Reference: Habakkuk
American
One of the minor prophets. Of his life we know nothing, except that he appears to have been contemporary with Jeremiah, and to have prophesied about 610 B.C., shortly before Nebuchadnezzar's first invasion of Judea, 2Ki 24:1.
The BOOK OF HABAKKUK consists of three chapters, which all constitute on oracle. In Hab 1, he foretells the woes which the rapacious and terrible Chaldeans would soon inflict upon his guilty nation. In Hab 2, he predicts the future humiliation of the conquerors. Hab 3 is a sublime and beautiful ode, in which the prophet implores the succor of Jehovah in view of his mighty works of ancient days, and expresses the most assured trust in him. Nothing, even in Hebrew poetry, is more lofty and grand then this triumphal ode.
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In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.
Easton
embrace, the eighth of the twelve minor prophets. Of his personal history we have no reliable information. He was probably a member of the Levitical choir. He was contemporary with Jeremiah and Zephaniah.
Fausets
The cordially embraced one (favorite of God), or the cordial embracer. "A man of heart, hearty toward another, taking him into his arms. This Habakkuk does in his prophecy; he comforts and lifts up his people, as one would do with a weeping child, bidding him be quiet, because, please God, it would yet be better with him" (Luther). The psalm (Habakkuk 3) and title "Habakkuk the prophet" favor the opinion that Habakkuk was a Levite. The closing words, "to the chief singer on my stringed instruments," imply that Habakkuk with his own instruments would accompany the song he wrote under the Spirit; like the Levite seers and singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun (1Ch 25:1-5). A lyrical tone pervades his prophecies, so that he most approaches David in his psalms.
The opening phrase (Hab 1:1) describes his prophecy as "the burden which," etc., i.e. the weighty, solemn announcement. Habakkuk "saw" it with the inner eye opened by the Spirit. He probably prophesied in the 12th or 13th year of Josiah (630 or 629 B.C.), for the words "in your days" (Hab 1:5) imply that the prophecy would come to pass in the lifetime of the persons addressed. In Jer 16:9 the same phrase comprises 20 years, in Eze 12:25 six years.
Zep 1:7 is an imitation of Hab 2:20; now Zephaniah (Zep 1:1) lived under Josiah, and prophesied (compare Zep 3:5,15) after the restoration of Jehovah's worship, i.e. after the 12th year of Josiah's reign, about 624 B.C. So Habakkuk must have been before this. Jeremiah moreover began prophesying in Josiah's 13th year; now Jeremiah borrows from Habakkuk (compare Hab 2:13 with Jer 51:58); thus, it follows that 630 or 629 B.C. is Habakkuk's date of prophesying (Delitzsch).
Contents. - Habakkuk complains of the moral disorganization around, and cries to Jehovah for help (Hab 1:2-4); Jehovah in reply denounces swift vengeance (Hab 1:5-11) by the Chaldeans. Habakkuk complains that the Chaldees are worse than the Jews whom they are to be the instruments of chastising; they deal treacherously, sweep all into their net, and then "they sacrifice unto their net and burn incense unto their drag," i.e. idolize their own might and military skill, instead of giving the glory to God (De 8:17; Isa 10:13; 37:24-25). Habakkuk therefore, confident that God is of purer eyes than to behold evil (Hab 1:13), sets himself in an attitude of waiting for the Lord's own solution of this perplexing apparent anomaly (Hab 2:1); Jehovah desires him accordingly, "write the vision" of God's retributive justice plainly, so "that he may run that readeth it," namely, "run" to tell to all the good news of the foe's doom and Judah's deliverance, or, as Grotius, run through it, i.e. run through the reading without difficulty.
The issue must be awaited with patience, for it shall not disappoint; the lifted up soul, as that of the Chaldean foe and the unbelieving apostatizing Jew, is not accounted upright before God and therefore shall perish; but the just shall be accounted just by his faith and so shall live. The Chaldeans' doom is announced on the ground of this eternal principle of God's moral government. The oppressed nations "shall take up a parable," i.e. a derisive song (compare Isa 14:4; Mic 2:4), whom Habakkuk copies, against their oppressor. It is a symmetrical whole, five stanzas; three of three verses each, the fourth of four, and the last of two verses. Each stanza, except the last, begins with "woe." All have a closing verse introduced with "for," "but," or "because." Each strophe begins with the character of the sin, then states the woe, lastly confirms the woe (Hab 2:2-20).
