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 hath Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon come up, and Jehoiakim is to him a servant three years; and he turneth and rebelleth 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 hath believed in Jehovah, and He reckoneth it to him -- righteousness.
and thou hast said in thy heart, My power, and the might of my hand, hath made for me this wealth:
And David and the heads of the host separate for service, of the sons of Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun, who are prophesying with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals, and the number of the workmen is according to their service. Of sons of Asaph: Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asharelah, sons of Asaph, are by the side of Asaph, who is prophesying by the side of the king. read more. Of Jeduthun: sons of Jeduthun, Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, Shisshah, are by the side of their father Jeduthun; with a harp he is prophesying, for giving of thanks and of praise to Jehovah. Of Heman: sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth; all these are sons of Heman -- seer of the king in the things of God -- to lift up a horn; and God giveth to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.
For he hath said, 'By the power of my hand I have wrought, And by my wisdom, for I have been intelligent, And I remove borders of the peoples, And their chief ones I have spoiled, And I put down as a mighty one the inhabitants,
That thou hast taken up this simile Concerning the king of Babylon, and said, How hath the exactor ceased,
By the hand of thy servants Thou hast reviled the Lord, and sayest: In the multitude of my chariots I have come up to a high place of hills, The sides of Lebanon, And I cut down the height of its cedars, The choice of its firs, And I enter the high place of its extremity, The forest of its Carmel. I -- I have dug and drunk waters, And I dry up with the sole of my steps All floods of a bulwark.
For thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Lo, I am causing to cease from this place, Before your eyes, and in your days, The voice of joy, and the voice of rejoicing, The voice of bridegroom and voice of bride.
Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, the wall of Babylon -- The broad one -- is utterly made bare, And her high gates with fire are burnt, And peoples labour in vain, And nations in fire, and have been weary!
For I am Jehovah, I speak, The word that I speak -- it is done, It is not prolonged any more, For, in your days, O rebellious house, I speak a word, and I have done it, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'
In that day doth one take up for you a simile, And he hath wailed a wailing of woe, He hath said, We have been utterly spoiled, The portion of my people He doth change, How doth He move toward me! To the backslider our fields He apportioneth.
The burden that Habakkuk the prophet hath seen: Till when, O Jehovah, have I cried, And Thou dost not hear? I cry unto Thee -- 'Violence,' and Thou dost not save. read more. Why dost Thou shew me iniquity, And perversity dost cause to behold? And spoiling and violence are before me, And there is strife, and contention doth lift itself up, Therefore doth law cease, And judgment doth not go forth for ever, For the wicked is compassing the righteous, Therefore wrong judgment goeth forth. Look ye on nations, and behold and marvel greatly. For a work He is working in your days, Ye do not believe though it is declared.
Look ye on nations, and behold and marvel greatly. For a work He is working in your days, Ye do not believe though it is declared.
Look ye on nations, and behold and marvel greatly. For a work He is working in your days, Ye do not believe though it is declared. For, lo, I am raising up the Chaldeans, The bitter and hasty nation, That is going to the broad places of earth, To occupy tabernacles not its own. read more. Terrible and fearful it is, From itself its judgment and its excellency go forth. Swifter than leopards have been its horses, And sharper than evening wolves, And increased have its horsemen, Even its horsemen from afar come in, They fly as an eagle, hasting to consume. Wholly for violence it doth come in, Their faces swallowing up the east wind, And it doth gather as the sand a captivity. And at kings it doth scoff, And princes are a laughter to it, At every fenced place it doth laugh, And it heapeth up dust, and captureth it. Then passed on hath the spirit, Yea, he doth transgress, And doth ascribe this his power to his god.
Purer of eyes than to behold evil, To look on perverseness Thou art not able, Why dost Thou behold the treacherous? Thou keepest silent when the wicked Doth swallow the more righteous than he,
On my charge I stand, and I station myself on a bulwark, and I watch to see what He doth speak against me, and what I do reply to my reproof. And Jehovah answereth me and saith: 'Write a vision, and explain on the tables, That he may run who is reading it. read more. For yet the vision is for a season, And it breatheth for the end, and doth not lie, If it tarry, wait for it, For surely it cometh, it is not late. Lo, a presumptuous one! Not upright is his soul within him, And the righteous by his stedfastness liveth.
