Habakkuk 2:17

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Habakkuk 2:15-20

The three foregoing articles, upon which the woes here are grounded, are very near akin to each other. The criminals charged by them are oppressors and extortioners, that raise estates by rapine and injustice; and it is mentioned here again (Hab. 2:17), the very same that was said Hab. 2:8; for that is the crime upon which the greatest stress is laid; it is because of men's blood, innocent blood, barbarously and unjustly shed, which is a provoking crying thing; it is for the violence of the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Habakkuk 2:17

For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee ,.... Lebanon was a mountain on the borders of the land of Israel, from whence cedar wood was brought, of which the temple was built, and for that reason is sometimes so called, as in Zechariah 11:1 and so the Targum and Jarchi interpret it, "the violence of the house of the sanctuary shall cover thee;' and this was a type of the church of Christ, the violence of which is that which is offered to it, and which it suffers; and designs all the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Habakkuk 2:17

For the violence of Lebanon - Or, the violence done to Lebanon; to men, to cattle, to Judea, and to Jerusalem. See the note on the parallel place, Habakkuk 2:8 ; (note). This may be a threatening against Egypt, as the former was against Chaldea. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Habakkuk 2:17

Verse 17 We may hence easily learn, that the Prophet has not been speaking of drunkenness, but that his discourse, as we have explained, was metaphorical; for here follows a reason, why he had denounced such a punishment on the king of Babylon, and that was, because he had exercised violence, not only against all nations indiscriminately, but also against the chosen people of God. He had before only set forth in general the cruelty with which the king of Babylon had destroyed many nations; but... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 2:15-17

§ 11. The fourth woe: for base and degrading treatment of subject nations. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 2:15-17

A parable of woes: 4. Woe to the insolent! I. WANTON WICKEDNESS . 1 . Symbolically set forth. The image employed is that of giving to one's neighbour drink from a bottle with which "vengeance," "fury," or "wrath," or, according to another interpretation, "poison," has been mixed, in order to intoxicate him, that one might have the devilish enjoyment of looking on his nakedness, as Ham did on that of Noah, or generally of glorying in his shame. To infer from this that the bare... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 2:15-17

God's retributive justice. It is a Divine law that "whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap" ( Galatians 6:7 ). God is just, and hence will cause retribution to be experienced by evil doers. A striking illustration of the operation of this great law is presented in these verses. Consider— I. THE COURSE THE CHALDEANS HAD ADOPTED TOWARD OTHERS . ( Habakkuk 2:15 .) The reference in this verse is not to the sin of drunkenness. That sin is a distressing and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 2:15-17

National wrongs ending in national woes. No. 4. "Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the Lord's right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory," etc. "This," says Henderson, "is the commencement of the fourth stanza. Though the idea of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 2:17

For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee; LXX ; ἀσέβεια τοῦ λιβάνου : iniquitas Libani (Vulgate). It would be plainer if translated, "the violence against," or "practised on, Lebanon," as the sentence refers to the devastation inflicted by the Chaldeans on the forests of Lebanon (comp. Isaiah 14:8 ; Isaiah 37:24 ). Jerome confines the expression in the text to the demolition of the temple at Jerusalem in the construction of which much cedar was employed; others take Lebanon... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Habakkuk 2:17

For the violence of Lebanon - i. e., done to Lebanon, whether the land of Israel of which it was the entrance and the beauty (See Isaiah 37:24, and, as a symbol, Jeremiah 22:6, Jeremiah 22:23; Ezekiel 17:3; but it is used as a symbol of Sennacherib’s army, Isaiah 10:34, and the king of Asshur is not indeed spoken of under the name as a symbol (in Ezekiel 21:3,) but is compared to it), or the temple (See the note at Zechariah 12:1), both of which Nebuchadnezzar laid waste; or, more widely, it... read more

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