The prayer-song (Habakkuk 3) is the spiritual echo, resuming the previous parts of the prophecy, for the enlightenment of God's people. Prayer, thanksgiving, and trust, are the spiritual key to unlock the mysteries of God's present government of the earth. The spirit appears tumultuously to waver (from whence the title "Shigionoth" from shagah, "to wander") between fear and hope; but faith at the end triumphs joyfully over present trials (Hab 3:17-19). Upon God's past manifestations for His people, at Paran, Teman, and the Red Sea, Habakkuk grounds the anticipated deliverance of his people from the foe, through Jehovah's interposition in sublime majesty; so that the believer can always rejoice in the God of his salvation and his strength.
The interests of God's righteous character, seemingly compromised in the Chaldees' successful violence, are what Habakkuk has most at heart throughout; to solve this problem is his one grand theme. Paul quotes Hab 1:5 in his warning to the unbelieving Jews at Antioch in Pisidia. Thrice Paul quotes Hab 2:4, "the just shall live by his faith" (one fundamental truth throughout the Bible, beginning with Abram in Ge 15:6); first in Ro 1:17, where the emphasis rests on "just," God's righteousness and the nature of justification being the prominent thought; secondly in Ga 3:11, where the emphasis is on "faith," the instrument of justification being prominent; thirdly in Heb 10:38, where the emphasis is on "live," the continued life that flows from justification being prominent.
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And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
And you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth.
Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with lyres, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was: Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asharelah, the sons of Asaph under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied according to the order of the king. read more. Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Shemei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp, to give thanks and to praise the LORD. Of Heman: the sons of Heman; Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth: All these were the sons of Heman the king's seer in the words of God, to exalt the horn. And God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.
For he says, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the boundaries of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:
That you shall take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How has the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
By your servants have you reproached the Lord, and have said, By the multitude of my chariots have I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down its tall cedars, and its choice fir trees: and I will enter into its farthest height, and the forest of its Carmel. I have dug, and drunk water; and with the soles of my feet have I dried up all the streams of Egypt.
For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.
Thus says the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labor in vain, and the nations, because of the fire, and they shall be weary.
For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall no more be delayed: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, says the Lord GOD.
In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We are utterly ruined: he has changed the portion of my people: how he has removed it from me! turning away he has divided our fields.
The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. O LORD, how long shall I cry, and you will not hear! even cry out unto you of violence, and you will not save! read more. Why do you show me iniquity, and cause me to behold trouble? for plundering and violence are before me: and there are those that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and justice does never go forth: for the wicked does surround the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds. Behold you among the nations, and regard, and wonder and be astonished: for I will work a work in your days, which you will not believe, though it be told you.
Behold you among the nations, and regard, and wonder and be astonished: for I will work a work in your days, which you will not believe, though it be told you.
Behold you among the nations, and regard, and wonder and be astonished: for I will work a work in your days, which you will not believe, though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the earth, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs. read more. They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed from themselves. Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen press proudly on, their horsemen shall come from afar; they shall fly as the eagle that hastens to eat. They shall all come for violence: their faces are set like the east wind, and they shall gather captives as the sand. And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every stronghold; for they shall heap up earth, and take it. Then shall his mind change, and he shall transgress, and offend, ascribing this his power unto his god.
You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and can not look on iniquity: why do you look upon them that deal treacherously, and hold your tongue when the wicked devours the man that is more righteous than he?
I will stand upon my watch, and set myself upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, so he may run that reads it. read more. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay. Behold, his soul which is proud is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Behold, his soul which is proud is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. Yea also, because he transgresses by wine, he is a proud man, neither keeps at home, who enlarges his desire as sheol, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathers unto him all nations, and heaps unto him all people: read more. Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increases that which is not his! how long? and to him that loads himself with many pledges! Shall they not rise up suddenly that are your creditors, and awake that shall oppress you, and you shall be for booty unto them? Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the people shall plunder you; because of bloodshed, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell in it. Woe to him that covets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of ruin! You have plotted shame to your house by cutting off many peoples, and have sinned against your soul. For the stone shall cry out from the wall, and the beam from the timber shall answer it. Woe to him that builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity! Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labor to feed the fire, and the people shall weary themselves in vain?
Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labor to feed the fire, and the people shall weary themselves in vain? For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. read more. Woe unto him that gives his neighbor drink, that presses your wineskin to him, and makes him drunk also, that you may look on his nakedness! You are filled with shame instead of glory: drink you also, and let your shame be exposed: the cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned against you, and utter shame shall be upon your glory. For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover you, and the plunder of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, and of the city, and of all that dwell in it. What profits the graven image that its maker has shaped it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusts in it, to make dumb idols? Woe unto him that says to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be on the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no food; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. read more. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like deer's feet, and he will make me walk upon my high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
Hold your peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, he has bidden his guests.
