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 Jehovah. And He counted it to him for righteousness.
and so that you might not say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth.
And David and the army commanders separated to the service those of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who were prophets 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 Asarelah, the sons under the hands of Asaph, who prophesied according to the order of the king. read more. Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, and Shimei, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with the lyre to give thanks and to praise Jehovah. Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamti-ezer, Josh-bekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth. All these were the sons of Heman the king's seer in the words of God, to lift up 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 wise. And I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the people like a strong man.
you shall take up this song against the king of Babylon and say, How the exacter, the gold gatherer has ceased!
By your servants you have mocked Jehovah and have said, by my many chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars of it, and its choice fir trees; and I will go to its greatest height, the forest of its Carmel. I have dug and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.
For so says Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will cause the voice of mirth to cease out of this place before your eyes, and in your days, and the voice of gladness, and the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
So says Jehovah of Hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be completely broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labor in vain, and the people shall be in the fire, and they shall be weary.
For I, Jehovah, will speak, and the Word that I shall speak shall be done. It shall no more be delayed; for in your days, O rebellious house, I will say the Word and will do it, says the Lord Jehovah.
In that day one shall take up a parable against you and mourn a mourning of mournings, saying, We shall be completely laid waste. He has exchanged the share of my people. How He has removed it from me! To the apostate He has divided our fields.
The burden which Habakkuk the prophet saw. O Jehovah, until when shall I cry and You will not hear? I cry out to You of violence, and You do not save! read more. Why do You show me evil, and You look on toil? For destruction and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention rises up. Therefore the law has become helpless, and justice does not always go forth. For the wicked entraps the righteous; therefore justice goes forth, being perverted. Look among the nations, and behold and wonder marvelously; for I will work a work in your days which you will not believe, not even if it is declared to you.
Look among the nations, and behold and wonder marvelously; for I will work a work in your days which you will not believe, not even if it is declared to you.
Look among the nations, and behold and wonder marvelously; for I will work a work in your days which you will not believe, not even if it is declared to you. For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, the bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land to possess homes not their own. read more. He is terrible and fearful; his judgment and his majesty comes forth from Himself. His horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. And their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from afar. They shall fly like the eagle hurrying to eat. All of him shall come for violence; the gathering of their faces is forward; and they gather captives like the sand. And they shall scoff at the kings, and the rulers shall be a scorn to them. They shall laugh at every stronghold, for he shall heap up dust and capture it. Then he sweeps on like a wind, and he transgresses and is guilty, crediting his power to his god.
You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and can not look upon vexation. Why do You look upon those who deal deceitfully? Will you be silent when the wicked swallows one more righteous than he?
I will stand on my watch and set myself on the tower, and will watch to see what He will say to me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And Jehovah answered me and said, Write the vision, and make it plain on the tablets, that he who reads it may run. read more. For the vision is still for an appointed time, but it speaks to the end, and it does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it; because it will surely come. It will not tarry. Behold, the soul of him is lifted up, and is not upright; but the just shall live by his faith.
Behold, the soul of him is lifted up, and is not upright; but the just shall live by his faith. And also wine indeed betrays a proud man, and he is not content. He widens his soul like Sheol, and he is like death, and is not satisfied, but gathers all nations to himself, and heaps to himself all the peoples. read more. Shall not all these lift up a parable against him, and a mocking riddle to him, and say, Woe to him who increases what is not his! Until when, then, shall he load the pledges on himself? Shall not those who strike you rise up suddenly, and those who shake you awake, and you become a prize to them? Because you have stripped many nations, all the rest of the people shall strip you; because of men's blood, and the violence of the land, of the city, and of all who dwell in it. Woe to him who robs evil booty for his house, to set his nest on high, to be delivered from the hand of evil! You have planned shame to your house, to make an end of many people, and are sinning in your soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. Woe to him who builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity! Behold, is it not for Jehovah of Hosts that the people labor only for fire; yea, the nations weary themselves only for vanity?
Behold, is it not for Jehovah of Hosts that the people labor only for fire; yea, the nations weary themselves only for vanity? For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea. read more. Woe to him who gives his neighbor drink, pouring out your wineskin, and also making him drunk, that you may look on their nakedness! You are filled with shame instead of glory; drink also, and be seen as one uncircumcised! The cup of Jehovah's right hand shall turn on you, and disgrace shall be your glory. For the violence of Lebanon shall cover you, and the ruin of beasts shall terrify them because of the blood of man, and the violence of the land, the city, and all those dwelling in it. What does an image profit, for its maker has carved it; a molten image, and a teacher of lies? For does the maker trust in his work on it, to make dumb idols? Woe to him who says to the wood. Awake! To a dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and no breath is in its midst. But Jehovah is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him.
But Jehovah is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him.
