much evil upon mankind as they can accomplish good.
2. The promotion of drunkenness involves indeceney. "That thou mayest look on their nakedness." It is the tendency of drunkenness to destroy all sense of decency. A drunkard, whether male or female, loses all sense of shame.
II THE NATIONAL WOES. "Woe unto him that giveth strong drink!, What will come to those people?
1. Contempt. "Thou art filled with shame for glory! the cup of the Lord"s right hand shall be turned unto thee." As the Chaldeans had treated the nations they had conquered in a most disgusting manner, so they in their turn should be similarly treated. "With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
2. Violence. "For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee." Stripped of all figure, the meaning of this is that the sufferings which Babylon inflicted upon Palestine, represented here by Lebanon, would return to them. Here is retribution. Babylon had given the cup of drunkenness, and in return should have the cup of fury and contempt. D.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v15 Hab_2:15. Woe] the fourth. Bottle] Skin in common use.…
CRITICAL NOTES.]
Hab_2:15. Woe] the fourth. Bottle] Skin in common use. Look] with delight (Gen_9:22). Naked] The prostrate condition of the drunken man a figure of the overthrow of a conquered nation (Nah_3:11), and the uncovering of the shame denotes the ignominy that has fallen upon it (Nah_3:5; Isa_47:3).
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Hab_2:16. Thou] shalt drink of the cup of sorrow (Jer_25:15-17). Foreskin] As one uncircumcised. Spewing] Shameful vomiting will cover thy glory, i.e. destroy thee. Turned] Lit. shall turn itself from other nations.
Hab_2:17. Violence] Outrage in spoiling cedar forests to adorn magnificent edifices (cf. Isa_14:8). Cover] Completeness of the destruction. Similar violence to that which they had displayed should fall upon them.
HOMILETICS
THE THREE CUPS.—Hab_2:15-17
Woe the fourth is pronounced upon beastly luxury, sensuality, and base treatment of subjugated nations. The bottle of wine turns out a cup of wrath, and the disposition in which it is given is that of voluptuousness and lust of power.
I. The cup of wine. “Woe to him that giveth his neighbour drink.” The Chaldæans, with insatiable desire, allured neighbouring States, intoxicated them with lust of war, to obtain booty, and expose them to shame.
1. Drink given to a neighbour. Drinking oneself is bad enough, but to give to others is worse. To put the bottle to others is a practice too common in the palace and the public-house. By the laws of the club or the fashion of the Court, men are constrained to drink.
2. Drink given to make a neighbour intoxicated. To give drink to a weary traveller, a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, is commendable; but to offer the bottle with a design to intoxicate, to “make him drunken also,” is abominable wickedness.
3. Drink given to expose an intoxicated neighbour to shame and contempt. “That thou mayest look on their nakedness.” To look on such things with delight is most unnatural; to abuse men in such a condition is awful. Woe to them who entice others to drunkenness that they may take advantage of them, and mock their infirmities.
II. The cup of riot. The shame with which the enemy was satisfied, was equivalent to riot, or revelling in shame. Belshazzar drank with his lords and ran to excess. In drink is a breach of propriety and good temper; “envyings, and murders, revellings, and such-like.” Day by day we learn the corruption of morals engendered and the crimes committed in sensuality and drink. Every lust of the flesh finds in drunkenness and riot its appropriate fuel and fire, and its influence in seduction and ruin baffles all calculation and conception. “Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.”
“Pass where we may, through city or through town,
Village, or hamlet, of this merry land,
Though lean and beggared, every twentieth pace
Conducts the unguarded nose to such a whiff
Of state debauch, as makes temperance real.”
III. The cup of retribution. “The cup of the Lord’s right hand shall be turned unto thee.” To deal out, in barrel or bottle, inflaming and polluting drinks is not innocent and blameless conduct. Woe, heavy woe, is pronounced upon such acts. But when the motives are mercenary, and the intentions unkind, the punishment is heavy.
1. They are filled with shame instead of glory. They sought glory, thought to be rich by oppressing others, but they lost their reputation and were filled with shame. Drunkards and ambitious men proclaim their own shame. Shameful spewing is on their glory. God rejects their services, and nature abhors their customs. “Their glory is their shame.”
2. They were treated as they treated others. “Drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered.” God’s judgments are equitable. As they had drawn others to sensuality and cruelty, so they had to drink the very dregs, and become contemptible as a drunken man lying naked, or an uncircumcised heathen, polluting himself with filthy vomit. Sensuality entails shame. Those who aid in the degradation of others adopt the most effectual means to expose themselves. “The cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken and shalt make thyself naked.”
3. They were overcome with the violence which they displayed to others. “For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee.” Violence to nature, in the destruction of the forests; to beasts, in hunting them for prey, or chasing them in fright; to man, in shedding innocent blood. The city, the country, and the people all suffered. The end of this plunder was not to adorn, but overwhelm them. The destruction was complete; “cover thee” (Isa_14:6-8). Violence done to others will be sure to recoil upon the transgressors; “to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day” (Jer_25:15-18).