Lo, a presumptuous one! Not upright is his soul within him, And the righteous by his stedfastness liveth. And also, because the wine is treacherous, A man is haughty, and remaineth not at home, Who hath enlarged as sheol his soul, And is as death that is not satisfied, And doth gather unto itself all the nations, And doth assemble unto itself all the peoples, read more. Do not these -- all of them -- against him a simile taken up, And a moral of acute sayings for him, And say, Woe to him who is multiplying what is not his? Till when also is he multiplying to himself heavy pledges? Do not thy usurers instantly rise up, And those shaking thee awake up, And thou hast been for a spoil to them? Because thou hast spoiled many nations, Spoil thee do all the remnant of the peoples, Because of man's blood, and of violence to the land, To the city, and to all dwelling in it. Woe to him who is gaining evil gain for his house, To set on high his nest, To be delivered from the hand of evil, Thou hast counselled a shameful thing to thy house, To cut off many peoples, and sinful is thy soul. For a stone from the wall doth cry out, And a holdfast from the wood answereth it. Woe to him who is building a city by blood, And establishing a city by iniquity. Lo, is it not from Jehovah of Hosts And peoples are fatigued for fire, And nations for vanity are weary?
Lo, is it not from Jehovah of Hosts And peoples are fatigued for fire, And nations for vanity are weary? For full is the earth of the knowledge of the honour of Jehovah, As waters cover the bottom of a sea. read more. Woe to him who is giving drink to his neighbour, Pouring out thy bottle, and also making drunk, In order to look on their nakedness. Thou hast been filled -- shame without honour, Drink thou also, and be uncircumcised, Turn round unto thee doth the cup of the right hand of Jehovah, And shameful spewing is on thine honour. For violence to Lebanon doth cover thee, And spoil of beasts doth affright them, Because of man's blood, and of violence to the land, To the city, and to all dwelling in it. What profit hath a graven image given That its former hath graven it? A molten image and teacher of falsehood, That trusted hath the former on his own formation -- to make dumb idols? Woe to him who is saying to wood, 'Awake,' 'Stir up,' to a dumb stone, It a teacher! lo, it is overlaid -- gold and silver, And there is no spirit in its midst. And Jehovah is in His holy temple, Be silent before Him, all the earth!
And Jehovah is in His holy temple, Be silent before Him, all the earth!
Though the fig-tree doth not flourish, And there is no produce among vines, Failed hath the work of the olive, And fields have not yielded food, Cut off from the fold hath been the flock, And there is no herd in the stalls. Yet I, in Jehovah I exult, I do joy in the God of my salvation. read more. Jehovah the Lord is my strength, And He doth make my feet like hinds, And on my high-places causeth me to tread. To the overseer with my stringed instruments!
A word of Jehovah that hath been unto Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezikiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amoz, king of Judah:
Hush! because of the Lord Jehovah, For near is a day of Jehovah, For prepared hath Jehovah a sacrifice, He hath sanctified His invited ones.
Jehovah is righteous in her midst, He doth not do perverseness, Morning by morning His judgment he giveth to the light, It hath not been lacking, And the perverse doth not know shame.
Jehovah hath turned aside thy judgments, He hath faced thine enemy, The king of Israel, Jehovah, is in thy midst, Thou seest evil no more.
For the righteousness of God in it is revealed from faith to faith, according as it hath been written, 'And the righteous one by faith shall live,'
and that in law no one is declared righteous with God, is evident, because 'The righteous by faith shall live;'
and 'the righteous by faith shall live,' and 'if he may draw back, My soul hath 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 doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that his fathers did.