The just LORD is in her midst; he will do no wrong: every morning does he bring his judgment to light, he fails not; but the unjust knows no shame.
The LORD has taken away your judgments, he has cast out your enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in your midst: you shall not see harm any more.
For in it is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Hastings
The eighth of the Minor Prophets. Except for legends, e.g. in Bel and the Dragon (33
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And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.
The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Stand in the gate of the LORD's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD. read more. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Trust you not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these. For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if you thoroughly execute justice between a man and his neighbor; If you oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, forever and ever. Behold, you trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom you know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, says the LORD. But go you now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. And now, because you have done all these works, says the LORD, and I spoke unto you, rising up early and speaking, but you heard not; and I called you, but you answered not; Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, in which you trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole descendants of Ephraim.
Because they have forsaken me, and have profaned this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;
The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. O LORD, how long shall I cry, and you will not hear! even cry out unto you of violence, and you will not save!
O LORD, how long shall I cry, and you will not hear! even cry out unto you of violence, and you will not save! Why do you show me iniquity, and cause me to behold trouble? for plundering and violence are before me: and there are those that raise up strife and contention.
Why do you show me iniquity, and cause me to behold trouble? for plundering and violence are before me: and there are those that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and justice does never go forth: for the wicked does surround the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
Therefore the law is slacked, and justice does never go forth: for the wicked does surround the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
Therefore the law is slacked, and justice does never go forth: for the wicked does surround the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds.
Therefore the law is slacked, and justice does never go forth: for the wicked does surround the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds. Behold you among the nations, and regard, and wonder and be astonished: for I will work a work in your days, which you will not believe, though it be told you.
Behold you among the nations, and regard, and wonder and be astonished: for I will work a work in your days, which you will not believe, though it be told you.
Behold you among the nations, and regard, and wonder and be astonished: for I will work a work in your days, which you will not believe, though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the earth, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs.
For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the earth, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs.
For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the earth, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed from themselves.
They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed from themselves.
They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed from themselves. Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen press proudly on, their horsemen shall come from afar; they shall fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.
Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen press proudly on, their horsemen shall come from afar; they shall fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.
Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen press proudly on, their horsemen shall come from afar; they shall fly as the eagle that hastens to eat. They shall all come for violence: their faces are set like the east wind, and they shall gather captives as the sand.
They shall all come for violence: their faces are set like the east wind, and they shall gather captives as the sand.
They shall all come for violence: their faces are set like the east wind, and they shall gather captives as the sand. And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every stronghold; for they shall heap up earth, and take it.
And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every stronghold; for they shall heap up earth, and take it.
And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every stronghold; for they shall heap up earth, and take it. Then shall his mind change, and he shall transgress, and offend, ascribing this his power unto his god.
Then shall his mind change, and he shall transgress, and offend, ascribing this his power unto his god.
Then shall his mind change, and he shall transgress, and offend, ascribing this his power unto his god. Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, you have ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, you have established them for correction. read more. You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and can not look on iniquity: why do you look upon them that deal treacherously, and hold your tongue when the wicked devours the man that is more righteous than he?
You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and can not look on iniquity: why do you look upon them that deal treacherously, and hold your tongue when the wicked devours the man that is more righteous than he? And make men like the fish of the sea, like the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? read more. They take up all of them with the hook, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their dragnet: therefore they rejoice and are glad. Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their dragnet; because by them their portion is luxurious, and their food plentiful. Shall they therefore empty their net, and continually slay the nations without mercy?
Shall they therefore empty their net, and continually slay the nations without mercy?
I will stand upon my watch, and set myself upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, so he may run that reads it. read more. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay. Behold, his soul which is proud is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Behold, his soul which is proud is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. Yea also, because he transgresses by wine, he is a proud man, neither keeps at home, who enlarges his desire as sheol, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathers unto him all nations, and heaps unto him all people:
Yea also, because he transgresses by wine, he is a proud man, neither keeps at home, who enlarges his desire as sheol, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathers unto him all nations, and heaps 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 increases that which is not his! how long? and to him that loads himself with many pledges! read more. Shall they not rise up suddenly that are your creditors, and awake that shall oppress you, and you shall be for booty unto them? Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the people shall plunder you; because of bloodshed, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell in it. Woe to him that covets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of ruin! You have plotted shame to your house by cutting off many peoples, and have sinned against your soul. For the stone shall cry out from the wall, and the beam from the timber shall answer it. Woe to him that builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity! Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labor to feed the fire, and the people shall weary themselves in vain? For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Woe unto him that gives his neighbor drink, that presses your wineskin to him, and makes him drunk also, that you may look on his nakedness! You are filled with shame instead of glory: drink you also, and let your shame be exposed: the cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned against you, and utter shame shall be upon your glory. For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover you, and the plunder of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, and of the city, and of all that dwell in it.