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Hab_2:16. Shame. The shame of the ungodly cometh forth from himself; the shame he put others to is doubled upon himself; and the very means which he had used to fill himself with glory and greatness, cover the glory which by nature he had with the deeper disgrace, so that he should be a loathsome and revolting sight to all. Man veils foul deeds under fair words; God in his word unveils the foulness [Pusey].
The Lord’s right hand shall be turned.
1. Retribution among men: turned, Lit. turn itself from others to you. Every one’s turn will come.
2. Retribution measured among men. “The cup of the Lord’s right hand.” Measure for measure all sin brings its own retribution; but the violent will suffer “violence,” and deeds of shame will be put to everlasting contempt. Glory. The Hebrew word for glory properly signifies weightiness; as the word twice here used for shame signifies lightness; an elegant opposition, showing that whatsoever the Babylonians gloried in, and held themselves honourable for, should be lightly accounted of, and lie buried in the sheet of shame, as in a dunghill of filthy vomit [Trapp].
Hab_2:15-16. That is an extraordinary kind of argument which infers, from the mention or prohibition of an extreme sin, the rightfulness of the intervening and causative steps. Here, however, all the stages and agencies are denounced and condemned—the poisoned potion, the giving of it, and the final result [Temp. Commentary].
Hab_2:17. Beasts. God avenges cruelty done to brutes. Learn—
1. The providence of God over cattle.
2. The treatment they should receive at the hands of man. “Hath God care for oxen?” “We learn here that when God cometh to execute vengeance, he surveyeth the whole catalogue of offences; and as he saith in David, ‘I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thee,’ the wrong to the cities, to the men, to the beasts, to persons, to places, all comes into account, and the offenders shall smart for all” [Marbury].
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 2
Hab_2:15. Drink. Seldom does any sensual indulgence come alone. One lust prepares the way for others; the first step is sure to lead onwards. The poor deluded victim cannot stop when he pleases [C. Bridges].
Hab_2:16-18. Shame. There is none of you that ever entered this house of pleasure but he left the skirts of his garment in the hands of shame, and had his name rolled in the chambers of death. What fruit had ye then? This is the question [Bp. Taylor]. The man wakes from his dream, and finds that he possesses not an atom of the rich possessions he had dreamed of [Lorin].
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv15, 17 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues to answer Habakkuk and to speak of the Chaldeans as if they were one man. (See: Metaphor)
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the one who forces his neighbors to drink ... you make them drunk
The way that the Chaldeans cruelly treated other nations is spoken of as if they were a man who forces his neighbors to become drunk so that he can humiliate them. (See: Metaphor)
the one who forces his neighbors to drink
It is implied that he makes his neighbor drink wine. AT: "the one who forces his neighbors to drink wine" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
in order to look at their nakedness
"so you can look at them when they are naked." This refers to the practice of publicly humiliating people by stripping them naked in front of others. AT: "so that you can humiliate them publicly by stripping them naked" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
You will be filled with shame instead of glory
The Chaldeans passionately pursuing their own glory is spoken of as if they were eating or drinking it greedily and excessively. Instead of attaining glory, they will find only shame. AT: "You will bring shame upon yourself instead of the glory that you seek" (See: Metaphor)
Drink
Others treating the Chaldeans the way that the Chaldeans had treated others is spoken of as if the Chaldeans were to drink the wine that they had forced others to drink. AT: "Drink from the cup" or "Drink the wine" (See: Metaphor and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
you will expose your uncircumcised foreskin
This phrase is similar to the Chaldeans forcing others to strip naked so that they could look at their nakedness. Here the words "uncircumcised foreskin" indicate that they will be humiliated not just by being naked, but because their uncircumcision proves that they do not belong to Yahweh's people. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
The cup in Yahweh's right hand is coming around to you
Yahweh punishing the Chaldeans is spoken of as if he were forcing them to drink wine from a cup that he holds in his hand. Yahweh's right hand represents his power. (See: Metaphor)
The cup in Yahweh's right hand
"The cup that Yahweh holds in his right hand" or "The cup that Yahweh is holding"
is coming around to you
"will come to you as it did to others" or "will pass along to you"
disgrace will cover your glory
The Chaldeans experiencing disgrace instead of glory is spoken of as if disgrace were an object that covers the glory that they thought they had. AT: "disgrace will replace your glory" or "people will disgrace you instead of honor you" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
neighbor
shame
honor
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v15 2:15-17 In the fourth taunt song, the Babylonians are…
2:15-17 In the fourth taunt song, the Babylonians are condemned for their disgraceful acts against people, animals, and the environment. They are like a man who seems to be hospitable, but after getting his neighbors drunk, strips them of everything. However, the Babylonians will be disgraced after drinking from the cup of the Lord’s judgment (see Jer 25:15-17; cp. John 18:11).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.