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Habakkuk
Chapter One
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO HABAKKUK 1
In
this chapter
after the inscription
in which are the title of the book
the
name and character of the writer
Habakkuk 1:1
there
is a complaint made by the prophet of his cry not being heard
and of salvation
being deferred
which was long expected
Habakkuk 1:2 and of
the wickedness of the times he lived in; of iniquity and trouble
rapine and
oppression
in general; and particularly of corruption in courts of judicature
in which there were nothing but strife and contention
a dilatoriness in
proceedings at law
and justice was stopped and suppressed
Habakkuk 1:3 then
follows an answer to this
showing that some sore judgment
amazing and
incredible
would soon be executed for such sins
Habakkuk 1:5 that
the Chaldeans would be raised up and sent against the Jews
and spoil them
and
carry them captive; who are described by the cruelty of their temper and
disposition; by the swiftness and fierceness of their cavalry; and by their
derision of kings
princes
and strong holds; and by their victories and
success
which they should impute to their idols
Habakkuk 1:6 and
then the prophet
in the name of the church
expresses his faith that the
people of God
and his interest
would be preserved
and not perish in this
calamity; which is urged from the eternity
holiness
faithfulness
and power
of God
and from his design in this affliction
which was correction
and not
destruction
Habakkuk 1:12 and
the chapter is closed with an expostulation of the prophet with God
in
consideration of his purity and holiness; how he could bear with such a wicked
nation as the Chaldeans
and suffer them to devour men as fishes
in an
arbitrary way
that have no ruler; catch them in their net
and insult them
and ascribe all to their own power and prudence
and think to go on continually
in this way
Habakkuk 1:13.
Habakkuk 1:1 The burden[a] which the
prophet Habakkuk saw.
YLT
1The burden that Habakkuk
the prophet hath seen:
The burden which Habakkuk
the prophet did see. This prophecy is called a "burden"
or something took
up and carried
being what the prophet received from the Lord
and went with to
the people of the Jews
and was a heavy burdensome prophecy to them; declaring
the calamities that should come upon them by the Chaldeans
who would invade
their land
and carry them captive; and Habakkuk
that brought this account
is
called a "prophet"
to give the greater sanction to it; and it was
what he had in vision from the Lord represented unto him
and therefore should
be credited. Abarbinel inquires why Habakkuk should be called a prophet
when
none of the lesser prophets are
excepting Haggai and Zechariah; and thinks the
reason of it is
to give weight to his prophecy
since it might be suspected by
some whether he was one; there being none of those phrases to be met with in
this prophecy as in others
as "the word of the Lord came"
&c.
or "thus saith the Lord".
Habakkuk 1:2 2 O Lord
how long shall I cry
And You
will not hear? Even cry out to You
“Violence!” And You will not save.
YLT
2Till when
O Jehovah
have
I cried
And Thou dost not hear? I cry unto Thee -- `Violence
' and Thou dost
not save.
O Lord
how long shall I
cry
and thou wilt not hear!.... The prophet having long observed the
sins and iniquities of the people among whom he lived
and being greatly
distressed in his mind on account of them
had frequently and importunately
cried unto the Lord to put a stop to the abounding of them
that the people
might be brought to a sense of their sins
and reform from them; but nothing of
this kind appearing
he concludes his prayers were not heard
and therefore
expostulates with the Lord upon this head:
even cry unto thee of
violence
and thou wilt not save! either of violence done
to himself in the discharge of his office
or of one man to another
of the
rich to the poor; and yet
though he cried again and again to the Lord
to
check this growing evil
and deliver the oppressed out of the hands of their
oppressors
it was not done; which was matter of grief and trouble to him.
Habakkuk 1:3 3 Why do You show me iniquity
And cause me to see
trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife
and
contention arises.
YLT
3Why 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 show me
iniquity
and cause me to behold grievance?.... That is
wicked men
and such as give a great deal of trouble vexation
and grief to
others
by their rapine and oppression; suggesting that he could not turn his
eyes any where
but such persons presented themselves to his view; and that
their wicked actions were performed by them openly and publicly
in the sight
of all
without any shame or fear. So the Targum
"why
do I see oppressors
and behold those that do the labour of falsehood?'
For spoiling and violence are before me; in my sight
and presence
though a prophet
and notwithstanding all my remonstrances
exhortations
and reproofs; such were the hardness
obstinacy
and impudence of
this people; to such a height and pitch of iniquity were they arrived
as to
regard not the prophets of the Lord. The Targum is
"spoilers
and robbers are before me:'
or
"against me"F17לנגדי
"contra me"
Pagninus
Montanus; "e regione mei"
Junius
& Tremellius
Piscator
Tarnovius.
as in the text; these sins were
committed against him
he was injuriously used himself; or they were done to
others
contrary to his advice and persuasion:
and there are that raise up strife and contention; in the
kingdom
in cities
in families; in one man
brother
friend
and neighbour
against another; which occasion lawsuits
and in them justice is not done
as
follows. It may be rendered
and "there shall be and is a man
of strife"; so Japhet: "and he shall raise up contention"; one
man given to strife will and does use great contention in communities
civil
and religious.
