Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Habakkuk 2:5-14

The prophet having had orders to write the vision, and the people to wait for the accomplishment of it, the vision itself follows; and it is, as divers other prophecies we have met with, the burden of Babylon and Babylon's king, the same that was said to pass over and offend, Hab. 1:11. It reads the doom, some think, of Nebuchadnezzar, who was principally active in the destruction of Jerusalem, or of that monarchy, or of the whole kingdom of the Chaldeans, or of all such proud and oppressive... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Habakkuk 2:7

Shall not they rise up suddenly that shall bite thee ,.... Or, "thy usurers", or "creditors" F4 נשכיך "foeneratores tui, seu creditores tui", Cocceius, Van Till. , as some render it; the Christians, whose money, goods, and substance, they had spoiled them of, but now should be repaid with great usury and gain; these, that is, their princes and emperors, as Constantine and Theodosius, rose up suddenly, and conquered the heathen emperors, and took away their power and authority from... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Habakkuk 2:8

Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee ,.... Those that survived the persecutions of the Roman emperors; those that were left of the great numbers put to death by them; those under Constantine rose up, and by just retaliation spoiled them of all their power and wealth: because of men's blood ; the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus, of those under the altar, whose blood cried for vengeance, Revelation 6:9 , which was shed under the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Habakkuk 2:7

Shall they not rise up suddenly - Does not this refer to the sudden and unexpected taking of Babylon by Cyrus, whose troops entered into the city through the bed of the Euphrates, whose waters they had diverted by another channel; so that the Babylonians knew nothing of the matter till they saw the Persian soldiers rise up as in a moment, in the very heart of their city? read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Habakkuk 2:8

For the violence of the land - Or, for the violence done to the land of Judea, and to the city of Jerusalem. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Habakkuk 2:7

Verse 7 The Prophet proceeds with the subject which we have already begun to explain; for he introduces here the common taunts against the king of Babylon and the whole tyrannical empire, by which many nations had been cruelly oppressed. He therefore says that enemies, who should bite him, (34) would suddenly and unexpectedly rise up. Some expound this of worms, but not rightly: for God not only inflicted punishment on the king when dead, but he intended also that there should be on earth an... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Habakkuk 2:8

Verse 8 The Prophet here expresses more clearly why the Babylonians were to be so severely dealt with by God. He shows that it would be a just reward that they should be plundered in their turn, who had previously given themselves up to plunder, violence, and cruelty. Since, then, they had exercised so much inhumanity towards all people, the Prophet intimates here that God could not be deemed as treating them cruelly, by inflicting on them so severe a punishment: he also confirms the former... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 2:6-8

§ 8. The destruction of the Babylonians is announced by the mouth of the vanquished nations, who utter five woes against their oppressor. The first woe: for their rapacity. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 2:6-8

A parable of woes: 1. Woe to the rapacious! I. THEIR PERSONS IDENTIFIED . 1 . The Chaldean nation, in its kings and people, who were animated by a lust of conquest, which impelled them upon wars of aggression. 2 . The enemies of the Church of God and of Jesus Christ, whether national or individual, in whom the same spirit dwells as resided in the Babylonian power. God's promises and threatenings in the Bible have almost always a wider sweep and a larger reference than... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 2:6-8

Covetousness. In the remaining portion of this chapter the prophet dwells upon the sins prevailing amongst the Chaldeans, and indicates the misery these should entail. His utterances, taken together, form a satirical ode directed against the Chaldeans, who, though not named, are yet most clearly personified. In the general statement respecting them in Habakkuk 2:5 allusion is made to their rapacity, and the first stanza in the song is specially directed to this greed, which was so... read more

Group of Brands