Though the fig tree shall not blossom, and fruit is not on the vines; the labor of the olive fails, and the fields yield no food. The flock is cut off from the fold, and no herd is in the stalls; yet I will rejoice in Jehovah, I will joy in the God of my salvation. read more. Jehovah the Lord is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds' feet, and He will make me to walk on my high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
The Word of Jehovah which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
Be silent before the face of the Lord Jehovah, for the day of Jehovah is at hand. For Jehovah has appointed a sacrifice; He has consecrated His called ones.
The just Jehovah is in her midst; He will not act perversely. Every morning He gives His justice to the light; He fails not; but the perverse knows no shame.
Jehovah has turned off your judgments; He has cast out your enemy. The king of Israel, Jehovah, is in your midst; you shall not fear evil any more.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
But that no one is justified by the Law in the sight of God is clear, for, "The just shall live by faith."
Now, "the Just shall live by faith. But if he draws 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 the evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his fathers had done.
The Word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, Stand in the gate of Jehovah's house, and declare there this Word, and say, Hear the Word of Jehovah, all Judah, who enter in at these gates to worship Jehovah. read more. So says Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel, Make your ways and your doings good, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust in lying words, saying, The temple of Jehovah, The temple of Jehovah, The temple of Jehovah are these. For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if you completely do judgment between a man and his neighbor; if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your hurt; then I will 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 do any good. Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know; and then 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, I also have seen, says Jehovah. But go now to 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 Jehovah, and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear; and I called you, but you did not answer; therefore I will do to this house, which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to 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 brothers, the whole seed of Ephraim.
Because they have forsaken Me, and have made this place famous and have burned incense in it to 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 saw.
The burden which Habakkuk the prophet saw. O Jehovah, until when shall I cry and You will not hear? I cry out to You of violence, and You do not save!
O Jehovah, until when shall I cry and You will not hear? I cry out to You of violence, and You do not save! Why do You show me evil, and You look on toil? For destruction and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention rises up.
Why do You show me evil, and You look on toil? For destruction and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention rises up. Therefore the law has become helpless, and justice does not always go forth. For the wicked entraps the righteous; therefore justice goes forth, being perverted.
Therefore the law has become helpless, and justice does not always go forth. For the wicked entraps the righteous; therefore justice goes forth, being perverted.
Therefore the law has become helpless, and justice does not always go forth. For the wicked entraps the righteous; therefore justice goes forth, being perverted.
Therefore the law has become helpless, and justice does not always go forth. For the wicked entraps the righteous; therefore justice goes forth, being perverted. Look among the nations, and behold and wonder marvelously; for I will work a work in your days which you will not believe, not even if it is declared to you.
Look among the nations, and behold and wonder marvelously; for I will work a work in your days which you will not believe, not even if it is declared to you.
Look among the nations, and behold and wonder marvelously; for I will work a work in your days which you will not believe, not even if it is declared to you. For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, the bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land to possess homes not their own.
For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, the bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land to possess homes not their own.
For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, the bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land to possess homes not their own. He is terrible and fearful; his judgment and his majesty comes forth from Himself.
He is terrible and fearful; his judgment and his majesty comes forth from Himself.
He is terrible and fearful; his judgment and his majesty comes forth from Himself. His horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. And their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from afar. They shall fly like the eagle hurrying to eat.
His horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. And their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from afar. They shall fly like the eagle hurrying to eat.
His horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. And their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from afar. They shall fly like the eagle hurrying to eat. All of him shall come for violence; the gathering of their faces is forward; and they gather captives like the sand.
All of him shall come for violence; the gathering of their faces is forward; and they gather captives like the sand.
All of him shall come for violence; the gathering of their faces is forward; and they gather captives like the sand. And they shall scoff at the kings, and the rulers shall be a scorn to them. They shall laugh at every stronghold, for he shall heap up dust and capture it.
And they shall scoff at the kings, and the rulers shall be a scorn to them. They shall laugh at every stronghold, for he shall heap up dust and capture it.
And they shall scoff at the kings, and the rulers shall be a scorn to them. They shall laugh at every stronghold, for he shall heap up dust and capture it. Then he sweeps on like a wind, and he transgresses and is guilty, crediting his power to his god.
Then he sweeps on like a wind, and he transgresses and is guilty, crediting his power to his god.
Then he sweeps on like a wind, and he transgresses and is guilty, crediting his power to his god. Are You not from everlasting, O Jehovah my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Jehovah, You have ordained them for judgment; and, my Rock, You have established them for correction. read more. You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and can not look upon vexation. Why do You look upon those who deal deceitfully? Will you be silent when the wicked swallows one more righteous than he?
You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and can not look upon vexation. Why do You look upon those who deal deceitfully? Will you be silent when the wicked swallows one more righteous than he? For You make man like the fish of the sea, like creeping things with no ruler over them. read more. He takes up all of them with the hook; he drags him with his net and gathers him with his seine; therefore he rejoices and exults. So he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his seine; because by them his portion is fat and his food rich. Shall he then empty his net, and shall he not spare to continually slay nations?
Shall he then empty his net, and shall he not spare to continually slay nations?
