Yes, moreover, wine is treacherous. An arrogant man who doesn’t stay at home, who enlarges his desire as Sheol, and he is like death, and can’t be satisfied, but gathers to himself all nations, and heaps to himself all peoples. Won’t all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases that which is not his, and who enriches himself by extortion! How long?’ Won’t your debtors rise up suddenly, and wake up those who make you tremble, and you will be their victim? 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 to the land, to the city and to all who dwell in it. Woe to him who gets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil! You have devised shame to your house, by cutting off many peoples, and have sinned against your soul. For the stone will cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the woodwork will answer it. Woe to him who builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity! Behold, isn’t it of Yahweh of Armies that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?
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Habakkuk 2:5-13 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Yahweh answered me, “Write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, that he who runs may read it. For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hurries toward the end, and won’t prove false. Though it takes time, wait for it; because it will surely come. It won’t delay. Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith. Yes, moreover, wine is treacherous. An arrogant man who doesn’t stay at home, who enlarges his desire as Sheol, and he is like death, and can’t be satisfied, but gathers to himself all nations, and heaps to himself all peoples. Won’t all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases that which is not his, and who enriches himself by extortion! How long?’ Won’t your debtors rise up suddenly, and wake up those who make you tremble, and you will be their victim? 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 to the land, to the city and to all who dwell in it. Woe to him who gets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil! You have devised shame to your house, by cutting off many peoples, and have sinned against your soul. For the stone will cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the woodwork will answer it. Woe to him who builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity! Behold, isn’t it of Yahweh of Armies that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity? For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Yahweh’s glory, as the waters cover the sea.
Parallel Translations
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Yes, moreover, wine is treacherous. An arrogant man who doesn’t stay at home, who enlarges his desire as Sheol, and he is like death, and can’t be satisfied, but gathers to himself all nations, and heaps to himself all peoples.
Won’t all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases that which is not his, and who enriches himself by extortion! How long?’
Won’t your debtors rise up suddenly, and wake up those who make you tremble, and you will be their victim?
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 to the land, to the city and to all who dwell in it.
Woe to him who gets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!
You have devised shame to your house, by cutting off many peoples, and have sinned against your soul.
For the stone will cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the woodwork will answer it.
Woe to him who builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity!
Behold, isn’t it of Yahweh of Armies that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?
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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:
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!
Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?
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.
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!
Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.
For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!
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?
Show all 3 translations
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Yea, moreover, wine is a treacherous dealer; the haughty man abideth not; he who enlargeth his desire as the nether-world, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples.
Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting riddle against him, and say: 'Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and that ladeth himself with many pledges!'
Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall exact interest of thee, and awake that shall violently shake thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?
Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein.
Woe to him that gaineth evil gains for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!
Thou hast devised shame to thy house, by cutting off many peoples, and hast forfeited thy life.
For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by iniquity!
Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the peoples labour for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (157)
- Micah 3:10 (v12) They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
- Luke 19:40 (v11) He answered them, “I tell you that if these were silent, the stones would cry out.”
- Joshua 24:27 (v11) Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all Yahweh’s words which he spoke to us.…
- Job 31:38-40 (v11) If my land cries out against me, and its furrows weep together; if I have eaten its fruits without money, or have caused its owners to lose…
- Proverbs 20:1 (v5) Wine is a mocker and beer is a brawler. Whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
Show all 100 cross-references
- Proverbs 27:20 (v5) Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; and a man’s eyes are never satisfied.
- Isaiah 5:11-12 (v5) Woe to those who rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, who stay late into the night, until wine inflames them!…
- Jeremiah 51:58 (v13) Yahweh of Armies says: “The wide walls of Babylon will be utterly overthrown. Her high gates will be burned with fire. The peoples will…
- James 5:3-4 (v11) Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have…
- Genesis 4:10 (v11) Yahweh said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground.
- Proverbs 21:30 (v13) There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against Yahweh.
- Proverbs 31:4-5 (v5) It is not for kings, Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes to say, ‘Where is strong drink?’ lest they drink, and…
- Isaiah 33:1 (v8) Woe to you who destroy, but you weren’t destroyed, and who betray, but nobody betrayed you! When you have finished destroying, you will be…
- Isaiah 50:11 (v13) Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who adorn yourselves with torches around yourselves, walk in the flame of your fire, and among the…
- Jeremiah 49:16 (v9) As for your terror, the pride of your heart has deceived you, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill,…
- Daniel 4:27-31 (v12) Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you, and break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to…
- Nahum 3:1 (v12) Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. The prey doesn’t depart.
- Isaiah 55:2 (vv6, 13) Why do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which doesn’t satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat that…
- Revelation 6:10 (vv8, 11) They cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the…
- Genesis 11:6-9 (v13) Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld…
- Joshua 6:26 (v12) Joshua commanded them with an oath at that time, saying, “Cursed is the man before Yahweh who rises up and builds this city Jericho. With…
- Job 5:13-14 (v13) He takes the wise in their own craftiness; the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong. They meet with darkness in the day time, and…
- Psalms 39:6 (v13) “Surely every man walks like a shadow. Surely they busy themselves in vain. He heaps up, and doesn’t know who shall gather.
- Psalms 127:1-2 (v13) Unless Yahweh builds the house, they who build it labor in vain. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain. It is…
- Proverbs 29:1 (v7) He who is often rebuked and stiffens his neck will be destroyed suddenly, with no remedy.
- Isaiah 41:5-8 (v13) The islands have seen, and fear. The ends of the earth tremble. They approach, and come. Everyone helps his neighbor. They say to their…
- Jeremiah 22:13-17 (v12) “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his rooms by injustice; who uses his neighbor’s service without wages, and doesn’t…
- Jeremiah 22:13-19 (v9) “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his rooms by injustice; who uses his neighbor’s service without wages, and doesn’t…
- Habakkuk 2:17 (v8) For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and the destruction of the animals, which made them afraid; because of men’s blood,…
- Malachi 1:4 (v13) Whereas Edom says, “We are beaten down, but we will return and build the waste places;” Yahweh of Armies says, “They shall build, but I…
- Hebrews 12:24 (v11) to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better than that of Abel.
- Revelation 17:6 (v12) 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…
- Genesis 4:11-17 (v12) Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. From now on, when you…
- Numbers 23:7 (v6) He took up his parable, and said, “From Aram has Balak brought me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East. Come, curse Jacob for…
- 1 Kings 16:34 (v12) In his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho. He laid its foundation with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the…
- 2 Kings 9:26 (v10) ‘Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons,’ says Yahweh; ‘and I will repay you in this plot of ground,’…
- 2 Kings 14:10 (v5) You have indeed struck Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Enjoy the glory of it, and stay at home; for why should you meddle to your…
- Job 20:15-29 (v6) He has swallowed down riches, and he will vomit them up again. God will cast them out of his belly. He will suck cobra venom. The viper’s…
- Psalms 138:6 (v5) For though Yahweh is high, yet he looks after the lowly; but he knows the proud from afar.
- Proverbs 23:29-33 (v5) Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who stay long at…
- Proverbs 30:13-16 (v5) There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes! Their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and…
- Ecclesiastes 5:10 (v5) He who loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase: this also is vanity.
- Isaiah 2:11-12 (v5) The lofty looks of man will be brought low, the arrogance of men will be bowed down, and Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day. For…
- Isaiah 2:17 (v5) The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the arrogance of men shall be brought low; and Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day.
- Isaiah 5:8 (v5) Woe to those who join house to house, who lay field to field, until there is no room, and you are made to dwell alone in the middle of the…
- Isaiah 5:22-23 (v5) Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine, and champions at mixing strong drink; who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice for…
- Isaiah 10:7-13 (v5) However he doesn’t mean so, neither does his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off not a few nations. For he…
- Isaiah 14:4-19 (v6) that you will take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, “How the oppressor has ceased! The golden city has ceased!” Yahweh…
- Isaiah 14:16-17 (v5) Those who see you will stare at you. They will ponder you, saying, “Is this the man who made the earth to tremble, who shook kingdoms, who…
- Isaiah 16:6 (v5) We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; even of his arrogance, his pride, and his wrath. His boastings are nothing.
- Isaiah 21:5 (v5) They prepare the table. They set the watch. They eat. They drink. Rise up, you princes, oil the shield!
- Jeremiah 27:7 (v8) All the nations will serve him, his son, and his son’s son, until the time of his own land comes. Then many nations and great kings will…
- Jeremiah 29:22 (v6) A curse will be taken up about them by all the captives of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, ‘Yahweh make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab,…
- Jeremiah 50:13 (v6) Because of Yahweh’s wrath she won’t be inhabited, but she will be wholly desolate. Everyone who goes by Babylon will be astonished, and…
- Ezekiel 24:9 (v12) “ ‘Therefore the Lord Yahweh says: “Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.
- Daniel 5:1-4 (v5) Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, while he tasted the…
- Micah 2:4 (v6) In that day they will take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, saying, ‘We are utterly ruined! My people’s…
- Nahum 1:14 (v10) Yahweh has commanded concerning you: “No more descendants will bear your name. Out of the house of your gods, I will cut off the engraved…
- John 11:47-50 (v12) The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, “What are we doing? For this man does many signs. If we leave…
- Jeremiah 51:34-35 (vv6, 8) “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…
- Nahum 1:9-10 (vv5, 7) What do you plot against Yahweh? He will make a full end. Affliction won’t rise up the second time. For entangled like thorns, and drunken…
- Genesis 13:10-13 (v9) Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well-watered everywhere, before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and…
- Genesis 19:26-38 (v9) But Lot’s wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. Abraham went up early in the morning to the place where he had…
- Numbers 16:38 (v10) even the censers of those who sinned against their own lives. Let them be beaten into plates for a covering of the altar, for they offered…
- Numbers 23:18 (v6) He took up his parable, and said, “Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, you son of Zippor.
