Habakkuk 2

1 On my keeping I shall stand, and shall pitch a degree on [the] warding; and I shall behold, that I see what thing shall be said to me, and what I shall answer to him that reproveth me. (I shall stand watch at my station, and shall climb the stairs of the watch tower; and I shall see, what shall be said to me, and what I shall answer to him who rebuketh me.)

2 And the Lord answered to me, and said, Write thou the sight, either revelation, and make it plain on tables, that he (may) run, that shall read it. (And the Lord said to me, Write thou what thou seest, and make it clear on a tablet, ready for a courier to carry it with haste/so that it can easily be read.)

3 For yet the vision is far, and it shall appear into the end, and shall not lie; if it shall make dwelling, abide thou it, for it coming shall come, and shall not tarry. (For yet the vision is far off, but it shall appear in the end, and it shall not lie; and even if it appeareth to be delayed, wait thou for it, for it is coming, and indeed shall come, and shall not be late.)

4 Lo! the soul of him, that is unbelieveful, shall not be rightful in himself; forsooth the just man shall live in his faith. (Lo! the soul of him, who is unbelieving, shall not be right within himself; but the just, or the righteous, shall live by faith.)

5 And as wine deceiveth a man drinking, so shall the proud man be, and he shall not be made fair; for as hell he alarged his soul, and he is as death, and he is not [ful]filled; and he shall gather to him all folks, and he shall gather together to him all peoples. (And like wine deceiveth someone who is drinking, so shall be the proud person, and he shall never be content, or at peace; for he enlarged his soul, or his mouth, as wide as Sheol, or the land of the dead, but he, like death itself, shall never be satisfied, or fulfilled; even though he shall gather all the nations unto himself, yea, though he shall gather together all the peoples unto himself.)

6 Whether not all these peoples shall take a parable on him, and the speaking of dark sentences of him? And it shall be said, Woe to him that multiplieth things not his own; how long, and he aggregateth against himself thick clay? (Shall not all these peoples turn him into a parable, or an example, and speak dark sentences about him? And so it shall be said, Woe to you who multiplieth riches not your own! how long shall you gather unto yourself things taken in pledge?)

7 Whether not suddenly they shall rise together, that shall bite thee? And they shall be raised tearing thee, and thou shalt be into raven to them; and thine ambushers in evil shall wake. (Shall they not suddenly rise up, and bite thee? Yea, they shall be raised up, and shall tear thee apart, and thou shalt become prey, or spoils, to them; and thy ambushers in evil shall watch for thy fall.)

8 For thou robbedest many folks, all shall rob thee, which shall be residue, either left, of peoples, for blood of man, and for wickedness of land, of the city, and of all men dwelling in it. (For thou hast robbed many nations, all who shall be the residue, or those left, of the peoples, shall rob thee, for the bloodshed, or the murder, of the people, and for the wickedness done in the land, to the city, and to all the people who live there.)

9 Woe to him that gathereth evil covetousness to his house, that his nest be on high, and guesseth him for to be delivered (out) of the hand of evil. (Woe to you who gathereth evil gain, or filthy lucre, unto your house, so that your nest would be on high, and thinketh yourself to be delivered, or saved, from the hand of evil.)

10 Thou thoughtest confusion to thine house; thou hast slain many peoples, and thy soul sinned. (Thou hast brought shame to thy house; thou hast killed many people, yea, thy soul hath sinned.)

11 For the stone of the wall shall cry, and a tree that is betwixt jointures of buildings shall answer. (And so the stones in the walls shall cry out, and a beam of the timbers that is between the joinings of the building shall answer them.)

12 Woe to him that buildeth a city in bloods, and maketh ready a city in wickedness. (Woe to you who buildeth a city with bloodshed, or with murder, and who maketh ready a city with wickedness.)

13 Whether not these things be of the Lord of hosts? For peoples shall travail in much fire, and folks in vain, and they shall fail. (Be not all these things from the Lord of hosts? For peoples and nations shall labour, or shall struggle, amid much fire, or much adversity, and all for nothing, for they all shall fail.)

14 For the earth shall be filled, that it know the glory of the Lord, as waters covering the sea. (For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, like the waters covering, or filling, the sea.)

15 Woe to him that giveth drink to his friend, and sendeth his gall, and maketh drunken, that he behold his nakedness. (Woe to you who sendeth your gall, or your anger, onto your friend, as if giving him drink, and maketh him drunk, so that you can behold his shame, or his nakedness.)

16 He is filled with evil fame for glory; and thou drink, and be aslept; the cup of the right half of the Lord shall compass thee, and casting up, either spewing, of evil fame (shall be) [up]on thy glory. (Thou shalt be filled with shame and not with glory; yea, thou shalt drink, and then be asleep; the cup of the right hand of the Lord shall be given to thee, and then thy shame shall exceed thy glory.)

17 For the wickedness of Lebanon shall cover thee, and [the] destruction of beasts shall make them afeared, of bloods of man, and of wickedness of [the] land, and of the city, and of all men dwelling therein. (For the wickedness done to Lebanon shall now be done to thee, and the destruction of its beasts shall now make thee afraid, because of the bloodshed, or the murder, of the people, and the wickedness done in the land, to the city, and to all the people who live there.)