I will stand on my watch and set myself on the tower, and will watch to see what He will say to me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And Jehovah answered me and said, Write the vision, and make it plain on the tablets, that he who reads it may run. read more. For the vision is still for an appointed time, but it speaks to the end, and it does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it; because it will surely come. It will not tarry. Behold, the soul of him is lifted up, and is not upright; but the just shall live by his faith.
Behold, the soul of him is lifted up, and is not upright; but the just shall live by his faith. And also wine indeed betrays a proud man, and he is not content. He widens his soul like Sheol, and he is like death, and is not satisfied, but gathers all nations to himself, and heaps to himself all the peoples.
And also wine indeed betrays a proud man, and he is not content. He widens his soul like Sheol, and he is like death, and is not satisfied, but gathers all nations to himself, and heaps to himself all the peoples. Shall not all these lift up a parable against him, and a mocking riddle to him, and say, Woe to him who increases what is not his! Until when, then, shall he load the pledges on himself? read more. Shall not those who strike you rise up suddenly, and those who shake you awake, and you become a prize to them? Because you have stripped many nations, all the rest of the people shall strip you; because of men's blood, and the violence of the land, of the city, and of all who dwell in it. Woe to him who robs evil booty for his house, to set his nest on high, to be delivered from the hand of evil! You have planned shame to your house, to make an end of many people, and are sinning in your soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. Woe to him who builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity! Behold, is it not for Jehovah of Hosts that the people labor only for fire; yea, the nations weary themselves only for vanity? For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea. Woe to him who gives his neighbor drink, pouring out your wineskin, and also making him drunk, that you may look on their nakedness! You are filled with shame instead of glory; drink also, and be seen as one uncircumcised! The cup of Jehovah's right hand shall turn on you, and disgrace shall be your glory. For the violence of Lebanon shall cover you, and the ruin of beasts shall terrify them because of the blood of man, and the violence of the land, the city, and all those dwelling in it.
For the violence of Lebanon shall cover you, and the ruin of beasts shall terrify them because of the blood of man, and the violence of the land, the city, and all those dwelling in it. What does an image profit, for its maker has carved it; a molten image, and a teacher of lies? For does the maker trust in his work on it, to make dumb idols? read more. Woe to him who says to the wood. Awake! To a dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and no breath is in its midst. But Jehovah 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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Look among the nations, and behold and wonder marvelously; for I will work a work in your days which you will not believe, not even if it is declared to you. For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, the bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land to possess homes not their own. read more. He is terrible and fearful; his judgment and his majesty comes forth from Himself. His horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. And their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from afar. They shall fly like the eagle hurrying to eat. All of him shall come for violence; the gathering of their faces is forward; and they gather captives like the sand. And they shall scoff at the kings, and the rulers shall be a scorn to them. They shall laugh at every stronghold, for he shall heap up dust and capture it. Then he sweeps on like a wind, and he transgresses and is guilty, crediting his power to his god. Are You not from everlasting, O Jehovah my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Jehovah, You have ordained them for judgment; and, my Rock, You have established them for correction.
I will stand on my watch and set myself on the tower, and will watch to see what He will say to me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And Jehovah answered me and said, Write the vision, and make it plain on the tablets, that he who reads it may run. read more. For the vision is still for an appointed time, but it speaks to the end, and it does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it; because it will surely come. It will not tarry. Behold, the soul of him is lifted up, and is not upright; but the just shall live by his faith. And also wine indeed betrays a proud man, and he is not content. He widens his soul like Sheol, and he is like death, and is not satisfied, but gathers all nations to himself, and heaps to himself all the peoples. Shall not all these lift up a parable against him, and a mocking riddle to him, and say, Woe to him who increases what is not his! Until when, then, shall he load the pledges on himself? Shall not those who strike you rise up suddenly, and those who shake you awake, and you become a prize to them? Because you have stripped many nations, all the rest of the people shall strip you; because of men's blood, and the violence of the land, of the city, and of all who dwell in it. Woe to him who robs evil booty for his house, to set his nest on high, to be delivered from the hand of evil! You have planned shame to your house, to make an end of many people, and are sinning in your soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. Woe to him who builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity! Behold, is it not for Jehovah of Hosts that the people labor only for fire; yea, the nations weary themselves only for vanity? For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea. Woe to him who gives his neighbor drink, pouring out your wineskin, and also making him drunk, that you may look on their nakedness! You are filled with shame instead of glory; drink also, and be seen as one uncircumcised! The cup of Jehovah's right hand shall turn on you, and disgrace shall be your glory. For the violence of Lebanon shall cover you, and the ruin of beasts shall terrify them because of the blood of man, and the violence of the land, the city, and all those dwelling in it. What does an image profit, for its maker has carved it; a molten image, and a teacher of lies? For does the maker trust in his work on it, to make dumb idols? Woe to him who says to the wood. Awake! To a dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and no breath is in its midst. But Jehovah is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him.
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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.
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The burden which Habakkuk the prophet saw.