- Deuteronomy 7:25-26 (v9) You shall burn the engraved images of their gods with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for…
- Joshua 7:21-26 (v9) When I saw among the plunder a beautiful Babylonian robe, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, then I…
- 2 Samuel 15:31 (v13) Someone told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” David said, “Yahweh, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel…
- 1 Kings 2:23 (v10) Then king Solomon swore by Yahweh, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life.
- 1 Kings 21:2-4 (v9) Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near my house; and I will…
- 1 Kings 21:19-24 (v9) You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “Have you killed and also taken possession?” ’ You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh says,…
- 2 Kings 5:20-27 (v9) But Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his hands…
- 2 Kings 10:7 (v10) When the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and killed them, even seventy people, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them…
- Job 20:19-28 (v9) For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor. He has violently taken away a house, and he will not build it up. “Because he knew no quietness…
- Job 22:6-10 (v6) For you have taken pledges from your brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing. You haven’t given water to the weary to…
- Psalms 10:3-6 (v9) For the wicked boasts of his heart’s cravings. He blesses the greedy and condemns Yahweh. The wicked, in the pride of his face, has no room…
- Psalms 49:11 (v9) Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever, and their dwelling places to all generations. They name their lands after…
- Psalms 52:7 (v9) “Behold, this is the man who didn’t make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his…
- Psalms 94:3 (v6) Yahweh, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked triumph?
- Psalms 137:8 (v8) Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, he will be happy who repays you, as you have done to us.
- Proverbs 1:18 (v10) but these lay in wait for their own blood. They lurk secretly for their own lives.
- Proverbs 8:36 (v10) But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul. All those who hate me love death.”
- Proverbs 18:11-12 (v9) The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, like an unscalable wall in his own imagination. Before destruction the heart of man is proud, but…
- Proverbs 22:16 (v6) Whoever oppresses the poor for his own increase and whoever gives to the rich, both come to poverty.
- Ecclesiastes 10:8 (v7) He who digs a pit may fall into it; and whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
- Isaiah 13:1-5 (v7) The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. Set up a banner on the bare mountain! Lift up your voice to them! Wave your hand,…
- Isaiah 13:16-18 (v7) Their infants also will be dashed in pieces before their eyes. Their houses will be ransacked, and their wives raped. Behold, I will stir…
- Isaiah 14:20-22 (v10) You will not join them in burial, because you have destroyed your land. You have killed your people. The offspring of evildoers will not be…
- Isaiah 21:2-9 (v7) A grievous vision is declared to me. The treacherous man deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam; attack! I have…
- Isaiah 28:15 (v9) “Because you have said, ‘We have made a covenant with death, and we are in agreement with Sheol. When the overflowing scourge passes…
- Isaiah 33:4 (v8) Your plunder will be gathered as the caterpillar gathers. Men will leap on it as locusts leap.
- Isaiah 33:11 (v10) You will conceive chaff. You will give birth to stubble. Your breath is a fire that will devour you.
- Isaiah 41:25 (v7) “I have raised up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun, one who calls on my name, and he shall come on rulers as…
- Isaiah 44:20 (v6) He feeds on ashes. A deceived heart has turned him aside; and he can’t deliver his soul, nor say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand?”
- Isaiah 45:1-3 (v7) Yahweh says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him, and strip kings of their armor; to open…
- Isaiah 46:11 (v7) I call a ravenous bird from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. Yes, I have spoken. I will also bring it to pass. I have…
- Isaiah 47:6 (v8) I was angry with my people. I profaned my inheritance and gave them into your hand. You showed them no mercy. You laid a very heavy yoke on…
- Isaiah 47:7-9 (v9) You said, ‘I will be a princess forever,’ so that you didn’t lay these things to your heart, nor did you remember the results. “Now…
- Isaiah 47:11 (v7) Therefore disaster will come on you. You won’t know when it dawns. Mischief will fall on you. You won’t be able to put it away. Desolation…
- Isaiah 48:14-15 (v7) “Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? He whom Yahweh loves will do what he likes to…
100 distinct cross-references across this passage (157 total citations).
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv5–13 The Prophet has taught us that a tranquil state…
The Prophet has taught us that a tranquil state of mind cannot be otherwise had than by recumbing on the grace of God alone; and that they who elate themselves, and fly in the air, and feed on the wind, procure for themselves many sorrows and inquietudes. But he now comes to the king of Babylon, and also to his kingdom; for in my judgement he speaks not only of the king, but includes also that tyrannical empire with its people, and represents them as a great company of robbers. He then says in short, that though the Babylonians, like drunken men, hurried here and there without any control, yet God’s vengeance, by which they were to be brought to nothing, was nigh at hand. What ever therefore the Prophet subjoins to the end of the chapter tends to confirm his doctrine, which we have already explained—that the just shall live by faith. We cannot indeed be fully convinced of this except we hold firmly this principle—that God cares for us, and that the whole world is governed by his providence; so that it cannot be but that he will at length check the wicked, and punish their sins, and deliver the innocent who call upon him. Unless this be our conviction, there can be no benefit derived from our faith; we might indeed be a hundred times deceived; for experience teaches us that the hopes of men, as long as they are fixed on the earth, are vain and delusive, as they are only mere imaginations. Except then God governs the world there is no salvation to the faithful; for God in that case would delude them with vain promises, and they would flatter themselves with an empty prospect, or hope for that which is not. Hence the Prophet shows how it is that the just shall live by faith; and that is because the Lord will defend all who call upon him, and that inasmuch as he is the just Judge of all the world, he will finally execute judgement on all the wicked, though for a time they act wantonly, and think that they shall escape punishment, because God does not execute upon them immediate vengeance. We now perceive the design of the Prophet.
As to the words, these two particles, אף כי, aph ki, when joined together, amplify the meaning; and some render them—"how much more;” others take them as a simple affirmative, and render them “truly.” I approve of a middle course, and render them “yea, truly;” (Etiam certe;) and they are so taken as I think, in Genesis 3:1, Satan thus asked the woman—yea, truly! Est-ce pour vrai? for the question is that of one doubting, and yet it refers to what is certain,—“How comes it that God should interdict the eating of the fruit? yea, is it so truly? can it be so? So it is in this place, yea, truly, says the Prophet. That it is an amplification may be gathered from the context. He had said before that they who elevate themselves, or seem to themselves to be well fortified, are fearful in their minds, and driven backwards and forwards. He now advances another step—that when men are borne along by unrestrained wantonness, and promise themselves all things, as though there was no God, they surpass even the drunken, being hurried on by blind cupidity. When therefore men thus abandon themselves, can they escape the judgement of God? Far less bearable is such a madness than that simple arrogance of which he had spoken in the last verse. Thus then are the two verses connected together,—“Yea, truly, he who in his pride is like a drunken man, and restrains not himself, and who is even like to wild beasts or to the grave, devouring whatever meets them—he surely will not at length be endured by God.” Vengeance, then, is nigh to all the proud, who are cruelly furious, passing all bounds and without any fear.
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But interpreters differ as to the import of the words which follow. Some render בוגד, bugad, to deceive, and it means so in some places; and they render the clause thus—“Wine deceives a proud man, and he will not dwell.” This is indeed true, but the meaning is strained; I therefore prefer to follow the commonly received interpretation—that the proud man transgresses as it were through wine. At the same time I do not agree with others as to the expression “transgressing as through wine.” Some give this version—“Man addicted to wine or to drunkenness transgresses;” and then they add—“a proud man will not inhabit;” but they pervert the sentence, and mangle the words of the Prophet; for his words are—By wine transgressing the proud man: he does not say that a man addicted to wine transgresses; but he compares the proud to drunken men, who, forgetting all reason and shame, abandon themselves unto all that is disgraceful; for the drunken distinguishes nothing, and becomes like a brute animal, so that he shuns nothing that is base and unbecoming. This is the reason why the Prophet compares proud men to the drunken, who transgress through wine, that is, who observe no moderation, but indulge themselves in excesses. We now then understand the real meaning of the Prophet, which many have not perceived.
As to the word inhabiting I take it in a metaphorical sense, as signifying to rest or to continue in the same place. The drunken are borne along by a certain excitement; so they do not restrain themselves, for they have no power over their feet or their hands: but as wine excites them, so they ramble here and there like insane persons. As then such an unruly temper lays hold on and bewilders drunken men, so the Prophet very aptly says that the proud man never rests.
And the reason follows, (provided the meaning be approved,) because he enlarges as the grave his soul he is like to death. This is then the insatiableness which he had mentioned—that the proud cannot be satisfied, and therefore include heaven and earth and sea within the compass of their desires. Since then they thus run here and there, it is no wonder that the Prophet says that they do not rest. He enlarges then as the grave his soul; and then he adds—he heaps together, or congregates, or collects to himself all nations, and accumulates to himself all people; that is, the proud man keeps within no moderate limits; for though he were able to make one heap of all nations, he would yet think that not enough, like Alexander, who wept because he had not then enjoyed the empire of the whole world; and had he enjoyed it his tears would not have been dried; for he had heard that, according to the opinion of Democritus, there were many worlds. What did he mean? even this “Were I to obtain the empire of the world, I should still be poor; for if there are more worlds I should still wish to devour them all.” These proud men surpass every kind of drunkenness.