18 What profiteth the graven image, for his maker graved it, a welled thing together, and [a] false image? for the maker thereof hoped in [the] making, that he made dumb simulacra. (What is the profit, or the benefit, of an engraved figure? for its maker engraved it, a thing welded together, yet it is but a false, or a empty, and useless, image; even though its maker hoped in the making of it, he hath made only dumb idols.)

19 Woe to him that saith to a tree, Wake thou; (and,) Rise thou, to a stone being still; whether he shall be able to teach? Lo! this (thing) is covered with gold and silver, and no spirit is in his entrails. (Woe to you who saith to a piece of wood, Wake up thou! and, Rise thou! to a stone being still; shall it be able to teach you anything? Lo! this thing is covered with gold and silver, but there is no breath in its innards.)

20 Forsooth the Lord is in his holy temple, all earth be still from his face. (But the Lord is in his holy Temple, let all the earth be silent before him.)

Habakkuk 2 Commentary

Chapter 2

Habakkuk must wait in faith. (1-4) Judgments upon the Chaldeans. (5-14) Also upon drunkenness and idolatry. (15-20)

Verses 1-4 When tossed and perplexed with doubts about the methods of Providence, we must watch against temptations to be impatient. When we have poured out complaints and requests before God, we must observe the answers God gives by his word, his Spirit, and providences; what the Lord will say to our case. God will not disappoint the believing expectations of those who wait to hear what he will say unto them. All are concerned in the truths of God's word. Though the promised favour be deferred long, it will come at last, and abundantly recompense us for waiting. The humble, broken-hearted, repenting sinner, alone seeks to obtain an interest in this salvation. He will rest his soul on the promise, and on Christ, in and through whom it is given. Thus he walks and works, as well as lives by faith, perseveres to the end, and is exalted to glory; while those who distrust or despise God's all-sufficiency will not walk uprightly with him. The just shall live by faith in these precious promises, while the performance of them is deferred. Only those made just by faith, shall live, shall be happy here and for ever.

Verses 5-14 The prophet reads the doom of all proud and oppressive powers that bear hard upon God's people. The lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, are the entangling snares of men; and we find him that led Israel captive, himself led captive by each of these. No more of what we have is to be reckoned ours, than what we come honestly by. Riches are but clay, thick clay; what are gold and silver but white and yellow earth? Those who travel through thick clay, are hindered and dirtied in their journey; so are those who go through the world in the midst of abundance of wealth. And what fools are those that 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 another day! They overload themselves with this thick clay, and so sink themselves down into destruction and perdition. See what will be the end hereof; what is gotten by violence from others, others shall take away by violence. Covetousness brings disquiet and uneasiness into a family; he that is greedy of gain troubles his own house; what is worse, it brings the curse of God upon all the affairs of it. There is a lawful gain, which, by the blessing of God, may be a comfort to a house; but what is got by fraud and injustice, will bring poverty and ruin upon a family. Yet that is not the worst; Thou hast sinned against thine own soul, hast endangered it. Those who wrong their neighbours, do much greater wrong to their own souls. If the sinner thinks he has managed his frauds and violence with art and contrivance, the riches and possessions he heaped together will witness against him. There are not greater drudges in the world than those who are slaves to mere wordly pursuits. And what comes of it? They find themselves disappointed of it, and disappointed in it; they will own it is worse than vanity, it is vexation of spirit. By staining and sinking earthly glory, God manifests and magnifies his own glory, and fills the earth with the knowledge of it, as plentifully as waters cover the sea, which are deep, and spread far and wide.

Verses 15-20 A severe woe is pronounced against drunkenness; it is very fearful against all who are guilty of drunkenness at any time, and in any place, from the stately palace to the paltry ale-house. To give one drink who is in want, who is thirsty and poor, or a weary traveller, or ready to perish, is charity; but to give a neighbour drink, that he may expose himself, may disclose secret concerns, or be drawn into a bad bargain, or for any such purpose, this is wickedness. To be guilty of this sin, to take pleasure in it, is to do what we can towards the murder both of soul and body. There is woe to him, and punishment answering to the sin. The folly of worshipping idols is exposed. The Lord is in his holy temple in heaven, where we have access to him in the way he has appointed. May we welcome his salvation, and worship him in his earthly temples, through Christ Jesus, and by the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO HABAKKUK 2

This chapter contains an answer from the Lord to the expostulations, pleadings, and reasonings of the prophet, in the name of the people. The preparation of the prophet to receive this answer is described, Hab 2:1 then follows the answer itself, in which he is bid to write and make plain the vision he had, that it might be easily read, Hab 2:2 and a promise is made, that vision should still be continued to the appointed time, at which time the Messiah would come; and this the righteous man, in opposition to the vain and proud man, is encouraged to live in the faith of, Hab 2:3,4 and then the destruction of the enemies of the people of God is threatened for their pride, ambition, covetousness, oppression, and murder, Hab 2:5-12 which would be unavoidable, Hab 2:13 and issue in the spread of the knowledge of the glory of God in the world, Hab 2:14 and also the ruin of other enemies is threatened, for drawing men into apostasy, and for their violence and idolatry, Hab 2:15-19 upon which would follow an universal silence in the earth, Hab 2:20.