Habakkuk 1:4 4 Therefore the law is powerless
And justice never goes
forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment
proceeds.
YLT
4Therefore doth law cease
And judgment doth not go forth for ever
For the wicked is compassing the
righteous
Therefore wrong judgment goeth forth.
Therefore the law is slacked
.... Is not
put into execution against offenders: the civil magistrates
whose office it is
to do justice according to law
are dilatory
and do not proceed with vigour
and spirit against the transgressors of it
and in favour of honest and good
men oppressed: or "it intermits"F18תפוג
"intermittitur"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Drusius
Burkius;
פוג "est
animi deliquium pati"
Tarnovius.
or is "intermitted"; it is like a man whose pulse beats low
and is
scarce perceived
which is a sign that he is not in good health as the body
politic is not
when the law
which is the soul of it
is not suffered to take
place
and do its office. So the Targum
"the
law languishes;'
loses
its force and vigour
and is ready to expire; which is a sad symptom of the bad
estate of a commonwealth.
And judgment doth never go forth; at least not right
to
the justifying of the righteous
acquitting the innocent
and giving the cause
on the right side; condemning the wicked
and punishing offenders as their
crime deserves: it never appears as it should do; it is either not done at all
or done badly and perversely:
for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; to hurt him
or ensnare him
and by frauds and wicked artifices
and false witnesses
to
carry a cause against him:
therefore wrong judgment proceedeth; the cause is given on
the wrong side
against a good man
and for a wicked man; all these things the
prophet saw with grief
and complained of to the Lord
from whom he has an
answer in the following words:
Habakkuk 1:5 5 “Look among the nations and watch— Be utterly
astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would
not believe
though it were told you.
YLT
5Look 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.
Behold ye among the
heathen
and regard
.... This is the Lord's answer to the prophet's complaint
or
what he directs him to say to the Jews
guilty of the crimes complained of
which should not go long unpunished; and who are called upon to look around
them
and see what was doing among the nations; how the king of Babylon had
overturned the Assyrian empire
and was going from place to place
subduing one
nation after another
and their turn would be quickly: for these words are not
addressed to the heathen
to stir them up to observe what was doing
or about
to be done
to the Jews; but to the Jews themselves
to consider and regard the
operations of the Lord
and the works of his providence among the nations of
the earth. These words are differently rendered in the Septuagint
Syriac
and
Arabic versions
and which better agree with the quotation of them by the
apostle; see Gill on Acts 13:41
and wonder marvellously; or "wonder
wonder"F19והתמהו תמהו
"et admiramini
admiramini"
Vatablus
Drusius
Burkius. ; the word
is repeated
to express the great admiration there would be found just reason
for
on consideration of what was now doing in the world
and would be done
especially in Judea:
for I will work a work in your days
which ye will
not believe
though it be told you; which was the
destruction of the Jewish nation
city
and temple
by the Chaldeans
as is
evident from the following words; and
though they were the instruments of it
it was the work of divine Providence; it was done according to the will of God
and by his direction
he giving success; and
being thus declared
was a
certain thing
and might be depended on
nothing should hinder it; and it
should be done speedily
in that generation
some then living should see it;
though the thing was so amazing and incredible
that they would not believe it
ever would be; partly because the Chaldeans were their good friends and allies
as they thought
as appears by Josiah's going out against the king of Egypt
when he was marching his army against the king of Babylon; and partly because
they were the covenant people of God
and would never be abandoned and given up
by him into the hands of another people; and therefore
when they were told of
it by the prophets of the Lord
especially by Jeremiah
time after time; who
expressly said the king of Babylon would come against them
and they would be
delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans; yet they would give no credit to it
till their ruin came upon them
as may be observed in various parts of his
prophecy. The apostle quotes this passage in the place above mentioned
and
applies it to the destruction of the Jews by the Romans
for their contemptuous
rejection of the Messiah and his Gospel; which yet they would not believe to
the last
though it was foretold by Christ and his apostles.
Habakkuk 1:6 6 For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans
A bitter and
hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth
To possess
dwelling places that are not theirs.