The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, Stand in the gate of the house of Jehovah, and thou hast proclaimed there this word, and hast said, Hear a word of Jehovah, all ye of Judah, who are coming in at these gates, to bow before Jehovah: read more. Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Amend your ways, and your doings, And I cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust for yourselves Unto the words of falsehood, saying, The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, The temple of Jehovah are they! For, if ye do thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, If ye do judgment thoroughly Between a man and his neighbour, Sojourner, fatherless, and widow, ye oppress not, And innocent blood do not shed in this place, And after other gods do not walk, for evil to yourselves, Then I have caused you to dwell in this place, In the land that I gave to your fathers, From age even unto age. Lo, ye are trusting for yourselves On the words of falsehood, so as not to profit. Stealing, murdering, and committing adultery, And swearing to falsehood, and giving perfume to Baal, And going after other gods whom ye knew not. And ye have come in and stood before Me, In this house on which My name is called, And have said, 'We have been delivered,' In order to do all these abominations. A den of burglars hath this house, On which My name is called, been in your eyes? Even I, lo, I have seen, an affirmation of Jehovah. But go ye, I pray you, Unto My place that is in Shiloh, Where I caused My name to dwell at first, And see that which I have done to it, For the wickedness of My people Israel. And now, because of your doing all these works, An affirmation of Jehovah, And I speak unto you, rising early and speaking, And ye have not hearkened, And I call you, and ye have not answered, I also to the house on which My name is called, In which ye are trusting, And to the place that I gave to you, and to your fathers, Have done, as I have done to Shiloh. And I have cast you from before My face, As I have cast out all your brethren, The whole seed of Ephraim.
because that they have forsaken Me, and make known this place, and make perfume in it to other gods, that they knew not, they and their fathers, and the kings of Judah, and they have filled this place with innocent blood,
The burden that Habakkuk the prophet hath seen:
The burden that Habakkuk the prophet hath seen: Till when, O Jehovah, have I cried, And Thou dost not hear? I cry unto Thee -- 'Violence,' and Thou dost not save.
Till when, O Jehovah, have I cried, And Thou dost not hear? I cry unto Thee -- 'Violence,' and Thou dost not save. Why dost Thou shew me iniquity, And perversity dost cause to behold? And spoiling and violence are before me, And there is strife, and contention doth lift itself up,
Why dost Thou shew me iniquity, And perversity dost cause to behold? And spoiling and violence are before me, And there is strife, and contention doth lift itself up, Therefore doth law cease, And judgment doth not go forth for ever, For the wicked is compassing the righteous, Therefore wrong judgment goeth forth.
Therefore doth law cease, And judgment doth not go forth for ever, For the wicked is compassing the righteous, Therefore wrong judgment goeth forth.
Therefore doth law cease, And judgment doth not go forth for ever, For the wicked is compassing the righteous, Therefore wrong judgment goeth forth.
Therefore doth law cease, And judgment doth not go forth for ever, For the wicked is compassing the righteous, Therefore wrong judgment goeth forth. Look ye on nations, and behold and marvel greatly. For a work He is working in your days, Ye do not believe though it is declared.
Look ye on nations, and behold and marvel greatly. For a work He is working in your days, Ye do not believe though it is declared.
Look ye on nations, and behold and marvel greatly. For a work He is working in your days, Ye do not believe though it is declared. For, lo, I am raising up the Chaldeans, The bitter and hasty nation, That is going to the broad places of earth, To occupy tabernacles not its own.
For, lo, I am raising up the Chaldeans, The bitter and hasty nation, That is going to the broad places of earth, To occupy tabernacles not its own.
For, lo, I am raising up the Chaldeans, The bitter and hasty nation, That is going to the broad places of earth, To occupy tabernacles not its own. Terrible and fearful it is, From itself its judgment and its excellency go forth.
Terrible and fearful it is, From itself its judgment and its excellency go forth.
Terrible and fearful it is, From itself its judgment and its excellency go forth. Swifter than leopards have been its horses, And sharper than evening wolves, And increased have its horsemen, Even its horsemen from afar come in, They fly as an eagle, hasting to consume.
Swifter than leopards have been its horses, And sharper than evening wolves, And increased have its horsemen, Even its horsemen from afar come in, They fly as an eagle, hasting to consume.
Swifter than leopards have been its horses, And sharper than evening wolves, And increased have its horsemen, Even its horsemen from afar come in, They fly as an eagle, hasting to consume. Wholly for violence it doth come in, Their faces swallowing up the east wind, And it doth gather as the sand a captivity.
Wholly for violence it doth come in, Their faces swallowing up the east wind, And it doth gather as the sand a captivity.
