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Habakkuk 2

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The Just Shall Live by Faith 1–4

1
I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will look forth to see what he will speak with me, and what I shall answer concerning my complaint. ​
2
And Jehovah answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it. ​
3
For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hasteth toward the end, and shall not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay. ​
4
Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him; but the righteous shall live by his faith. ​

The Proud Oppressor and the First Woe 5–8

5
Yea, moreover, wine is treacherous, a haughty man, that keepeth not at home; who enlargeth his desire as Sheol, and he is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples. ​
6
Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and that ladeth himself with pledges! ​
7
Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booty unto them?
8
Because thou hast plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder thee, because of men’s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein.

Woe 2: Against Unjust Gain 9–11

9
Woe to him that getteth an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil! ​
10
Thou hast devised shame to thy house, by cutting off many peoples, and hast sinned against thy soul.
11
For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. ​

Woe 3: Against Building on Bloodshed 12–14

12
Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by iniquity! ​
13
Behold, is it not of Jehovah of hosts that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?
14
For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea. ​

Woe 4: Against Shameful Exploitation 15–17

15
Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, to thee that addest thy venom, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! ​
16
Thou art filled with shame, and not glory: drink thou also, and be as one uncircumcised; the cup of Jehovah’s right hand shall come round unto thee, and foul shame shall be upon thy glory. ​
17
For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover thee, and the destruction of the beasts, which made them afraid; because of men’s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein.

Woe 5: Against Idolatry 18–20

18
What profiteth the graven image, that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, even the teacher of lies, that he that fashioneth its form trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? ​
19
Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise! Shall this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
20
But Jehovah is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Habakkuk 2

Verse 1

stand upon my watch — Mishmereth is the sentry's post and matsor, the 'tower', a fortified place to look out from, as in 'I stand continually upon the watchtower' (Isa 21:8). The prophet waits for the LORD's answer to his complaint (1:12–17) and for what he himself shall reply to the correction.

Verse 2

Write the vision — The LORD 'answered' (anah) the waiting prophet. 'Tables' (luchot) is the word for the stone tables of Ex 24:12. 'Make it plain' is ba'ar, the verb of Deut 27:8, 'write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly'. The message is to be clear enough for the reader to run with it.

Verse 3

an appointed time — Mo'ed is the word for the LORD's fixed 'feasts' (Lev 23:2): the vision has a set day. 'Speak' is puach, to breathe out. 'Though it tarry' and 'it will not tarry' are two different verbs (mahah, achar). Hebrews 10:37 applies it to Christ's coming: 'he that shall come will come, and will not tarry'.

Verse 4

the just shall live by his faith — 'Faith' is emunah, steadiness, the word for Moses' hands 'steady' until sunset (Ex 17:12) and for God's 'truth' (Deut 32:4). Set against the 'soul… lifted up', this line is cited in Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11 and Heb 10:38, each time for the righteous man living by trust in God.

Verse 5

enlargeth his desire as hell — 'Desire' is nephesh, the appetite of the soul, and 'hell' is Sheol, the grave that 'hath enlarged herself' (Isa 5:14) and is never full (Prov 27:20). The oppressor is the Chaldean power the LORD raised up in 1:6, here pictured gathering 'all nations' and 'all people' as the grave gathers the dead.

Verse 6

a parable… a taunting proverb — Mashal and melitsah: the nations gathered in v.5 turn on their conqueror with a taunt, as Isa 14:4 does against 'the king of Babylon'. 'Thick clay' is abtit, found only here, from the verb to take a pledge: the load is goods held in pledge. This is the first of five woes (vv.6, 9, 12, 15, 19).

Verse 9

set his nest on high — The second woe. The high nest is the eagle's image of safety, used against Edom, 'though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle' (Jer 49:16), and against Edom again in Obad 1:4. 'Evil covetousness' is gain taken by wrong for 'his house', and 'power' is literally the 'hand' (kaph) of evil.

Verse 11

the stone shall cry out of the wall — Kaphis, the 'beam', occurs only here. The house raised by plunder in vv.9–10 is given witnesses in its own walls, as the stone at Shechem was 'a witness unto us' (Josh 24:27). Christ uses the same picture when he says 'the stones would immediately cry out' (Luke 19:40).

Verse 12

buildeth a town with blood — The third woe. Micah says almost the same of Judah's rulers: 'They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity' (Mic 3:10), and Nahum cries 'Woe to the bloody city' of Nineveh (Nah 3:1). The charge is not confined to Babylon. The blood and violence of this verse recur in v.17.

Verse 14

filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD — The same closing comparison, 'as the waters cover the sea', ends Isa 11:9 ('the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD'). The LORD had sworn, 'all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD' (Num 14:21). It answers v.13, where the peoples 'weary themselves for very vanity'.

Verse 15

giveth his neighbour drink — The fourth woe. 'Bottle' is chemeth, a skin bottle, and 'nakedness' recalls Noah, who 'drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent' (Gen 9:21). Jeremiah says Babylon 'hath been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunken' (Jer 51:7).

Verse 16

the cup of the LORD'S right hand — The cup that Babylon pressed on the nations is now passed to her. 'Let thy foreskin be uncovered' is one verb (arel), to expose, which answers the 'nakedness' of v.15. 'Shame for glory' echoes Hos 4:7, 'will I change their glory into shame'. Compare 'the wine cup of this fury' (Jer 25:15).

Verse 18

a teacher of lies — Moreh sheqer: the image 'teaches' falsehood, and the verb yarah returns in v.19, 'it shall teach!', said to a dumb stone. 'Dumb idols' (elilim illemim) are idols that cannot speak, as Ps 115:5 says, 'They have mouths, but they speak not'. Paul uses the same phrase to the Corinthians (1 Cor 12:2).

Verse 20

let all the earth keep silence — Hasah, a hush, the verb that begins 'Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD' (Zeph 1:7) and 'Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD' (Zech 2:13). The living God in his 'holy temple' (Ps 11:4) is set against the speechless idols of v.19, which are covered with gold and have no breath.