YLT
6For
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 raise up the
Chaldeans
.... A people still of late mean and low
famous only for their
soothsaying
divination
and judicial astrology; but now become a powerful and
warlike people
rising up under the permission of Providence to universal
monarchy
and who would quickly add Judea to the rest of their dominions:
that bitter and
hasty nation; a cruel and merciless people in their temper and disposition:
"bitter" against the people of God and true religion
and causing
bitterness
calamities
and distress
wherever they came: "hasty" and
precipitate in their determinations; swift and nimble in their motions; active
and vigorous in the prosecution of their designs:
which shall march through the breadth of the land; or
"breadths of the land"F20למרחבי ארץ "latitudines terrae"
Montanus
Junius &
Tremellius
Piscator. ; through the whole world
as they were attempting to do
having subdued Syria
all Asia
and great part of Africa
through which they
boldly marched
bearing down all opposition that was in their way; or through
the breadth of the land of Judea
taking all the fenced cities as they went
along
and Jerusalem the metropolis of it; see Isaiah 8:7
to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs; the cities of
Judea
and houses in them
as well as the palaces and dwellingplaces in
Jerusalem
which they had no right unto
but what they got by the sword; what
were the legal possessions and inheritances of others from father to son for
ages past
these the Chaldeans would dispossess them of; and not only take
them
and the spoil and plunder of them
for the present
but retain them in
their possession
as an inheritance to be transmitted to their posterity. This
may have some respect to the length of the captivity of the Jews
and their
land being in the hands of their enemies for the space of seventy years.
Habakkuk 1:7 7 They are terrible and dreadful; Their judgment and
their dignity proceed from themselves.
YLT
7Terrible and fearful it
[is]
From itself its judgment and its excellency go forth.
They are terrible
and dreadful
.... For the fierceness of their countenances; the number and
valour of their troops; the splendour of their armour; the victories they had
obtained
and the cruelty they had exercised; the fame of all which spread
terror wherever they came:
their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves; they will not
be directed and governed by any laws of God and man
but by their own; they
will do according to their will and pleasure
and none will be able to gainsay
and resist them; they will hear no reason or argument; their decrees and
determinations they make of themselves shall be put into execution
and there
will be no opposing their tyrannical measures; they will usurp a power
and
take upon them an authority over others of themselves
which all must submit
unto; no mercy and pity: no goodness and humanity
are to be expected from such
lawless and imperious enemies.
Habakkuk 1:8 8 Their horses also are swifter than leopards
And more
fierce than evening wolves. Their chargers charge ahead; Their cavalry comes
from afar; They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.
YLT
8Swifter 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.
Their horses also are
swifter than the leopards
.... Creatures remarkable for their
swiftness: these are creatures born of the mating of a he panther and a
lioness
and not of a lion and a she panther
as some have affirmed; and which
adultery is highly resented by the lion; nor will he suffer it to go
unrevenged
as PlinyF21Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 16. and PhilostratusF23De
Vita Apollonii
l. 2. c. 7. observe: those thus begotten differ from common
lions in this
that they have no manes: the panthers are the creatures here
meant
which are very swift
as BochartF24Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 3.
c. 7. col. 788. from various authors has observed. LucanF25Pharsalia
l. 6. calls this creature "celerem pardum"
t"he swift
panther"; and Jerom saysF26Comment. in Hos. v. 14. fol. 10. L.
nothing is swifter than the panther; and AelianusF1Hist. Animal. l.
8. c. 6. observes that the panther
by the swiftness of its running
will
overtake most creatures
and particularly apes; and EustathiusF2In
Hexaemeron. confirms the same
saying that it exceeds other creatures in
swiftness
and as it were flies before the eyes of hunters; and OsoriusF3De
Rebus Portugall. l. 9. apud Frantz. Hist. Animal. Sacr. par. 1. 8. p. 90. relates
that the king of Portugal once sent to the pope of Rome a panther tamed
which
being had into the woods a hunting by a Persian hunter
with wonderful
swiftness leaped upon the boars and deer
and killed them at once; and the
Septuagint version here is
"their horses will leap above the
panthers": or exceed them in leaping
for which these panthers are very
famous too: an Arabic writerF4Damir apud Bochart
ut supra.
(Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 3. c. 7. col. 788.)
whom Bochart mentions
says it
will leap above forty cubits at a leap. PlinyF5Nat. Hist. l. 10. c.
73. reports
that the panthers in Africa will get up into thick trees
and hide
themselves in the branches
and leap from thence on those that pass by; and
because of the swiftness of this creature
with other qualities of it
the
third beast or Grecian monarchy
especially in its first head Alexander the
great
is represented by it
Daniel 7:6 he
making such a swift and rapid progress in his conquests; and yet the Chaldean
horses would exceed them in swiftness
and be very speedy in their march into
the land of Judea; and therefore it was in vain for the Jews to please
themselves with the thoughts that these people were a great way off
and so
they secure from them
when they could and would be upon them presently
ere
they were aware:
and are more fierce than ravening wolves; which
creatures are naturally fierce
and especially when they are hungry
and particularly
at evening; when
having had no food all the day
their appetites are very
keen
and they go in quest of their prey; and
when they meet with it
fall
upon it with greater eagerness and fierceness. The Septuagint and Arabic
versions render it
than the wolves of Arabia; that there are wolves very
frequent in Arabia
is observed by Diodorus SiculusF6Bibliothec. l.
3. p. 177.
and StraboF7Geograph. l. 16. p. 534. ; but that these
are remarkable for their fierceness does not appear; rather those in colder
climates are more fierce; so PlinyF8Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 22. says
they are little and sluggish in Africa and Egypt
but rough and fierce in cold
climates. It is
in the original text
"more sharp"F9וחדו "et acuti erunt"
Montanus
Cocceius;
"et acutiores"
Pagninus
Calvin
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Drusius
Grotius; so Ben Melech; "et acuti sunt"
Burkius. ; which
some interpret of the sharpness of their sight. Aelianus saysF11De
Animal. l. 10. c. 26.
it is a most quick and sharp sighted creature; and can
see in the night season
even though the moon shines not: the reason of which
PlinyF12Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 37. gives is
because the eyes of
wolves are shining
and dart light; hence AelianusF13Ut supra. (De
Animal. l. 10. c. 26.) observes
that that time of the night in which the wolf
only by nature enjoys the light is called wolf light; and that HomerF14Iliad.
7. prope finem. calls a night which has some glimmering of light
or a sort of
twilight
such as the wolves can see themselves walk by
αμφιλυχη νυξ
which is that light that precedes the
rising sun; and he also observes that the wolf is sacred to the sun
and to
Apollo
which are the same; and there was an image of one at Delphos; and so
MacrobiasF15Saturnal. l. 1. c. 17. says
that the inhabitants of
Lycopolis
a city of Thebais in Egypt
alike worship Apollo and a wolf
and in
both the sun
because this animal takes and consumes all things like the sun;
and
because perceiving much by the quick sight of its eyes
overcomes the
darkness of the night; and observes
that some think they have their name from
light
though they would have it be from the morning light; because those
creatures especially observe that time for seizing on cattle
after a nights
hunger
when before day light they are turned out of the stables into pasture;
but it is for the most part at evening
and in the night
that wolves prowl
about for their preyF16"Vesper ubi e pastu vitulos ad tecta
reducit
Auditisque lupos acuunt balatibus agni." Virgil. Georgic. l. 4.
"Ac veluti pleno lupus insidiatus ovili Nocte super media-----"
Ibid. Aeneid. l. 8. ; and from whence they have the name of evening wolves
to
which the Chaldean horses are here compared: and yet there seems to be an
antipathy between these
if what some naturalistsF17Aelian. de
Animal. l. 1. c. 36. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 28. c. 20. say is true; as that if a
horse by chance treads in the footsteps of a wolf
a numbness will immediately
seize it
yea
even its belly will burst; (This sounds like a fable. Ed.) and
that
if the hip bone of a wolf is thrown under horses drawing a chariot full
speed
and they tread upon it
they will stop and stand stone still
immovable:
whether respect is here had to the quick sight or sharp hunger of these
creatures is not easy to say; though rather
since the comparison of them is
with horses
it seems to respect the fierceness of them
for which the war
horse is famous
Job 39:24 and may
be better understood of the sharpness of the appetite of evening wolves
when
hunger bitten:
and their horsemen shall spread themselves; or be
multiplied
as the Targum; they shall be many
and spread themselves all over
the country
so that there will be no escaping; all will fall into their hands:
and their horsemen shall come from far; as Chaldea
was reckoned from Judea
and especially in comparison of neighbouring nations
who used to be troublesome
as Moab
Edom
&c. see Jeremiah 5:15
they shall flee as the eagle that hasteth to eat; those
horsemen shall be so speedy in their march
that they shall seem rather to fly
than ride
and even to fly as swift as the eagle
the swiftest of birds
and
which itself flies swiftest when hungry
and in sight of its prey; and the
rather this bird is mentioned
because used by many nations
as the Persians
and others
for a military signF18Vid. Lydium de Re Militari
l. 3.
c. 7. p. 87. .
Habakkuk 1:9 9 “They all come for violence; Their faces are set like
the east wind. They gather captives like sand.
YLT
9Wholly for violence it doth
come in
Their faces swallowing up the east wind
And it doth gather as the
sand a captivity.
They shall come all for
violence
.... Or
"the whole of it"F19כלה "illa teta"
Junius & Tremellius;
"sub. gens"
Pagninus
Piscator; "totus exercitus"
Vatablus; "populus"
Calvin. ; the whole army of the Chaldeans
everyone of them; this would be their sole view
not to do themselves justice
as might be pretended
or avenge any injuries or affronts done to them by the
Jews; but purely for the sake of spoil and plunder:
their faces shall sup up as the east wind: their
countenances will appear so stern and fierce
that their very looks will so
frighten
as to cause men to sink and die through terror; just as herbs and
plants shrivel up and wither away
when blasted by a nipping east wind. So the
Targum
"the
reception or look of their faces is like to a vehement east wind.'
Some
render it
"the
look or design of their faces is to the eastF20קדימה
"ad orientem"
Pagninus
Montanus
Drusius; "orientem
versus"
Junius & Tremellius
De Dieu
Burkius; so Abarbinel. ;'
when
the Chaldeans were on their march to Judea
their faces were to the west or
south west; but then their desire and views were
that when they had got the
spoil they came for
as in the preceding clause
to carry it to Babylon
which
lay eastward or north east of Judea
and thither their faces looked:
and they shall gather the captivity as the sand; or gather up
persons
both in Judea
and in other countries conquered by them
as
innumerable as the sand of the sea
and carry them captive into their own land.
Captivity is put for captives.
Habakkuk 1:10 10 They scoff at kings
And princes are scorned by them. They
deride every stronghold
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.
YLT
10And 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 they shall scoff at
the kings
.... Or
"he shall"F21והוא
"et ipse"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Drusius
Tarnovius
Grotius
Cocceius.
Nebuchadnezzar king of the Chaldeans
and the army with
him; who would make a jest of kings and their armies that should oppose them
as being not at all a match for them; as the kings of Judah
Jehoiakim and
Zedekiah
they carried captive
and all others confederate with them
in whom
they trusted
as the king of Egypt particularly; and which is observed to show
the vanity of trusting in princes for safety; though it may also include all
other kings the Chaldeans fought against
and the kingdoms they invaded and
subdued:
and the princes shall be a scorn unto them; the nobles
counsellors
and ministers of state; or leaders and commanders of armies
and
general officers
in whom great confidence is often put; but these the king of
Babylon and his forces would mock and laugh at
as being nothing in their
hands
and who would fall an easy prey to them:
they shall deride every strong hold; in Jerusalem
in the
whole land of Judea
and in every other country they invade
or pass through
none being able to stand out against them:
for they shall heap dust
and take it; easily
as it
were in sport
only by raising a dust heap
or a heap of dirt; by which is
meant a mount raised up to give them a little rise
to throw in their darts or
stones
or use their engines and battering rams to more advantage
and to scale
the walls
and get possession. There are two other senses mentioned by Kimchi;
as that they shall gather a great number of people as dust
and take it; or
they shall gather dust to till up the trenches and ditches about the wall
that
so they may come at it
and take it.
Habakkuk 1:11 11 Then his mind[b] changes
and he transgresses; He commits offense
Ascribing this power to his
god.”
YLT
11Then passed on hath the
spirit
Yea
he doth transgress
And doth ascribe this his power to his god.
Then shall his mind
change
.... The mind of the king of Babylon; not that
when he had taken
Jerusalem
he altered his purpose
and laid aside his designs of attacking
other nations
and returned to his own country; where he became guilty of gross
idolatry
in setting up the golden image in the plain of Dura
which he
required all his subjects to worship
and to which he ascribed all his
victories; for
five years after this
JosephusF23Antiqu. l. 10. c.
9. sect. 7. says
he led his army into Coelesyria
and conquered the Moabites
and Ammonites
and entered Egypt
and slew the reigning king of it: but rather
the disposition of his mind changed for the worse upon his success in subduing
kings and princes
and their kingdoms; for though his mind was never good
but
always proud
haughty
and ambitious
insolent
cruel
and tyrannical; yet
being flushed with his conquests
he grew more and more so:
and he shall pass overF24יעבר "transgredietur"
Pagninus
Vatablus
Calvin
Drusius
Tarnovius.
or "transgress"
all bounds of modesty and sobriety
of
humanity and goodness:
and offend
imputing this his power unto his godF25זו כוחו לאלוהו
"iste est
ejus robur fuit pro deo ejus"
Gussetius. ; this
particularly will be the sin he will be guilty of
he will ascribe all his
achievements to his idol Bel; or rather to himself
to his own prowess and
valour
his wisdom and skill in military affairs; for so it will bear to be
rendered
making "this his own power to be his god"; and perhaps the
golden image Nebuchadnezzar set up to be worshipped was for himself; see Daniel 4:30. The
Targum is
"therefore
because of the lifting up of his spirit
his kingdom was removed from him; and
he committed an offence
in that he multiplied glory to his idol;'
and
some interpret the whole of this of the miserable condition Nebuchadnezzar was
brought into
being a prophecy of it: "then shall his mind change";
his heart from man's to a beast's
Daniel 4:16
"and he shall pass over"; from all society and conversation with men
and have his dwelling with beasts
Daniel 4:31
"and offend"
or rather "be punished"
and become desolate
and miserable
for his pride
and idolatry
and other sins: "this his
power" is "his god"F26"Tune immutatus est
spiritu
et transiit et desolatus est
hoc robur ejus est dei ejus"
De
Dieu. ; spoken ironically; see what his power is now
being changed into a
beast
which he reckoned his god
or gloried in as what he had from his god:
but I rather think the whole is a continuation of his success
particularly in
the land of Judea; and to be rendered
"then shall he pass through
as the
wind
and shall pass over; and he shall bear the punishment of his sin
whose
power is his god"; that is
the king of Babylon and his army
the
Chaldeans
should pass through all nations and kingdoms that were between them
and Judea
like a strong wind or whirlwind
to which they are compared
Jeremiah 4:13 and carry
all before them
none being able to resist and oppose them; and should pass
over rivers that lay in their way
and the boundaries of Judea
and spread
themselves over the whole country; and then that country
and the inhabitants
of it
should be punished for their sins
particularly for their confidence in
themselves; in their wealth and riches; in their fortresses and strong towers;
in their own works of righteousness; all which they made idols of
and trusted
not in their God
as they ought to have done.
Habakkuk 1:12 12 Are You not from everlasting
O Lord my God
my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord
You have appointed them for judgment; O Rock
You have marked them
for correction.
YLT
12Art 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.
Art thou not from everlasting
O Lord my God
mine holy One?.... The
prophet
foreseeing these calamities coming upon his nation and people
observes some things for their comfort in this verse; and expostulates with God
in the following verses Habakkuk 1:13 about
his providential dealings
in order to obtain an answer from him
which might
remove the objections of his own mind
and those of other good men he
personates
raised against them; being stumbled at this
that wicked men should
be suffered to succeed and prosper
and the righteous should be afflicted and
distressed by them: but for his own present consolation
and that of others
in
a view of the worst that should befall them
he strongly asserts
we shall not die; meaning not a corporeal death
for that all
men die
good and bad; and this the Jews did die
and no doubt good men among
them too
at the siege and taking of Jerusalem by the Chaldean army
either by
famine
or pestilence
or sword: nor a death of affliction
which the people of
God are subject to
as well as others; is often their case
and is for their
good
and in love
and not wrath: but a spiritual death
which none that are
quickened by the Spirit and grace of God ever die; though grace may be low
it
is never lost; though saints may be in dead and lifeless frames
and need
quickening afresh
yet they are not without the principle of spiritual life;
grace in them is a well of living water
springing up to everlasting life;
their spiritual life can never fail them
since it is secured in Christ: and
much less shall they die the second
or an eternal death; they are ordained to
eternal life; Christ is come
and given his flesh for it
that they might have
it; it is in his hands for them; they are united to him
and have both the
promise and pledge of it: and this may be argued
as by the prophet here
from
the eternity of God
art "thou not from everlasting?" he is from
everlasting to everlasting
the Ancient of days
that inhabits eternity
is
was
and is to come: therefore "we shall not die"; none of his people
shall perish
because he loves them with an everlasting love; has made an
everlasting choice of them; has set up Christ from everlasting as their surety
and Saviour; entered into an everlasting covenant with them in Christ; is their
everlasting Father
and will be their everlasting portion; is the unchangeable
Jehovah
and therefore they shall not be consumed: this may be concluded from
their covenant interest in God
"O Lord my God"; they are his
peculiar people
given to Christ to be preserved by him
and covenant interest
always continues; he that is their God is their God and guide unto death: and
also from the holiness of God
"mine holy One"; who has sworn by his
holiness to them
and is faithful to his covenant and promise; and is the
sanctifier of them
that has sanctified or set them apart for himself; made
Christ sanctification to them
and makes them holy by his Spirit and grace
and
enables them to persevere in grace and holiness: moreover
this may be
understood of the people of the Jews
as a church and nation; who
though they
would be carried captive into Babylon
yet would still continue as such
and be
returned again as such
and not die
sink
and perish; since the Messiah was to
spring from them; and they might be assured of their preservation for that
purpose
from the perfections of God
his covenant with them
and their
relation to him: nor shall the church of Christ in any age die and perish
though in ever so low a state; a particular church may
but the interest and
church of Christ in general
or his spiritual seed
never shall. This is one of
the eighteen passages
as Jarchi
Kimchi
and Ben Melech observe
called
"Tikkun-Sopherim"
the correction of the scribes
of Ezra
and his
company; it having been written
in some copies
"thou shall not die"F1לא תמות "non morieris"
Vatablus
Drusius
Grotius. ; asserting the immortality of God
or his eternity
to come; and that
as he was from everlasting
so he should continue to
everlasting; and to this sense the Targum paraphrases the words
"thy
Word remaineth for ever;'
and
so the Syriac version follows the same reading:
O Lord
thou hast ordained them for judgment: that is
the
Chaldeans; either to be judged and punished themselves for their sins
as all
wicked Christless sinners are
even righteously foreordained to condemnation
for their sins; or rather to be the instruments of punishing the wicked among
the Jews; for this purpose were these people ordained in the counsels of God
and raised up in his providence
and constituted a kingdom
and made a powerful
nation:
O mighty God; or "rock"F2צור "O rupes"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Cocceius
Van Till; "O petra"
Drusius. ; the rock and refuge of his
people:
thou hast established them for correction; or
"founded"F3יסדתו "fundasti
eum"
Pagninus
Montanus
Piscator
Cocceius
Van Till; "constituisti"
Vatablus. them
and settled them as a monarchy
strong and mighty for this end
that they might be a rod in the hand of the Lord
not for destruction
but for
correction and chastisement; and from hence it might be also comfortably concluded
that they should not die and utterly perish.
Habakkuk 1:13 13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil
And
cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously
And
hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than
he?
YLT
13Purer 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
Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil
and canst not look upon
iniquity
.... The Lord with his eyes of omniscience beholds all things
good and evil
and all men good and bad
with all their actions; but then he
does not look upon the sins of men with pleasure and approbation; since they
are contrary to his nature
repugnant to his will
and breaches of his
righteous law: and though sin in general may be included here
yet there seems
to be a particular respect had to the "evil" or injury done by the
Chaldeans to the Jews
in invading their land
spoiling their substance
and
slaying their persons; and to the "iniquity"
labour
or grievance
by which may be meant the oppression and violence the same people exercised
upon the inhabitants of Judea; which
though permitted by the Lord
could not
be well pleasing in his sight. The Targum interprets it of persons
workers of
evil
and workers of the labour of falsehood; see Psalm 5:4
wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously; the
Chaldeans
who dealt treacherously with God
by worshipping idols; and with the
Jews
pretending to be their good friends and allies
when they meditated their
ruin and destruction; and yet the Lord in his providence seemed to look
favourably on these perfidious persons
since they succeeded in all their
enterprises: this was stumbling to the prophet
and all good men; and they knew
not how
or at least found great difficulty
to reconcile this to the purity
and holiness of God
and to his justice and faithfulness; see Jeremiah 12:1
and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that
is more righteous than he? the comparison does not lie so much
personally between Nebuchadnezzar and Zedekiah the last king of the Jews
whose
eyes the king of Babylon put out
and whom he used in a cruel manner; who was
no doubt
comparatively speaking
a more righteous person than the Chaldean
monarch was; being not the worst of the kings of Judea
and whose name has the
signification of righteousness in it: but rather between the Chaldeans and the
Jews; who
though there were many wicked persons among them
yet there were
some truly righteous
who fell in the common calamity; and
as to the bulk of
them
were a more righteous people
at the worst
than their enemies were
who
devoured them
destroyed many with the sword
plundered them of their
substance
and carried them captive; and the Lord was silent all this while
said nothing in his providence against them
put no stop to their proceedings;
and by his silence seemed to approve of
at least to connive at
what they did;
and this the prophet in the name of good men reasons with the Lord about.
Habakkuk 1:14 14 Why do You make men like fish of the sea
Like
creeping things that have no ruler over them?
YLT
14And Thou makest man as
fishes of the sea
As a creeping thing -- none ruling over him.
And makest men as the
fishes of the sea
.... That is
sufferest them to be used as the fishes of the sea
which are easily taken in the net
and are common to everyone; whosoever will
may take them up
and kill them
and use them for their food; and which also
among themselves are often hardly used
the lesser being devoured by the
greater; and in like manner the prophet suggests
that the people of the Jews
who were men made after the image of God
and made for society and usefulness
and moreover were God's covenant people; and it might have been expected
that
a more special providence would have attended them
more than other men
and
especially than what attended the fishes of the sea; yet it looked as if there
were no more care taken of them than of these:
as the creeping things that have no ruler over them; not the
creeping things of the earth
but of the water
the lesser sort of fishes that
move in the water; or those that more properly creep
as crabs
prawns
and
shrimps; see Psalm 104:25 who
have none to protect and defend them
and restrain others from taking and
hurting them: this may seem contrary to what AristotleF4Hist.
Animal. l. 8. c. 13. and PlinyF5Nat. Hist. l. 9. c. 15. say of some
fishes
that they go in company
and have a leader or governor; but
as BochartF6Hierozoic.
par. 1. l. 1. c. 6. col. 39. observes
it is one thing to be a leader of the
way
a guide and director
which way to steer their course in swimming; and
another thing to be as the general of an army
to protect and defend
or under
whose directions they might defend themselves; such an one the prophet denies
they had: and so
the prophet complains
this was the case of the Jews; they
were exposed to the cruelty of their enemies
as if there was no God that
governed in the world
and no providence to direct and order things for the
preservation of men
and to keep good men from being hurt by evil men; or those
that were weak and feeble from being oppressed by the powerful and mighty; this
he reasons with the Lord about
and was desirous of an answer to it.
Habakkuk 1:15 15 They take up all of them with a hook
They catch them
in their net
And gather them in their dragnet. Therefore they rejoice and are
glad.
YLT 15Each 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.
They take up all of them
with the angle
.... The prophet continues the metaphor of fishing
and observes
the different ways of taking fish; which is to be applied to the case he is
speaking of: as fishermen take all they can with their angles
so
"they" or "he"
for it is in the singular number
Nebuchadnezzar and his army
take up all out of the sea of the world; are
ambitious of getting all kingdoms and nations of the world under their power
and dominion; particularly all Judea
and all the inhabitants of it
good and
bad
without any distinction; for all were fish which came to their net: this
may design the artful and alluring methods they first made use of to get the
people into their hands
by making covenants with them
and drawing them into
making of presents
and paying of tribute:
they catch them in their net
and gather them in their drag; with the
angle the fisherman catches fish one by one
but with the net great numbers;
and what he misses by throwing the net
he gets by using the drag; all which
may be expressive of the ways and methods used by the king of Babylon and his
army
both in the times of Jeconiah
and of Zedekiah; under the former he used
the net
and carried off large numbers
and with them the royal family and
great substance
but left many behind; under the latter he came and swept away
all
drained the land of its riches and its inhabitants:
therefore they rejoice and are glad; as fishermen do when
they have good sport; so these people rejoiced in their own success
and in the
calamities of their neighbours.
Habakkuk 1:16 16 Therefore they sacrifice to their net
And burn
incense to their dragnet; Because by them their share is sumptuous And
their food plentiful.
YLT
16Therefore he doth sacrifice
to his net
And doth make perfume to his drag
For by them [is] his portion
fertile
and his food fat.
Therefore they sacrifice
unto their net
and burn incense unto their drag
.... Either to their
idols
to fortune and the stars
as Aben Ezra; imagining they gave them
success
and prospered them in the arts and methods they used: or to their
arms
as the Targum; nor was it unusual with the Heathens to worship their
spears
sacrifice to them
and swear by themF7Vid. Doughtaei
Analect. Sacra
p. 494
495. . So Justin saysF8E Trogo
l. 43. c.
3
4.
originally the ancients worshipped spears for gods
in memory of whose
religion spears are still added to the images of the gods. LucianF9In
Jupiter Tragoedus. asserts that the Scythians sacrificed to a scimitar; and
ArnobiusF11Adv. Gentes
l. 6. p. 232. says the same; and Ammianus
MarcellinusF12Hist. l. 17. reports
that the Quadi worship their
swords or daggers instead of gods; and that it was usual to swear by the spear
is evident from othersF13 ομνυσι
δ'ουιχμην
Aeschylus. . Or else the sense is
they sacrificed to their own
valour and courage
skill and conduct.
Because by them their portion is fat
and their meat
plenteous: that is
by their angle
net
and drag; or by those things
signified by them
the arts and methods they used to subdue nations
conquer
kingdoms
and bring them into subjection to them; they enlarged their
dominions
increased their riches and revenues
and had plenty of everything
that was desirable for food and raiment
for pleasure and profit; or to gratify
the most unbounded ambition
having everything that heart could wish for and
desire: the allusion is to making sumptuous feasts
and rich banquets
on
occasion of victories obtained.
Habakkuk 1:17 17 Shall they therefore empty their net
And continue to
slay nations without pity?
YLT
17Doth he therefore empty his
net
And continually to slay nations spare not?
Shall they therefore empty
their net
.... Or "thus"
after this manner
so Noldius; as
fishermen do
when they have had a good cast
and a large draught
spread the
net
and take out the fishes
in order to throw it again
and catch more; and
so it is asked
should these Chaldeans
when they have conquered one nation
and so filled their net or themselves with the spoil
carry it to Babylon
and
there lay it up
and then proceed to fight against another kingdom and nation
and plunder it in like manner?
and not spare continually to slay the nations? the
inhabitants of them one after another
and subdue them under them
and make
themselves master of all their treasure
until they are arrived to universal
monarchy by such cruel and unmerciful methods. The Targum is
"shall
he send his armies continually to consume nations
and that without mercy?'
This
the prophet proposes in the name of the whole body of the Lord's people
and
leaves it with him to have an answer to it
which is given in the following
chapter Habakkuk 2:1.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)