Wholly for violence it doth come in, Their faces swallowing up the east wind, And it doth gather as the sand a captivity. And at kings it doth scoff, And princes are a laughter to it, At every fenced place it doth laugh, And it heapeth up dust, and captureth it.
And at kings it doth scoff, And princes are a laughter to it, At every fenced place it doth laugh, And it heapeth up dust, and captureth it.
And at kings it doth scoff, And princes are a laughter to it, At every fenced place it doth laugh, And it heapeth up dust, and captureth it. Then passed on hath the spirit, Yea, he doth transgress, And doth ascribe this his power to his god.
Then passed on hath the spirit, Yea, he doth transgress, And doth ascribe this his power to his god.
Then passed on hath the spirit, Yea, he doth transgress, And doth ascribe this his power to his god. Art not Thou of old, O Jehovah, my God, my Holy One? We do not die, O Jehovah, For judgment Thou hast appointed it, And, O Rock, for reproof Thou hast founded it. read more. Purer of eyes than to behold evil, To look on perverseness Thou art not able, Why dost Thou behold the treacherous? Thou keepest silent when the wicked Doth swallow the more righteous than he,
Purer of eyes than to behold evil, To look on perverseness Thou art not able, Why dost Thou behold the treacherous? Thou keepest silent when the wicked Doth swallow the more righteous than he, And Thou makest man as fishes of the sea, As a creeping thing -- none ruling over him. read more. Each of them with a hook he hath brought up, He doth catch it in his net, and gathereth it in his drag, Therefore he doth joy and rejoice. Therefore he doth sacrifice to his net, And doth make perfume to his drag, For by them is his portion fertile, and his food fat. Doth he therefore empty his net, And continually to slay nations spare not?
Doth he therefore empty his net, And continually to slay nations spare not?
On my charge I stand, and I station myself on a bulwark, and I watch to see what He doth speak against me, and what I do reply to my reproof. And Jehovah answereth me and saith: 'Write a vision, and explain on the tables, That he may run who is reading it. read more. For yet the vision is for a season, And it breatheth for the end, and doth not lie, If it tarry, wait for it, For surely it cometh, it is not late. Lo, a presumptuous one! Not upright is his soul within him, And the righteous by his stedfastness liveth.
Lo, a presumptuous one! Not upright is his soul within him, And the righteous by his stedfastness liveth. And also, because the wine is treacherous, A man is haughty, and remaineth not at home, Who hath enlarged as sheol his soul, And is as death that is not satisfied, And doth gather unto itself all the nations, And doth assemble unto itself all the peoples,
And also, because the wine is treacherous, A man is haughty, and remaineth not at home, Who hath enlarged as sheol his soul, And is as death that is not satisfied, And doth gather unto itself all the nations, And doth assemble unto itself all the peoples, Do not these -- all of them -- against him a simile taken up, And a moral of acute sayings for him, And say, Woe to him who is multiplying what is not his? Till when also is he multiplying to himself heavy pledges? read more. Do not thy usurers instantly rise up, And those shaking thee awake up, And thou hast been for a spoil to them? Because thou hast spoiled many nations, Spoil thee do all the remnant of the peoples, Because of man's blood, and of violence to the land, To the city, and to all dwelling in it. Woe to him who is gaining evil gain for his house, To set on high his nest, To be delivered from the hand of evil, Thou hast counselled a shameful thing to thy house, To cut off many peoples, and sinful is thy soul. For a stone from the wall doth cry out, And a holdfast from the wood answereth it. Woe to him who is building a city by blood, And establishing a city by iniquity. Lo, is it not from Jehovah of Hosts And peoples are fatigued for fire, And nations for vanity are weary? For full is the earth of the knowledge of the honour of Jehovah, As waters cover the bottom of a sea. Woe to him who is giving drink to his neighbour, Pouring out thy bottle, and also making drunk, In order to look on their nakedness. Thou hast been filled -- shame without honour, Drink thou also, and be uncircumcised, Turn round unto thee doth the cup of the right hand of Jehovah, And shameful spewing is on thine honour. For violence to Lebanon doth cover thee, And spoil of beasts doth affright them, Because of man's blood, and of violence to the land, To the city, and to all dwelling in it.