For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover you, and the plunder of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, and of the city, and of all that dwell in it. What profits the graven image that its maker has shaped it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusts in it, to make dumb idols? read more. Woe unto him that says to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
Morish
Nothing is said of the prophet's ancestors, nor as to when he prophesied. He is generally placed in the time of Josiah or a little later: it was before the captivity of Judah, for that is foretold.
Hab. 1. The prophet exhibits the exercise of a heart full of sympathy towards the people of God. The evil among them greatly distressed him, and he cried mightily unto God. In Hab 1:5-11 is God's answer. He will raise up the Chaldeans, a "bitter and hasty nation," to punish them. The character and violence of the Chaldeans are described.
In the verses from Hab 1:12 to Hab 2:1, the prophet pleads with God not to be unmindful that the Chaldeans were worse than Judah. He will watch for God's answer.
In Hab 2:2-20 is God's reply. The prophet was told to write the vision so plainly that he who read it might run. The vision was for an appointed time, but it hasted to the end. The restless, grasping pride of the Chaldeans God would in due time judge; but meanwhile "the just shall live by his faith." The rapacity of the Babylonian is spoken of, and then woes are pronounced against the oppressor, for his covetousness, his blood-shedding, his debauchery, and his idolatry.
In contrast to all this the announcement is made that "The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the bed of the sea." This looks forward to the millennium, passing over the partial return of the people in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The prophet is assured that "The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him." Judgement on the Gentile rulers of God's people will, at the time of the end, immediately precede and lead to the kingdom.
Hab. 3 is a prayer of the prophet. 'Upon Shigionoth,' reads in the margin "according to variable songs or tunes," which signification seems confirmed by the subscription, "To the chief singer on stringed instruments." The prophet realises the presence of God while he reviews His past dealings against Israel's enemies, and sees in them the pledge of the future salvation. At the close, while faith has to wait for the blessing he rejoices in God, saying, "I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places."
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Behold you among the nations, and regard, and wonder and be astonished: for I will work a work in your days, which you will not believe, though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the earth, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs. read more. They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed from themselves. Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen press proudly on, their horsemen shall come from afar; they shall fly as the eagle that hastens to eat. They shall all come for violence: their faces are set like the east wind, and they shall gather captives as the sand. And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every stronghold; for they shall heap up earth, and take it. Then shall his mind change, and he shall transgress, and offend, ascribing this his power unto his god. Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, you have ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, you have established them for correction.
I will stand upon my watch, and set myself upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, so he may run that reads it. read more. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay. Behold, his soul which is proud is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. Yea also, because he transgresses by wine, he is a proud man, neither keeps at home, who enlarges his desire as sheol, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathers unto him all nations, and heaps 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 increases that which is not his! how long? and to him that loads himself with many pledges! Shall they not rise up suddenly that are your creditors, and awake that shall oppress you, and you shall be for booty unto them? Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the people shall plunder you; because of bloodshed, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell in it. Woe to him that covets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of ruin! You have plotted shame to your house by cutting off many peoples, and have sinned against your soul. For the stone shall cry out from the wall, and the beam from the timber shall answer it. Woe to him that builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity! Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labor to feed the fire, and the people shall weary themselves in vain? For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Woe unto him that gives his neighbor drink, that presses your wineskin to him, and makes him drunk also, that you may look on his nakedness! You are filled with shame instead of glory: drink you also, and let your shame be exposed: the cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned against you, and utter shame shall be upon your glory. For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover you, and the plunder of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, and of the city, and of all that dwell in it. What profits the graven image that its maker has shaped it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusts in it, to make dumb idols? Woe unto him that says to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
Watsons
HABAKKUK, the author of the prophecy bearing his name, Hab 1:1, &c. Nothing is certainly known concerning the tribe or birth place of Habakkuk. He is said to have prophesied about B.C. 605, and to have been alive at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. It is generally believed that he remained and died in Judea. The principal predictions contained in this book are, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the captivity of the Jews by the Chaldeans or Babylonians; their deliverance from the oppressor "at the appointed time;" and the total ruin of the Babylonian empire. The promise of the Messiah is confirmed; the overruling providence of God is asserted; and the concluding prayer, or rather hymn, recounts the wonders which God had wrought for his people, when he led them from Egypt into Canaan, and expresses the most perfect confidence in the fulfilment of his promises. The style of Habakkuk is highly poetical, and the hymn in the third chapter is perhaps unrivalled for sublimity, simplicity, and power.