We now apprehend the meaning of the words; and though they contain a general truth, yet the Prophet no doubt applies them to the king of Babylon and to all the Chaldeans; for as it has been said, he includes the whole nation. He shows then here, that the Chaldeans were much worse and less excusable than those who with great fierceness elated themselves, for their rage carried them farther, as they wished to swallow up the whole world. But in order to express this more fully, he says that they were like drunken men; and he no doubt indirectly derides here the counsels of princes, who think themselves to be very wise, when either by deceit they oppress their neighbors, or by artful means seize for themselves on the lands of others, or by some contrivance, or even by force of arms, take possession of them. As princes take wonderful delight in their iniquities, so the Prophet says that they are like drunken men who transgress by wine, that is, who are completely overcome by excessive drinking; and at the same time he shows the cause of this drunkenness by mentioning the words גבר יהיר, “proud man.” As then they are proud, so all their crafts are like the freaks of drunkenness, that is, furious, as when a man is deprived of reason by wine. Having thus spoken of the Babylonians he immediately adds—
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 vv5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13 He compareth the proud and covetous man to a…
He compareth the proud and covetous man to a drunkard that is without reason and sense, whom God will punish and make him a laughing stock to all the world: and this he speaketh for the comfort of the godly, and against the Chaldeans.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv5–13 Hab 2:5 Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine,…
Hab 2:5 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:
Ver. 5. Yea, also because he transgresseth by wine] Or, How much more because he is a wine bibber, perfidious, proud, neither keepeth at home. These four faults the prophet here layeth to the charge of the Babylonian, and therehence inferreth for the comfort of the distressed captives, that his destruction cannot be far off; and therefore the just should meanwhile live by faith, and bear up under affliction. For if those that believe not the promises, but shift and shark for help and comfort elsewhere, shall smart for their unbelief, as Hab 2:4, where shall those appear that are here described? shall these bipedum nequissimi, worst of men, escape by iniquity? Never think it. First, their drunkenness alone would undo them; as it did Amnon, Elah, Nabal, Belshazzar, Bonosus, &c. Aristotle saith, that double punishments are due to drunkards (Tοις μεθυουσι διπλα τα επιτιμια): first for their drunkenness, and then for other sins committed in and by their drunkenness. Nebuchadnezzar (or, as some will have it, Belshazzar) is here called, wine, or (by an ordinary elipsis) a man of wine; not only Meribibulus, but a deep and desperate drunkard, a very tundish {a} (as Diotimus of Athens was called), a hogshead, as young Cicero. No wonder therefore though he were all the rest that followeth. 1. Perfidious, to those that committed themselves to his trust, or made leagues with him, which he kept no longer than stood with his profit. 2. Proud, or arrogant, Pro 21:24. See Dan 4:30, how he spreads his peacock’s tail, and prides himself in it: his great wealth tumoured him up with great swealth.
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3. He keepeth not at home] Non habitabit, his own country will not contain him, but he encloseth all nations in his dragnet, Hab 1:15.
4. He enlargeth his desire as hell] Which hath its name (Sheol) in Hebrew, from its unsatiableness, Pro 30:15-16, and in Latin it is called Inferuus ab inferendo, say some, from the devil’s continual carrying in souls thither, and yet it is not filled.
And is as death] Which is the end of all men, Ecc 7:2; the way of all flesh, 1Ki 2:2; of all the earth, Jos 23:14; the house appointed for all living, the great congregation house, Job 30:23.
And cannot be satisfied] Lust is unsatisfiable, and whatsoever it getteth is but as fuel to the fire. Ambition groweth as the crocodile doth, as long as he liveth. It rideth without reins, and there is no ho with it.
But gathereth unto him all nations, &c.] All that he could come at; all Asia, and a great part of Africa; and could never have enough, till his mouth was filled with a spade full of mould. Therefore he shall not keep home (so some read the words above in this verse), Ideo non manebit in habitaculo. His kingdom shall not long continue, but after a few years be overturned by the Persians: this golden head (as Daniel calleth the Babylonish monarchy) held not up over 170 years, if we reckon from Merodach Baladan, the first founder, to Belshazzar, slain by Cyrus, who translated the kingdom to the Persians, Dan 5:30-31
{a} A wooden dish or shallow vessel with a tube at the bottom fitting into the bung-hole of a tun or cask, forming a kind of funnel used in brewing. ŒD
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 vv5–13 Yea also, or
Yea also, or
moreover, furthermore, because he, the king of Babylon, or every one of them,
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transgresseth by wine; which vice destroys kings and kingdoms, and in the excesses of luxury the Babylonian king Belshazzar, his city and kingdom of Babylon, fell a prey to Darius and Cyrus.
A proud man; insolent in his behaviour towards all, both retainers, subjects, strangers, and conquered enemies: such pride shall have a fall.
Neither keepeth at home; is ever abroad warring upon some or other, which though it enlarge his countries, it weakeneth his kingdom and gives advantage to malcontents and conspirators, besides that it exposeth him to imminent and continual dangers.
Enlargeth his desire as hell; is most insatiably greedy to devour all, as far from saying It is enough as the grave is.
Is as death; as pernicious and ravenous.
Cannot be satisfied; all is too little for him, and there is no possibility to satiate his appetite. Gathereth, addeth one after another, unto him, to his kingdom, all nations, that are round about him; all he knows are designed upon, and he purposeth to engross them.
Heapeth unto him all people; another expression of the same import. Now all this, foretold of the future temper of the Babylonish kings and kingdoms, is a sure presage of their no long continuance in grandeur, but that shortly Divine vengeance will overtake them. This might be an answer to disputers.
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 v5 The prophet having had orders to write the vision,…
The prophet having had orders to write the vision, and the people to wait for the accomplishment of it, the vision itself follows; and it is, as divers other prophecies we have met with, the burden of Babylon and Babylon's king, the same that was said to pass over and offend, Hab 1:11. It reads the doom, some think, of Nebuchadnezzar, who was principally active in the destruction of Jerusalem, or of that monarchy, or of the whole kingdom of the Chaldeans, or of all such proud and oppressive powers as bear hard upon any people, especially upon God's people. Observe,
I. The charge laid down against this enemy, upon which the sentence is grounded, Hab 1:5. The lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the pride of life, are the entangling snares of men, and great men especially; and we find him that led Israel captive himself led captive by each of these. For, 1. He is sensual and voluptuous, and given to his pleasures: He transgresses by wine. Drunkenness is itself a transgression, and is the cause of abundance of transgression. We read of those that err through wine, Isa 28:7. Belshazzar (in whom particularly this prophecy had its accomplishment) was in the height of his transgression by wine when the hand-writing upon the wall signed the warrant for his immediate execution, pursuant to this sentence, Dan 5:1. 2. He is haughty and imperious: He is a proud man, and his pride is a certain presage of his fall coming on. If great men be proud men, the great God will make them know he is above them. His transgressing by wine is made the cause of his arrogance and insolence: therefore he is a proud man. When a man is drunk, though he makes himself as mean as a beast, yet he thinks himself as great as a king, and prides himself in that by which he shames himself. We find the crown of pride upon the head of the drunkards of Ephraim, and a woe to both, Isa 28:1. 3. He is covetous and greedy of wealth, and this is the effect of his pride; he thinks himself worthy to enjoy all, and therefore makes it his business to engross all. The Chaldean monarchy aimed to be a universal one. He keeps not at home, is not content with his own, which he has an incontestable title to, but thinks it too little, and so enjoys it not, nor takes the comfort he might in his own palace, in his own dominion. His sin is his punishment, his ambition is his perpetual uneasiness. Though the home be a palace, yet to a discontented mind it is a prison. He enlarges his desire as hell, or the grave, which daily receives the body of the dead, and yet still cries, Give, give; he is as death, which continues to devour, and cannot be satisfied. Note, It is the sin and folly of many who have a great deal of the wealth of this world that they do not know when they have enough, but the more they have the more they would have, and the more eager they are for it. And it is just with God that the desires which are insatiable should still be unsatisfied; it is the doom passed on those that love silver that they shall never be satisfied with it, Ecc 5:10. Those that will not be content with their allotments shall not have the comfort of their achievements. This proud prince is still gathering to him all nations, and heaping to him all people, invading their rights, seizing their properties, and they must not be unless they will be his, and under his command. One nation will not satisfy him unless he has another, and then another, and all at last; as those in a lower sphere, to gratify the same inordinate desire, lay house to house, and field to field, that they may be placed alone in the earth, Isa 5:8. And it is hard to say which is more to be pitied, the folly of such ambitious princes as place their honour in enlarging their dominions, and not in ruling them well, or the misery of those nations that are harassed and pulled to pieces by them.
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II. The sentence passed upon him (Hab 2:6): Shall not all these take up a parable against him? His doom is,
1. That, since pride has been his sin, disgrace and dishonour shall be his punishment, and he shall be loaded with contempt, shall be laughed at and despised by all about him, as those that look big, and aim high, deserve to be, and commonly are, when they are brought down and baffled.
2. That, since he has been abusive to his neighbours, those very persons whom he has abused shall be the instruments of his disgrace: All those shall take up a taunting proverb against him. They shall have the pleasure of insulting over him and he the shame of being trampled upon by them. Those that shall triumph in the fall of this great tyrant are here furnished with a parable, and a taunting proverb, to take up against him. He shall say (he that draws up the insulting ditty shall say thus), Ho, he that increases that which is not his! Aha! what has become of him now? So it may be read in a taunting way. Or, He shall say, that is, the just, who lives by his faith, he to whom the vision is written and made plain, with the help of that shall say this, shall foretel the enemy's fall, even when he sees him flourishing, and suddenly curse his habitation, even when he is taking root, Job 5:3. He shall indeed denounce woes against him.