For violence to Lebanon doth cover thee, And spoil of beasts doth affright them, Because of man's blood, and of violence to the land, To the city, and to all dwelling in it. What profit hath a graven image given That its former hath graven it? A molten image and teacher of falsehood, That trusted hath the former on his own formation -- to make dumb idols? read more. Woe to him who is saying to wood, 'Awake,' 'Stir up,' to a dumb stone, It a teacher! lo, it is overlaid -- gold and silver, And there is no spirit in its midst. And Jehovah is in His holy temple, Be silent before Him, all the earth!
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 ye on nations, and behold and marvel greatly. For a work He is working in your days, Ye do not believe though it is declared. For, lo, I am raising up the Chaldeans, The bitter and hasty nation, That is going to the broad places of earth, To occupy tabernacles not its own. read more. Terrible and fearful it is, From itself its judgment and its excellency go forth. Swifter than leopards have been its horses, And sharper than evening wolves, And increased have its horsemen, Even its horsemen from afar come in, They fly as an eagle, hasting to consume. Wholly for violence it doth come in, Their faces swallowing up the east wind, And it doth gather as the sand a captivity. And at kings it doth scoff, And princes are a laughter to it, At every fenced place it doth laugh, And it heapeth up dust, and captureth it. Then passed on hath the spirit, Yea, he doth transgress, And doth ascribe this his power to his god. Art not Thou of old, O Jehovah, my God, my Holy One? We do not die, O Jehovah, For judgment Thou hast appointed it, And, O Rock, for reproof Thou hast founded it.
On my charge I stand, and I station myself on a bulwark, and I watch to see what He doth speak against me, and what I do reply to my reproof. And Jehovah answereth me and saith: 'Write a vision, and explain on the tables, That he may run who is reading it. read more. For yet the vision is for a season, And it breatheth for the end, and doth not lie, If it tarry, wait for it, For surely it cometh, it is not late. Lo, a presumptuous one! Not upright is his soul within him, And the righteous by his stedfastness liveth. And also, because the wine is treacherous, A man is haughty, and remaineth not at home, Who hath enlarged as sheol his soul, And is as death that is not satisfied, And doth gather unto itself all the nations, And doth assemble unto itself all the peoples, Do not these -- all of them -- against him a simile taken up, And a moral of acute sayings for him, And say, Woe to him who is multiplying what is not his? Till when also is he multiplying to himself heavy pledges? Do not thy usurers instantly rise up, And those shaking thee awake up, And thou hast been for a spoil to them? Because thou hast spoiled many nations, Spoil thee do all the remnant of the peoples, Because of man's blood, and of violence to the land, To the city, and to all dwelling in it. Woe to him who is gaining evil gain for his house, To set on high his nest, To be delivered from the hand of evil, Thou hast counselled a shameful thing to thy house, To cut off many peoples, and sinful is thy soul. For a stone from the wall doth cry out, And a holdfast from the wood answereth it. Woe to him who is building a city by blood, And establishing a city by iniquity. Lo, is it not from Jehovah of Hosts And peoples are fatigued for fire, And nations for vanity are weary? For full is the earth of the knowledge of the honour of Jehovah, As waters cover the bottom of a sea. Woe to him who is giving drink to his neighbour, Pouring out thy bottle, and also making drunk, In order to look on their nakedness. Thou hast been filled -- shame without honour, Drink thou also, and be uncircumcised, Turn round unto thee doth the cup of the right hand of Jehovah, And shameful spewing is on thine honour. For violence to Lebanon doth cover thee, And spoil of beasts doth affright them, Because of man's blood, and of violence to the land, To the city, and to all dwelling in it. What profit hath a graven image given That its former hath graven it? A molten image and teacher of falsehood, That trusted hath the former on his own formation -- to make dumb idols? Woe to him who is saying to wood, 'Awake,' 'Stir up,' to a dumb stone, It a teacher! lo, it is overlaid -- gold and silver, And there is no spirit in its midst. And Jehovah is in His holy temple, Be silent before Him, all the earth!
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.
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The burden that Habakkuk the prophet hath seen: