Habakkuk 1:14-16 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 1:14

The prophet appeals movingly to God by showing the indignity with which the people are treated. As the fishes of the sea. Dumb and helpless, swept off by the fisherman. That have no ruler ever them. None to guide and protect them (comp. Proverbs 6:7 ; Proverbs 30:27 ). So the Jews seem to be deprived of God's care, and left to be the prey of the spoiler, as if of little worth, and no longer having God for their King (comp. Isaiah 63:19 , Revised Version). The "creeping things" are... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 1:14-17

Rapacious selfishness in power. "And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them. They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad," etc. In Nebuchadnezzar you have rapacious selfishness in power. He is here represented by implication as treating the Jewish people as a fisherman treats the fish in the sea. His aim is to catch them by "angle," "net," and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 1:15

They take up all men with the angle; he bringeth up all together with the hook ( Amos 4:2 ) The net. Any kind of net. Septuagint, ἄμφίβληστνον ," cast net." The drag ( σαγήνη ). The large drag net. At their own pleasure, unhindered, the Chaldeans make whole nations their prey, their fishing implements being their armies, with which they gather unto themselves countries, peoples, and booty. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 1:16

Therefore they sacrifice unto their net. This is spoken metaphorically, implying that the Babylonians recognized not God's hand, but attributed their success to the means which they employed (comp. Habakkuk 1:11 ; Isaiah 10:13 etc.). There is no trace in the monuments of the Chaldeans paying divine honours to their weapons, as, accord-lug to Herodotus (4:62), the Scythians and other nations did (see Justin, 'Hist.,' 43:3; and Pusey's note here). What a man trusts in becomes a god to him.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 1:16

The pride of human sufficiency. The reference is to the Chaldeans. They would, in due course, invade Judah, and should be successful in their invasion. The "sinful nation" should fall into their hands as fish into the net of the angler; and, intoxicated by their success, they should congratulate themselves upon their achievements and adore their military prowess and skill, and their weapons of war, as though these had won the victory. "Therefore they sacrifice," etc. ( Habakkuk 1:16 ).... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Habakkuk 1:14

And makest men as the fishes of the sea - mute, helpless, in a stormy, restless element, no cry heard, but themselves swept away in shoals, with no power to resist.As the creeping things - whether of the land (as it is mostly used), or the sea Psalms 104:25. Either way, it is a contemptuous name for the lowest of either.That have no ruler over them - none to guide, order, protect them, and so a picture of man deprived of the care and providence of God. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Habakkuk 1:15

They take up all of them - (literally “he taketh up all of it”) the whole race as though it were one,With an angle; they catch them - literally, he sweepeth it awayIn their (his) net - One fisherman is singled out who partly by wiles (as by the bait of “an angle”), partly by violence (the net or drag) sweeps away and gathers as his own the whole kind. Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldaeans are herein a faint image of Satan, who casts out his baits and his nets in the stormy sea of this life, taking... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Habakkuk 1:16

Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag - literally he sacrifices unto his, etc. Whatever a man trusts in is his god. If a man relies to compass his end by his strength, or his wisdom, or his forethought, or his wealth, his armies or navies, these his forces are his God. So the Assyrian said Isaiah 10:13, Isaiah 10:15, “By the strength of my hand I did it; and by my wisdom, for I am prudent;” and God answered, “Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Habakkuk 1:13-17

Habakkuk 1:13-17. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil Thou art of too just and pure a nature to approve of wickedness: it must ever be an abomination to thee. Thou canst not look upon iniquity Except with infinite abhorrence. Wherefore lookest thou upon them Seemest to connive at, or dost not show any particular dislike at the violence of those idolatrous Chaldeans? And makest men as the fishes of the sea, &c. By delivering them to Nebuchadnezzar, who takes them in his net,... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Habakkuk 1:12-17

Second complaint and answer (1:12-2:5)Habakkuk replies to God by asking a further question. If Judah is God’s people for ever, and if God is holy, how can he use Babylon to punish Judah when the Babylonians are more wicked than the Judeans (12-13)? It seems to Habakkuk that God has the same standards as the Babylonians. They treat the people of nations as if they were no better than fish in the sea - there to be caught for the fisherman’s enjoyment (14-15). The Babylonians’ power is their god.... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 1:14

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 1:14-17

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 1:15

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 1:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 1:16

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Habakkuk 1:14

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Habakkuk 1:15

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Habakkuk 1:16

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Habakkuk 1:13-17

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Habakkuk 1:12-17

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