(1.) Here is a woe against him for increasing his own possessions by invading his neighbour's rights, Hab 2:6-8. He increases that which is not his, but other people's. Note, No more of what we have is to be reckoned ours than what we came honestly by; nor will it long be ours, for wealth gotten by vanity will be diminished. Let not those that thrive in the world be too forward to bless themselves in it, for, if they do not thrive lawfully, they are under a woe. See here, [1.] What this prosperous prince is doing; he is lading himself with thick clay. Riches are but clay, thick clay; what are gold and silver but white and yellow earth? Those that travel through thick clay are both retarded and dirtied in their journey; so are those that go through the world in the midst of an abundance of the wealth of it; but, as if that were not enough, what fools are those that load themselves with it, as if this trash would be their treasure! They burden themselves with continual care about it, with a great deal of guilt in getting, saving, and spending it, and with a heavy account which they must give of it another day. They overload their ship with this thick clay, and so sink it and themselves into destruction and perdition. [2.] See what people say of him, while he is thus increasing his wealth; they cry, "How long? How long will it be ere he has enough?" They cry to God, "How long wilt thou suffer this proud oppressor to trouble the nations?" Or they say to one another, "See how long it will last, how long he will be able to keep what he gets thus dishonestly." They dare not speak out, but we know what they mean when they say, How long? [3.] See what will be in the end hereof. What he has got by violence from others, others shall take by violence from him. The Medes and Persians shall make a prey of the Chaldeans, as they have done of other nations, Hab 2:7, Hab 2:8. "There shall be those that will bite thee and vex thee; those from whom thou didst not fear any danger, that seemed asleep, shall rise up and awake to be a plague to thee. They shall rise up suddenly when thou are most secure, and least prepared to receive the shock and ward off the blow. Shall they not rise up suddenly? No doubt they shall, and thou thyself hast reason to expect it, to be dealt with as thou hast dealt with others, that thou shalt be for booties unto them, as others have been unto thee, that, according to the law of retaliation, as thou hast spoiled many nations so thou shalt thyself be spoiled (Hab 2:8); all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee." The king of Babylon thought he had brought all the nations round about him so low that none of them would be able to make reprisals upon him; but though they were but a remnant of people, a very few left, yet these shall be sufficient to spoil him, when God has such a controversy with him, First, For men's blood, and the thousands of lives that have been sacrificed to his ambition and revenge, especially for the blood of Israelites, which is in a special manner precious to God. Secondly, For the violence of the land, his laying waste so many countries, and destroying the fruits of the earth, especially in the land of Israel. Thirdly, For the violence of the city, the many cities that he had turned into ruinous heaps, especially Jerusalem the holy city, and of all that dwelt therein, who were ruined by him. Note, The violence done by proud men to advance and enrich themselves will be called over again (and must be accounted for) another day, by him to whom vengeance belongs.
(2.) Here is a woe against him for coveting still more, and aiming to be still higher, Hab 2:9-11. The crime for which this woe is denounced is much the same with that in the foregoing article - an insatiable desire of wealth and honour; it is coveting an evil covetousness to his house, that is, grasping at an abundance for his family. Note, Covetousness is a very evil thing in a family; it brings disquiet and uneasiness into it (he that is greedy of gain troubles his own house), and, which is worse, it brings the curse of God upon it and upon all the affairs of it. Woe to him that gains an evil gain; so the margin reads it. There is a lawful gain, which by the blessing of God may be a comfort to a house (a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children), but what is got by fraud and injustice is ill-got, and will be poor gain, will not only do no good to a family, but will bring poverty and ruin upon it. Now observe, [1.] What this covetous wretch aims at; it is to set his nest on high, to raise his family to some greater dignity than it had before arrived at, or to set it, as he apprehends, out of the reach of danger, that he may be delivered from the power of evil, that it may not be in the power of the worst of his enemies to do him a mischief nor so much as to disturb his repose. Note, It is common for men to pretend it as an excuse for their covetousness and ambition that they only consult their own safety, and aim to secure themselves; and yet they do but deceive themselves when they think their wealth will be a strong city to them, and a high wall, for it is so only in their own conceit, Pro 18:11. [2.] What he will get by it: Thou hast consulted, not safety, but shame, to thy house, by cutting off many people, Hab 2:10. Note, An estate raised by iniquity is a scandal to a family. Those that cut off, or undermine, others, to make room for themselves, that impoverish others to enrich themselves, do but consult shame to their houses, and fasten upon them a mark of infamy. Yet that is not the worst of it: "Thou hast sinned against thy own soul, hast brought that under guilt and wrath, and endangered that." Note, Those that do wrong to their neighbour do a much greater wrong to their own souls. But if the sinner pleads, Not guilty, and thinks he has managed his frauds and violence with so much art and contrivance that they cannot be proved upon him, let him know that if there be no other witnesses against him the stone shall cry out of the wall against him, and the beam out of the timber in the roof shall answer it, shall second it, shall witness it, that the money and materials wherewith he built the house were unjustly gotten, Hab 2:11. The stones and timber cry to heaven for vengeance, as the whole creation groans under the sin of man and waits to be delivered from that bondage of corruption.
(3.) Here is a woe against him for building a town and a city by blood and extortion (Hab 2:12): He builds a town, and is him-self lord of it; he establishes a city, and makes it his royal seat. So Nebuchadnezzar did (Dan 4:30): Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom? But it is built with the blood of his own subjects, whom he has oppressed, and the blood of his neighbours, whom he has unjustly invaded; it is established by iniquity, by the unrighteous laws that are made for the security of it. Woe to him that does so; for the towns and cities thus built can never be established; they will fall, and their founders be buried in the ruins of them. Babylon, which was built by blood and iniquity, did not continue long; its day soon came to fall; and then this woe took effect, when that prophecy, which is expressed as a history (Isa 21:9), proved a history indeed: Babylon has fallen, has fallen! And the destruction of that city was, [1.] The shame of the Chaldeans, who had taken so much pains, and were at such a vast expense, to fortify it (Hab 2:13): Is it not of the Lord of hosts that the people who have laboured so hard to defend that city shall labour in the very fire, shall see the out-works which they confided in the strength of set on fire, and shall labour in vain to save them? Or they, in their pursuits of worldly wealth and honour, put themselves to great fatigue, and ran a great hazard, as those that labour in the fire do. The worst that can be said of the labourers in God's vineyards is that they have borne the burden and heat of the day (Mat 20:12); but those that are eager in their worldly pursuits labour in the very fire, make themselves perfect slaves to their lusts. There is not a greater drudge in the world than he that is under the power of reigning covetousness. And what comes of it? Though they take a world of pains they are but poorly paid for it; for, after all, they weary themselves for very vanity; they were told it was vanity, and when they find themselves disappointed of it, and disappointed in it, they will own it is worse than vanity, it is vexation of spirit. [2.] It was the honour of God, as a God of impartial justice and irresistible power; for by the ruin of the Chaldean monarchy (which all the world could not but take notice of) the earth was filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, Hab 2:14. The Lord is known by these judgments which he executes, especially when he is pleased to look upon proud men and abase them, for he thereby proves himself to be God alone, Job 40:11, Job 40:12. See what good God brings out of the staining and sinking of earthly glory; he thereby manifests and magnifies his own glory, and fills the earth with the knowledge of it as plentifully as the waters cover the sea, which lie deep, spread far, and shall not be dried up until time shall be no more. Such is the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ given by the gospel (Co2 4:6), and such was the knowledge of his glory by the miraculous ruin of Babylon. Note, Such as will not be taught the knowledge of God's glory by the judgments of his mouth shall be made to know and acknowledge it by the judgments of his hand.
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 vv5–13 Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine,.... Or rather,…
Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine,.... Or rather, "how much less" or "more (o), wine dealing treacherously": or "a man of wine", as Aben Ezra supplies it; that is, a winebibber, as Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it: and the sense in connection with the preceding verse Hab 2:4 is, if a Jew, elated with his works of righteousness, his soul is not right in him, "how much less" a drunken, treacherous, proud, and ambitious heathen? if the Scribes and Pharisees, who expected the coming of the Messiah, yet withdrew from him, and opposed themselves unto him when come, "how much more" will such persons set themselves against him and his interest, thus described? by whom are meant, not the Babylonian monarchs, Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar and the Chaldeans, as usually interpreted, though there are many things in the account applicable to them; but this is breaking the thread of the prophecy, which carries on the account of the enemies of Christ, and of his kingdom, from his first to his second coming; whereas to interpret this prophecy of the Chaldeans is to go back to times before the first coming of Christ; nor does it seem necessary to say anything more concerning them, since the people of God might be satisfied that these would be in their turn destroyed, and they delivered from them; and that they, the Jews, could not be cut off as a people, since the promise of the Messiah, as springing from them, is firmly established; and it is so strongly asserted, that he should come at the appointed time, and not tarry: after which the prophet goes on to observe two different sorts of people among the Jews; one sort proud and vain glorious, who opposed themselves to Christ when he came; the other sort true believers in him, who lived by faith upon him: so things would stand among the Jews when Christ came, and so they did; there was a separation among them on his account: next the prophet proceeds to observe another sort of enemies to Christ and his interest among the heathens, which was not to be wondered at, and therefore introduced by a comparative particle, "how much more" or "less"; and who must be removed to make way for his kingdom and glory in the latter day, manifestly pointed at in Hab 2:14 now who can these be but the Romans, both Pagan and Papal in succession? and with these and their rulers, civil and ecclesiastical, do the characters given as well agree as with the Babylonian monarchy, and the Chaldeans, or better and therefore, after Cocceius and Van Till I shall choose to interpret the whole of them; and it is well known that several of the Roman emperors were greatly given to luxury and intemperance, the first character they stand described by in the text. Tiberius was greatly addicted to this vice; and, because of his greediness after wine (p), used to be called Biberius Caldius Mero, instead of Tiberius Claudius Nero; his successor Caligula spent the immense riches Tiberius had gathered together in less than a year's time in luxury and intemperance (q); and Claudius, that succeeded him, scarce ever went out of his doors but he was drunk (r); and Nero, who came after him to the empire, was of unusual luxury and sumptuousness, as the historian says (s); he used to keep on his banquets from the middle of the day to the middle of the night (t); to say nothing of Domitian, Commodus, and other emperors that followed after them: and these men were deceitful and treacherous, both to their friends and enemies; and it is no wonder that such as these should oppose themselves to the kingdom and interest of Christ, as they did. Kimchi interprets this of Nebuchadnezzar; and Jarchi of Belshazzar; and most interpreters think it refers to his drinking in the vessels of the temple, Dan 5:2,
he is a proud man; the Roman emperors were excessively proud, like the unjust judge, neither feared God, nor regarded man; nay, set up themselves for gods, and required divine worship to be given them. Caius Caligula claimed divine majesty to himself, and set himself up to be worshipped among his brother gods; he built a temple to his own deity, and appointed priests and sacrifices; and placed a golden image of himself in it, and clothed it every day with such a garment as he himself wore (u); he also set up his own image in the temple at Jerusalem. Nero suffered himself to be called lord and god by Tiridates king of the Armenians, with bended knees, and hands lift up to heaven. Domitian and Aurelianus took the same titles as Nero did; and Dioclesian would be worshipped as a god, and called himself the brother of the sun and moon; and no marvel that such men as these should be enemies to Christ, and persecutors of his people:
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neither keepeth at home; or "dwells not in the fold" (w); in the sheepfold of Christ, in his church, being none of his sheep, an alien from the commonwealth of Israel; and so it denotes a infidel, an heathen; a fit character for the Pagan emperors, who had no habitation in the house of God. Kimchi interprets it of Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom not being continued; or of his being driven from his habitation, his palace, from among men, to live with beasts; but it is the character, and not the punishment, of the person that is here pointed at:
who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied; death and the grave, though such vast numbers are continually slain by the one, and laid in the other, yet are never satisfied; see Pro 27:20. This describes the insatiable thirst of the Roman emperors after honour, riches, and universal monarchy; who were never satisfied with what they obtained:
but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people; that is, subdued them, and made them provinces of the Roman empire, and tributary to it, even almost all the then known world; hence the Roman empire is called the whole world, Luk 2:1 so Agrippa, in his orations to the Jews, mentions all nations as subject to the Romans (x).
(o) "quanto magis", Calvin, Drusius, Tarnovius, Cocceius, Van Till, Burkius. (p) Suetonius in Vita Tiberii, c. 42. (q) Ib. Vita Caligulae, c. 37. (r) Ib. Vita Claudii, c. 33. (s) Eutrop. Hist. Rom. l. 7. (t) Suetonius in Vita Neronis, c. 27. (u) Suetonius in Vita Caligulae, c. 22. (w) "qui non habitat; quod de mansionibus ovium imprimius dicitur", Cocceius; "qui non inhabitat grata", Van Till. (x) Apud Joseph de Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 16. sect. 4.
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 vv5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 He - The king of Babylon. Wine - Hereby…
He - The king of Babylon. Wine - Hereby Belshazzar, his city and kingdom of Babylon fell a prey to Darius and Cyrus. At home - Is ever abroad warring upon some or other. Unto him - To his kingdom. All nations - That are round about him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv5–13 Verse 5. Because he transgresseth by wine] From the…
Verse 5. Because he transgresseth by wine] From the present translation, it is not easy to see either reason or meaning in the first clause of this verse. Newcome translates, "Moreover, as a mighty man transgresseth through wine, he is proud, and remaineth not at rest." Houbigant thus: "For he, though he be a despiser, and powerful, and proud, yet shall he not have rest."
Nebuchadnezzar is here represented in his usual character, proud, haughty, and ambitious; inebriated with his successes, and determined on more extensive conquests; and, like the grave, can never have enough: yet, after the subjugation of many peoples and nations, he shall be brought down, and become so despicable that he shall be a proverb of reproach, and be taunted and scorned by all those whom he had before enslaved.
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And cannot be satisfied] When he has obtained all that is within his reach, he wishes for more; and becomes miserable, because any limits are opposed to his insatiable ambition. It is said of Alexander: -
Unus Pellaeo juveni non sufficit orbis;
AEstuat infelix angusto limite mundi.
Juv. Sat. x. 168.
One world sufficed not Alexander's mind;
Coop'd up, he seem'd on earth and seas confined.
And the poet justly ridicules him, because at last the sarcophagus was found too large for his body!
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 vv5, 6, 7, 9, 12 Hab 2:5. Yea also, because he — Namely, the…
Hab 2:5. Yea also, because he — Namely, the king of Babylon; transgresseth by wine — Hereby Belshazzar, his city and kingdom, fell a prey to Darius and Cyrus. He is a proud man — Insolent in his behaviour toward all, whether subjects, strangers, or conquered enemies; such pride shall have a fall. Neither keepeth at home — Is always abroad, warring upon some nation or other. The sense, some think, would be plainer, if the words were thus translated: Moreover, like a man transgressing by wine, he is proud, and shall not continue, or prosper. So the Chaldee paraphrase and Vulgate interpret the words. Who enlargeth his desire as hell — Or rather, as the grave. He is most insatiably greedy to devour all, and as far from saying, It is enough, as the grave is. And is as death — As pernicious and ravenous. And cannot be satisfied — All is too little for him. But gathereth unto him all nations — Addeth one after another of the neighbouring nations to his kingdom; and heapeth unto him all people — Another expression of the same import. Now all these things, predicted of the future disposition of the kings of Babylon and their kingdom, were sure presages of their not continuing long in power and grandeur, but that divine vengeance would soon overtake them. Accordingly at this verse begins the denunciation against the Chaldean, or Babylonian empire, which is spoken of as comprised under one head, who is described as intoxicated with his successes, and not knowing how to set any bounds to his ambition; but still, as his conquests enlarged, his desire of having more increased. Death and the grave are proverbial emblems of an insatiable temper.
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 vv5–13 This general rule the prophet goes on to apply…
This general rule the prophet goes on to apply in words which belong in part to all oppressors and in the first instance to the Chaldaean, in part yet more fully to the end and to antichrist. “Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine” (or better, “Yea, how much more, since wine is a deceiver , as Solomon says, Pro 20:1, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever erreth thereby shall not be wise;” and Pro 23:32, “In the end it biteth like a serpent and pierceth like an adder;” and Hosea Hos 4:11, “Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.” As wine at first gladdens, then deprives of all reason, and lays a man open to any deceit, so also pride. And whereas all pride deceives, how much more , when people are either heated and excited by the abuse of God’s natural gifts, or drunken with prosperity and hurried away, as conquerors are, to all excess of cruelty or lust to fulfill their own will, and neglect the laws of God and man.
Literal drunkenness was a sin of the Babylonians under the Persian rule, so that even a pagan says of Babylon, “Nothing can be more corrupt than the manners of that city, and more provided with all to rouse and entice immoderate pleasures;” and “the Babylonians give themselves wholly to wine, and the things which follow upon drunkenness.” It was when flushed with wine, that Belshazzar, with his princes his wives and his concubines, desecrated the sacred vessels, insulted God in honor of his idols, and in the night of his excess “was slain.” Pride blinded, deceived, destroyed him. It was the general drunkenness of the inhabitants, at that same feast, which enabled Cyrus, with a handful of men, to penetrate, by means of its river, the city which, with its provisions for many years and its impregnable walls, mocked at his siege. He calculated beforehand on its feast and the consequent dissolution of its inhabitants; but for this, in the language of the pagan historian, he would have been caught “as in a trap,” his soldiery drowned.
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He is a proud man, neither keepeth at home. - It is difficult to limit the force of the rare Hebrew word rendered “keep at home;” for one may cease to dwell or abide at home either with his will or without it; and, as in the case of invaders, the one may he the result of the other. He who would take away the home of others becomes, by God’s Providence, himself homeless. The context implies that the primary meaning is the restlessness of ambition; which abides not at home, for his whole pleasure is to go forth to destroy. Yet there sounds, as it were, an undertone, “he would not abide in his home and he shall not.” We could scarcely avoid the further thought, could we translate by a word which does not determine the sense, “he will not home,” “he will not continue at home.” The words have seemed to different minds to mean either; as they may . Such fullness of meaning is the contrary of the ambiguity of pagan oracles; they are not alternative meanings, which might be justified in either case, but cumlative, the one on the other. The ambitious part with present rest for future loss. Nebuchadnezzar lost his kingdom and his reason through pride, received them back when he humbled himself; Belshazzar, being proud and impenitent, lost both his kingdom and life.
Who enlargeth his desire - literally, his soul. The soul becomes like what it loves. The ambitious man is, as we say, “all ambition;” the greedy man, “all appetite;” the cruel man, “all savagery;” the vain-glorious, “all vain glory.” The ruling passion absorbs the whole being. It is his end, the one object of his thoughts, hopes, fears. So, as we speak of “largeness of heart,” which can embrace in its affections all varieties of human interests, whatever affects man, and “largeness of mind” uncramped by narrowing prejudices, the prophet speaks of this “ambitious man widening his soul,” or, as we should speak, “appetite,” so that the whole world is not too large for him to long to grasp or to devour. So the Psalmist prays not to be delivered into the murderous desire of his enemies (Psa 27:12; Compare Psa 41:3 (Psa 41:2 in English); Ezek. 26:27) (literally their soul,) and Isaiah, with a metaphor almost too bold for our language Isa 5:14, “Hell hath enlarged her soul, and opened her mouth beyond measure.” It devours, as it were, first in its cravings, then in act.
As hell - which is insatiable Pro 30:15. He saith, “enlargeth”; for as hell and the grave are year by year fuller, yet there is no end, the desire “enlargeth” and becometh wider, the more is given to it to satisfy it.
And (he) is (himself) as death - o, sparing none. Our poetry would speak of a destroyer as being “like the angel of death;” his presence, as the presence of death itself. Where he is, there is death. He is as terrible and as destroying as the death which follows him.
And cannot be satisfied - Even human proverbs say (Juv. Sat. xiv. 139): “The love of money groweth as much as the money itself groweth.” “The avaricious is ever needy.” Ecc 5:10 : “he that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver.” For these fleeting things cannot satisfy the undying soul. It must hunger still; for it has not found what will allay its cravings .
But gathereth - literally, “And hath gathered” - He describes it, for the rapidity with which he completes what he longs for, as though it were already done.
Unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people - One is still the subject of the prophecy, rising up at successive times, fulfilling it and passing away, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, Attila, Timur, Genghizchan, Hunneric, scourges of God, all deceived by pride, all sweeping the earth, all in their ambition and wickedness the unknowing agents and images of the evil One, who seeks to bring the whole world under his rule. But shall it prosper?
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 vv5–13 As wine deceiveth, &c. viz., by affording only a…
As wine deceiveth, &c. viz., by affording only a short passing pleasure, followed by the evils and disgrace that are the usual consequences of drunkenness: so shall it be with the proud enemies of the people of God, whose success affordeth them only a momentary pleasure, followed by innumerable and everlasting evils. (Challoner) --- Hebrew, "but as the proud man prevaricates in wine, he shall not succeed." Baltassar’s reign was short. (Vatable; De Dieu.) --- Nabuchodonosor saw himself reduced to the meanest condition. --- Hell. He is insatiable, Proverbs xxx. 16. (Calmet) --- Æstuat infelix (Alex.) augusto limite mundi. (Juv.[Juvenal?] x.)
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 vv5–13 Yea also, because--additional reason why the Jews may look…
Yea also, because--additional reason why the Jews may look for God punishing their Chaldean foe, namely, because . . . he is
a proud man--rather, this clause continues the reason for the Jews expecting the punishment of the Chaldeans, "because he transgresseth by wine (a besetting sin of Babylon, compare Dan. 5:1-31, and CURTIUS [5.1]), being a proud man." Love of wine often begets a proud contempt of divine things, as in Belshazzar's case, which was the immediate cause of the fall of Babylon (Dan 5:2-4, Dan 5:30; compare Pro 20:1; Pro 30:9; Pro 31:5).
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enlargeth his desire as hell--the grave, or the unseen world, which is "never full" (Pro 27:20; Pro 30:16; Isa 5:14). The Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar were filled with an insatiable desire of conquest. Another reason for their punishment.
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 vv5–13 Hab_2:5 seems to be an oracle by itself, though…
Hab_2:5 seems to be an oracle by itself, though in thought it is an expansion of Hab_2:4 a, describing, as it does, the character of the Chaldean. But, while the general import of the verse is clear, the interpretation of details is uncertain; and it seems almost beyond doubt that the text has suffered in transmission. A few simple changes would produce the following: “Yea, moreover, treacherous as wine is he, a haughty man, who keepeth not at home, who enlargeth his desire as Sheol; he is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples.” These words are a description of the lust of conquest that impels the Chaldeans to overrun the whole earth and of the treachery they practice when dealing with other nations.
Hell — Better, R.V., “Sheol.” The abode of the departed; it is pictured here, as elsewhere, as a devouring, insatiable monster (see on Hos_13:14; compare Isa_5:14). As Sheol seeks to devour all, so the Chaldeans are not satisfied until all nations have become their prey.
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Hab_2:5 marks the transition to the five woes in Hab_2:6-20. Now the Chaldean is the triumphant conqueror, but his doom is determined in the heavenly councils; therefore the oppressed nations may begin their song of rejoicing over his downfall. The ancient Babylonian Kings took comparatively little interest in war; but the Chaldean power, which was the heir of Assyria, continued the latter’s cruel policy.
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 vv5–13 5. Yea also … transgresseth by wine] A.V. is…
5. Yea also … transgresseth by wine] A.V. is hardly a rendering of the text. R.V. renders: yea, moreover, wine is a treacherous dealer, a haughty man, and that keepeth not at home; who enlargeth his desire as hell. Such phraseology has little meaning. Any reference to Chaldean debaucheries, openly expressed by A.V. and apparently insinuated by R.V., is farfetched in the extreme and has no probability. The text cannot be right; the word “wine” does not appear either in Sept. or Syr., and the word rendered “keepeth at home” is unknown.
The term rendered by R.V. “treacherous (barbarous) dealer” is that applied to the Chaldean, ch. Hab_1:13, and it would be more natural to take the “ruthless dealer” as the subject of the statement here, and to suppose that what is said of him is that he is insatiable, in agreement with the second half of the verse. The Syr. contents itself with expressing this general sense: an arrogant and greedy man is not satiated (insatiable). There is some corruption in the word “wine,” which should express the predicate; yea, moreover … is the treacherous dealer.
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He is a proud man, neither keepeth at home] The term “proud” occurs Pro_21:24, “The proud and haughty man, scorner is his name.” The verb “keepeth at home” is found nowhere else; a noun in the sense of pasture, homestead, is not uncommon, and the verb if it existed might (after Arab.) mean to find a home, or resting-place—possibly even to be quiet or rest (Job_20:20). The whole would then read: yea, moreover … is the treacherous dealer, a man that is proud and resteth not; who enlargeth. For “resteth not” (yinweh) Wellh. suggests “is not satisfied” (yirweh). The latter word properly means to drink to satiety, as the thirsty does water, and as the sword does blood (Jer_46:10). When Ibn Aḥmar sings of his camel: “She says, when I have raised the saddle upon her, Will Ibn Aḥmar be supplied with drink and never satisfy his thirst (yarwa) from me?” the beast refers to her sweat. If the word “wine” were retained a slight change in the Heb. text might produce a comparison: Moreover, like wine is the treacherous dealer, a man that is proud and restless (insatiable); who enlargeth:—the comparison “like wine” indicating the conduct and demeanour that wine produces. But all efforts to educe sense must fail with the present text.
enlargeth his desire as hell] who openeth wide his maw like Sheòl. Sheòl, the place of the dead, is insatiable. Isa_5:14; Pro_27:20, “Sheòl and Abaddon are never satisfied,” cf. Pro_30:16. “Death” like Sheòl is personified.
heapeth unto him all people] all peoples. He swalloweth down all nations like Sheòl.
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 vv5–13 (5) Yea, also. . . .—Better, Add, too, that…
(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 Hab_2:4. Not only are the Chaldæans arrogant, but drunkards, and insatiably covetous. The former charge is expressed in a kind of proverb, “(It is a known fact that) wine is treacherous.” Perhaps the aphorisms of Pro_20:1 are in Habakkuk’s mind: “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is noisy.” The other charge, that of rapacity, also recalls the Book of Proverbs, where the insatiable appetite of death and Hades is twice described. (See Pro_27:20; Pro_30:16.) The charge of drunkenness is illustrated in Rawlinson, Ancient Monarchies, vol. 2, 504-507.
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 vv5–13 7. The character of the Chaldeans in some particulars…
7. The character of the Chaldeans in some particulars is intimated. The general proposition in the former hemistich of ver. 4 is here applied to the Chaldeans, in striking contrast to the lot of the just in the latter clause. Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine. This should be, And moreover, wine is treacherous. A kind of proverbial saying. (Pro_20:1) Vulgate, Quomodo vinum potantem decipit. There is no word expressive of comparison in the original, though it may be supplied to complete the sense. The intemperate habits of the Babylonians are well attested. (see Dan_5:3, Dan_5:4; Quint. Curt., 5:1, "Babylonii maxime in vinum et quae ebrietatem sequuntur effusi sunt;" comp. Her., 1:191; Xen., "Cyrop.," 7:5. 15) They used beth the fermented sap of the palm tree as well as the juice of the grape, the latter chiefly imported from abroad. "The wealthy Babylonians were fond of drinking to excess; their banquets were magnificent, but generally ended in drunkenness" (Rawlinson, "Anc. Men.," 3:450, edit. 1865). Neither the Septuagint, nor the Syriac, nor the Coptic Version has any mention of wine in this passage. The Septuagint gives, oJ demenov kaiv, "the arrogant and the scorner." He is a proud man, neither keepeth he at home; a haughty man, he resteth not. His pride is always impelling him to new raids and conquests. This is quite the character of the later Chaldeans, and is consistent with the latter part of the verse. The comparison, then, is this: As wine raises the spirits and excites men to great efforts which in the end deceive them, so pride rouses these men to go on their insatiate course of conquest, which shall one day prove their ruin. The verb translated "keepeth at home" has the secondary sense of "being decorous;" hence the Vulgate gives, Sic erit vir superbus, et non decorabitur; i.e. as wine first exhilarates and then makes a man contemptible, so pride, which begins by exalting a man, ends by bringing him to ignominy. Others take the verb in the sense of "continueth not," explaining that the destruction of Babylon is here intimated. But what follows makes against this interpretation. The LXX gives, "Anhr ajlazwn oujqen mhnh, which Jerome, combining with it his own version, paraphrases, "Sic vir superbus non decorabitur, nec voluntatem suam perducet ad finem; et juxta Symmachum, oujk eujporhsei, hoc est, in rerum omnium erit penuria." Who enlargeth his desire as hell; Hebrew, Sheol. Hell is called insatiable (Pro_27:20; Isa_5:14) Is as death, which seizes all creatures and spares none. People; peoples.
Moral wrong: some of its national phases.
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"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." No doubt Habakkuk was reviled like the other prophets on account of his terrible predictions, as recorded in the preceding chapter (vers. 6 and 11). From this verse to the nineteenth the prophet unfolds new visions concerning the national crimes committed by Babylon, and the consequent national calamities approaching. This verse gives some of the national phases of moral wrong as they appeared in Babylon. Evil, like good, is one in essence, but it has many forms and phases. The branches that grow out of the root, whilst filled with the same sap, vary widely in shape and hue. In this verse we have three of its forms.
I DRUNKENNESS. "He transgresseth by wine;" or, as some render it, "moreover, the wine is treacherous." This is one of the most loathsome, irrational, and pernicious forms which it can assume. Drunkenness puts the man or the woman absolutely into the hands of Satan, to do whatsoever he wills lie, swear, rob, murder, and luxuriate in moral mud. "A drunken man is like a fool, a madman, a drowned man; one draught too much makes him a fool, the second roads, and the third drowns him" (Shakespeare). It is the curse of England. It fills our workhouses with paupers, our hospitals with patients, our jails with prisoners, our mad houses with lunatics, our cemeteries with graves. Moral wrong took this form in ancient Babylon, and it takes this form in England today to an appalling extent. Woe to our legislators, if they do not put it down by the strong arm of the law! Nothing else will do it.
II HAUGHTINESS. "Is a proud man." Babylon became inspired with a haughty insolence. She regarded herself as the queen of the world, and looked down with supercilious contempt upon all the other nations of the earth, even upon the Hebrew people, the heavenly chosen race. Nebuchadnezzar expresses the spirit of the kingdom as well as his own, when he says, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?". (Dan_4:30) It is suggested that the Chaldeans" love of wine had much to do in the developing of this haughty spirit. We read (Da 5) that Belshazzar at his feast drank wine with the thousands of his lords, his princes, his wives, his concubines. "Wine is a mocker;" it cheats a beggar into the belief that he is a lord. "Strong drink is raging;" it lashes the passions into furious insolence. It is fabled that Aceius the poet, though he was a dwarf, would be pictured a giant in stature. Pride is an evil that leads to ruin. "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
III RAPACITY. Two things are suggested concerning the rapacious form it assumed in Babylon.
1. It was restless. "Neither keepeth at home." Not content with its own grandeur, wealth, and luxuries, it goes from home in search of others; goes out into other countries to rifle and to rob.
2. It is insatiable. "Who enlargeth his desire as hell that is, "as Sheol, the grave, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied." "Hell and destruction," that is, the grave and death, says Solomon, "are never full." The grave cries for more and more, as its tenants multiply by millions. The earth seems to hunger and to gape for all the dust that enters into the frames of men. So it was with the Babylonian despot, though he gathered unto him all nations, and heaped unto him all peoples, his greed and ambition remained unsatiated and insatiable. "This," says an old writer, "is one of the crying sins of our land, insatiable pride. This makes dear rents and great fines; this takes away the whole clothing of many poor to add one lace more in the suits of the rich; this shortens the labourer"s wages, and adds much to the burden of his labour. This greediness makes the market of spiritual and temporal offices and dignities, and puts well deserving virtue out of countenance. This corrupts religion with opinions, justice with bribes, charity with cruelty; it turns peace into schism and contention, love into compliment, friendship into treason, and sets the mouth of hell yet more open, and gives it an appetite for more souls." Such are some of the forms that moral wrong took in Babylon, as indicated in these words. But these are not the only forms, as we shall see in proceeding through the chapter. Does not moral wrong assume these very forms here in England? Drunkenness, haughtiness, rapacity, these fiends show their hideous shapes everywhere, and work their demon deeds in every circle of life. 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 Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12 Who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as…
Hab_2:5
Who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied.
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Moral wrong; some of its national phases
Evil, like good, is one in essence, but it has many forms and phases. The branches that grow out of the root, whilst filled with the same sap, vary widely in shape and hue.
I. Drunkenness. This is one of the most loathsome, irrational, and Pernicious forms which it can assume. Drunkenness puts the man or the woman absolutely into the hands of Satan, to do whatsoever he wills.
II. Haughtiness. Is a proud man. Babylon became inspired with a haughty insolence. She regarded herself as the queen of the world, and looked down with supercilious contempt upon all the other nations of the earth, even upon the Hebrew People, the heavenly chosen race. Nebuchadnezzar expresses, the spirit of the kingdom as well as his own, when he says, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? It is suggested that their love of wine had much to do in the developing of this haughty spirit. We read, chapter 5th, that Belshazzar at his feast drank wine with the thousands of his lords, his princes, his wives, his concubines.
III. Rapacity. Two things are suggested concerning the rapacious form it assumed in Babylon.
1. It was restless. Neither keepeth at home. Not content with its own grandeur, wealth, and luxuries, it goes from home in search of others; goes out into other countries to rifle and to rob.
2. It is insatiable. Who enlargeth his desire as hell,--that is, as Sheol the grave,--and is as death, and cannot be satisfied. (Homilist.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v5 IN the style of his master Isaiah, Habakkuk follows…
TYRANNY IS SUICIDE
Hab_2:5-20
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IN the style of his master Isaiah, Habakkuk follows up his "Vision" with a series of lyrics on the same subject: Hab_2:5-20. They are taunt-songs, the most of them beginning with "Woe unto," addressed to the heathen oppressor. Perhaps they were all at first of equal length, and it has been suggested that the striking refrain in which two of them close:-
"For mens blood, and earths waste, Cities and their inhabitants-"
was once attached to each of the others as well. But the text has been too much altered, besides suffering several interpolation, to permit of its restoration, and we can only reproduce these taunts as they now run in the Hebrew text. There are several quotations (not necessarily an argument against Habakkuks authorship); but, as a whole, the expression is original, and there are some lines of especial force and freshness. Hab_2:5-6 a are properly an introduction, the first Woe commencing with Hab_2:6 b.
The belief which inspires these songs is very simple. Tyranny is intolerable. In the nature of things it cannot endure, but works out its own penalties. By oppressing so many nations, the tyrant is preparing the instruments of his own destruction. As he treats them, so in time shall they treat him. He is like a debtor who increases the number of his creditors. Some day they shall rise up and exact from him the last penny. So that in cutting off others he is "but forfeiting his own life." The very, violence done to nature, the deforesting of Lebanon for instance, and the vast hunting of wild beasts, shall recoil on him. This line of thought is exceedingly interesting. We have already seen in prophecy, and especially in Isaiah, the beginnings of Hebrew Wisdom-the attempt to uncover the moral processes of life and express a philosophy of history But hardly anywhere have we found so complete an absence of all reference to the direct interference of God Himself in the punishment of the tyrant; for "the cup of Jehovahs right hand" in ver. 16 is simply the survival of an ancient metaphor These "proverbs" or "taunt-songs," in conformity with the proverbs of the later Wisdom, dwell only upon the inherent tendency to decay of all injustice. Tyranny, they assert, and history ever since has affirmed their truthfulness-tyranny is suicide.
The last of the taunt-songs, which treats of the different subject of idolatry, is probably, as we have seen, not from Habakkuks hand, but of a later
INTRODUCTION TO THE TAUNT-SONGS
{Hab_2:5-6}
"For treacherous, An arrogant fellow, and is not Who opens his desire wide as Sheol; He is like death, unsatisfied; And hath swept to himself all the nations, And gathered to him all peoples. Shall not these, all of them, take up a proverb upon him, And a taunt-song against him? and say":-
FIRST TAUNT-SONG. {Hab_2:6-8}
"Woe unto him who multiplies what is not his own, -How long?-And loads him with debts! Shall not thy creditors rise up, And thy troublers awake, And thou be for spoil to them? Because thou hast spoiled many nations, All the rest of the peoples shall spoil thee. For mens blood, and earths waste, Cities and all their inhabitants."
SECOND TAUNT-SONG. {Hab_2:9-11}
"Woe unto him that gains evil gain for his house, To set high his nest, to save him from the grasp of calamity! Thou hast planned shame for thy house; Thou hast cut off many people, While forfeiting thine own life. For the stone shall cry out from the wall, And the lath from the timber answer it."
THIRD TAUNT-SONG. {Hab_2:12-14}
"Woe unto him that builds a city in blood, {Mic_3:10} And stablishes a town in iniquity {Jer_22:13} Lo, is it not from Jehovah of hosts, That the nations shall toil for smoke, And the peoples wear themselves out for nought? But earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, Like the waters that cover the sea".
FOURTH TAUNT-SONG. {Hab_2:15-17}
"Woe unto him that gives his neighbor to drink, From the cup of his wrath till he be drunken, That he may gloat on his nakedness! Thou art sated with shame-not with glory; Drink also thou, and stagger. Comes round to thee the cup of Jehovahs right hand, And foul shame on thy glory. For the violence to Lebanon shall cover thee, The destruction of the beasts shall affray thee. For mens blood, and earths waste, Cities and all their inhabitants."
FIFTH TAUNT-SONG. {Hab_2:18-20}
"What boots an image, when its artist has graven it, A cast-image and lie-oracle, that its molder has trusted upon it, Making dumb idols? Woe to him that saith to a block, Awake! To a dumb stone, Arise! Can it teach? Lo, it with gold and silver; There is no breath at all in the heart of it. But Jehovah is in His Holy Temple: Silence before Him, all the earth."
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 9, 12 Hab_2:5.] The thought further developed by a proverbial saying…
CRITICAL NOTES.]
Hab_2:5.] The thought further developed by a proverbial saying with special reference to the Chaldeans. They were given to wine and insatiable conquest. “Wine is treacherous; the haughty man stayeth not at home” [Hend.] (cf. Pro_30:1). Prond] Elated, haughty (Pro_21:24). Home] For he longs to go forth to destroy. Desire] Lit. soul; passions widen or enlarge the soul (Psa_27:12; Psa_41:2-3; Isa_5:14). Hell] Which is insatiable (Pro_30:15). Death] Which spares none, but swallows up every living thing (Pro_27:20). Gather] Lit. hath gathered. “He describes it, for the rapidity with which he completes what he longs for, as though it were already done” [Pusey].
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HOMILETICS
WINE A DECEIVER.—Hab_2:5
This verse not only developes the thought of the preceding, but adds another feature. Yea also, i.e. add to this that wine is treacherous [cf. Keil]. The general rule is applied to all oppressors, and especially to the Chaldeans, who were addicted to the sins here described.
I. Wine deceives in its nature. Its victims are mocked and grievously deceived. Wine promises pleasures which it cannot give. Strong drink is raging, not that “good creature” which some think it is. Intoxicating drinks abuse men, deceive, and lead them astray. They are overcome, beguiled, and befooled before they are aware. “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”
II. Wine deceives in its effects. “That it strengthens the system is a deception; chemistry has shown that it contains no nourishment for the body. That it enriches the national revenue is a deception. It is true that the taxes on alcoholic drinks bring millions annually into the national exchequer, but how much of the wealth of the nation does it exhaust by the pauperism and crime which it creates! Alcoholic drink is the great false prophet in England” [Dr. Thomas]. Prince and people, priest and prophet, have “erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way.”
“Ah! sly deceiver! branded o’er and o’er,
Yet still believed! exulting o’er the wrecks
Of sober vows” [Armstrong, I., M.D., 1744].
WINE AND ITS ASSOCIATES.—Hab_2:5
Drunkenness itself is sin, and is the cause of other sins. Those who are given to wine are sensual and voluptuous. Wine never stands alone. We have here its associated evils.
I. Pride. “He is a proud man.” The proud man thinks too much of himself, despises others, and is arrogant in his conduct, “dealeth in proud wrath.” Pharaoh, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar are fearful examples of pride. Flushed with wine, Belshazzar and his princes desecrated the sacred vessels and insulted God. The drunkenness of the inhabitants enabled Cyrus to take Babylon, well provisioned and strongly fortified. Pride “is a vice,” says Hooker, “which cleaveth so fast unto the hearts of men, that if we were to strip ourselves of all faults one by one we should undoubtedly find it the very last and hardest to put off.” “A man’s pride shall bring him low.”
II. Ambition. “Neither keepeth at home.” Restless in spirit and in condition. Though home be a palace, to a discontented mind it is a prison. Drunk with ambition, as well as wine, the Chaldeans were not satisfied with their splendid kingdom, but sought to enlarge it. The world cannot fill the abyss of the soul without God. The man who treads others under his feet exalts his gate (Pro_17:19) above his neighbour, affects a style beyond his rank, and seeks destruction. Think of Alexander, Cæsar, and Napoleon. When Philip was thrown down in the games he saw the marks of his body, and said, “How little a parcel of earth will hold us when we are dead, who are ambitiously seeking after the whole world while living.”
III. Covetousness. “Who enlargeth his desire as hell,” &c. Covetousness and greed of wealth result from pride. Covetous men invade the rights and seize the property of others. One nation will not satisfy without another. The ambitious “gathereth unto him all nations and heapeth unto him all people.” This passion is never satisfied.
1. It is like Hades, which devours in its desire and act, and ever cries Give, give. “Hell and destruction are never full.”
2. It is like death, which has slain its millions and ready to take as many more. Death spares none but is terrible to all. “Hell hath enlarged herself and opened her mouth without measure.”
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 2
Hab_2:5-6. Desire. Could you change the solid earth into a single lump of gold, and drop it into the gaping mouth of avarice, it would only be a crumb of transient comfort, a cordial drop, enabling it to cry a little louder, “Give, give” [Royal Preacher].
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.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv5, 13 Sheol is, in the O.T., the place to which…
hell
Sheol is, in the O.T., the place to which the dead go.
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(1) Often, therefore, it is spoken of as the equivalent of the grave, merely, where all human activities cease; the terminus toward which all human life moves (e.g. Gen 42:38 grave Job 14:13 grave Psa 88:3 grave
(2) To the man "under the sun," the natural man, who of necessity judges from appearances, sheol seems no more than the grave-- the end and total cessation, not only of the activities of life, but of life itself. Ecc 9:5; Ecc 9:10
(3) But Scripture reveals sheol as a place of sorrow 2Sa 22:6; Psa 18:5; Psa 116:3; in which the wicked are turned Psa 9:17 and where they are fully conscious; Isa 14:9-17; Eze 32:21 see, especially, Jon 2:2 what the belly of the great fish was to Jonah that sheol is to those who are therein). The sheol of the O.T. and hades of the N.T. (See Scofield "Luk 16:23") are identical.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v9 The Four Remaining Woes
The Four Remaining Woes
v. 9. Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, who accumulates the gain of wickedness for his house, seeking to establish his house by unrighteous, wicked methods, that he may set his nest on high, secure against every form of attack, as the Chaldean did, that he may be delivered from the power of evil, considering himself safe against every form of misfortune.
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v. 10. Thou hast consulted shame to thy house, for the Chaldean’s counsel, as outlined in the preceding verse, was bound to bring disgrace upon him, by cutting off many people, the plan to bring about the destruction of many nations being the reason for the Lord’s judgment upon Babylonia, and hast sinned against thy soul, transgressing in such a way as to forfeit his life.
v. 11. For the stone shall cry out of the wall and the beam out of the timber, the spar out of the woodwork, shall answer it, agreeing with the stone in its charge against the builder on account of the crimes committed in building the city.
v. 12. Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood! with blood-bought spoils, as Babylon was built, and stablisheth a city by iniquity, by violence and oppression.
v. 13. Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the people shall labor in the very fire, for it was due to His dispensation that men strained themselves to the utmost, only, however, to have their buildings consumed by fire in the burning of their cities, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? For all the proud buildings erected by them would eventually be destroyed.
v. 14. For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, the destruction of the world-power being a necessary condition to this end, in order that the honor of Jehovah, the almighty Ruler of the heavenly armies, might be known throughout the world, as the waters cover the sea. Cf Isa 11:9. The enemies who refuse to accept the Lord in the beauty of his mercy will he obliged to acknowledge Him in the majesty of His almighty power.
v. 15. Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, as the Babylonians did, figuratively speaking, that puttest thy bottle to him, or, "while thou addest thy wrath,". and makest him drunken also that thou mayest look on their nakedness! The picture of one lying in a drunken, shameful stupor well emphasizes the entire subjection of a conquered people.
v. 16. Thou art filled with shame for glory, or, "so, then, shalt thou be satisfied with shame instead of glory," satiated with disgracefulness; drink thou also, draining the cup of the Lord’s wrath, and let thy foreskin be uncovered, showing Chaldea to be uncircumcised, heathenish. The cup of the Lord’s right hand, offered in a manner that it could not be refused, shall be turned unto thee, so that it would eventually be Chaldea’s turn to empty it to the last dregs, and shameful spewing, the vomiting of drunkenness and shame, shall be on thy glory.
v. 17. For the violence of Lebanon, the outrage committed in ruining its cedar forests, shall cover thee and the spoil of beasts, the dispersion of the animals of Lebanon, which made them afraid because of men’s blood, shed by the conquerors, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. Cf v. 8.
v. 18. What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it, such trust is utterly useless, the molten image and a teacher of lies, the idol itself, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? All this is vain and foolish. It follows, therefore,
v. 19. Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake! expecting help from a carved idol; to the dumb stone, the hewn idol, Arise, it shall teach! rather, "Can it teach?. Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it, whence it follows that idolatry is a most foolish undertaking.
v. 20. But the Lord, the contrast being sharply emphasized, is in His holy temple, the Ruler in His mighty kingdom; let all the earth keep silence before Him, awaiting His judgment in silent and humble submission. If the whole earth is obliged to acknowledge His majesty and authority, then the glory and power of the Chaldean state cannot maintain itself in His sight.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv6, 9, 12 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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Will not all these create
The words "all these" refer to the nations and peoples from Habakkuk 2:5. This negative rhetorical question emphasizes the positive answer. It can be translated as a statement. AT: "All of these nations and peoples will certainly create" (See: Rhetorical Question)
Woe to the one increasing what is not his
It is implicit that he is increasing his possession of things that do not belong to him. AT: "Woe to the one who claims for himself more and more things that do not belong to him" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
For how long will you increase the weight of the pledges you have taken?
The word "pledges" refers to objects that people give to others from whom they have borrowed money as a guarantee that they will repay their debt. As the man collects more and more pledges, the total weight of the pledges that he carries increases.
For how long will you increase the weight of the pledges you have taken?
The Chaldeans robbing the people of the nations of their wealth is spoken of as if the Chaldeans were a person who forces others to give him pledges and to pay him what they do not owe. AT: "For how long will you make yourself rich by extorting others?" (See: Metaphor)
Will the ones biting at you not rise up suddenly, and the ones terrifying you awaken?
This negative rhetorical question emphasizes the positive answer. It can be translated as a statement. AT: "The ones biting at you will certainly rise up suddenly, and the ones terrifying you will awaken." (See: Rhetorical Question)
the ones biting at you
The Hebrew word translated here as "the ones biting" can also mean "the ones paying interest" or "debtors." In this context, the word probably has both meanings. The phrase is a metaphor in which those whom the man has oppressed and made debtors by forcing them to give him pledges will now oppress him, which is spoken of as if they were biting him. (See: Metaphor)
the ones terrifying you
This refers to the same debtors. They will terrify the Chaldeans by attacking them in revenge for the pledges that they were forced to give.
rise up ... awaken
The people of the nations beginning to act against the Chaldeans is spoken of as if they were to "rise up" and to "awaken" from sleep. (See: Metaphor)
plunder
to rob or take things by force
you have shed human blood
The idiom "to shed blood" means "to murder." AT: "you have murdered people" (See: Idiom)
translationWords
pledge
raise
nation
remnant
people group
blood
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 vv6, 9, 12 2:6-20 Five taunt songs (2:6-8, 9-11, 12-14, 15-17, 18-20)…
2:6-20 Five taunt songs (2:6-8, 9-11, 12-14, 15-17, 18-20) portray God’s future judgment of the Babylonians (and others who, like the Babylonians, indulge in violence and injustice). God allows them to seal their own doom. Those who suffer will be able to repeat these taunts when the wicked come to judgment (see 1:14-17). Each taunt contains a pronouncement of sorrow, a judgment, and the reason for God’s judgment.
2:6-8 In the first of Habakkuk’s taunt songs, he condemns the Babylonians for despoiling the nations. • thieves . . . extortion: The imagery compares the Babylonians to creditors whose oppressive measures cause their debtors to rise up against them. Greed can easily mar an individual’s or nation’s spiritual fiber (Luke 12:15; Eph 5:3).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.