Habakkuk 2:9

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 2:9

Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house ,.... The bishops of Rome, being enriched by the donations of Constantine, were not satisfied, but coveted more; these are the greedy dogs Isaiah speaks of, that could never have enough, Isaiah 56:11 but were still seeking and gaping after more for themselves and families, and for their own house or church; which, from the time of their apostasy, became their own house, in distinction from, and in opposition to, the house or true... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Habakkuk 2:9

An evil covetousness to his house - Nebuchadnezzar wished to aggrandize his family, and make his empire permanent: but both family and empire were soon cut off by the death of his son Belshazzar, and the consequent destruction of the Chaldean empire. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Habakkuk 2:9

Verse 9 Habakkuk proceeds in exciting the king of Babylon by taunts; which were not scurrilous jests, but contained serious threatening; for, as it has been already said, the Prophet here introduces indeed the common people, but in that multitude we are to recognize the innumerable heralds of God’s vengeance: and hence he says, Woe to him who coveteth, etc.; or we may say, He! for it is a particle of exclamation, as it has been said: He! thou, he says, who covetest an evil covetousness to thy... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 2:9

That coveteth an evil covetousness to his house; better, gaineth evil gains for his house. The "house" is the royal family or dynasty, as in Habakkuk 2:10 ; and the Chaldean is denounced for thinking to secure its stability and permanence by amassing godless gains. That he may set his nest on high . This is a figurative expression, denoting security as well as pride and self-confidence (comp. Numbers 24:21 ; Job 39:27 , etc.; Jeremiah 49:16 ; Obadiah 1:4 ), and denotes the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 2:9-11

§ 9. The second woe: for their avarice, violence, and cunning. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 2:9-11

A parable of woes: 2. Woe to the covetous! I. THEIR AIM . 1 . Personal comfort. Suggested by the term "nest," which for the Chaldean meant Babylon with its palaces, and for the individual signifies his mansion or dwelling place ( Job 29:18 ). Josephus ('Ant.,' 10:11, 1) states that Nebuchadnezzar built for himself a palace "to describe the vast height and immense riches of which would be too much fur him (Josephus) to attempt;" and Nebuchadnezzar himself tells us in his... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 2:9-11

Corrupt ambition. Ambition may be pure and lofty, and when this is the case it cannot be too highly commended. It is "the germ from which all growth of nobleness proceeds." "It is to the human heart what spring is to the earth, making every root and bud and bough desire to be more." Headway cannot be made in life apart from it, and destitute of this spirit a man must be outstripped in the race. Ambition, however, may take the opposite form, and it is to ambition corrupt and low in its... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 2:9-11

National wrongs ending in national woes. No. 2. "Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it." Notice— I. THE NATIONAL WRONGS HERE INDICATED . 1 . Coveting the possessions of others. ... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Habakkuk 2:9

Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house - (or, with accents, “that coveteth covetousness or unjust gain, an evil to his house.”) What man coveteth seems gain, but is evil “to his house” after him, destroying both himself and his whole family or race with him . “That he may set his nest on high,” as an eagle, to which he had likened the Chaldee (Habakkuk 1:8. Compare Jeremiah 20:16). A pagan called “strongholds, the nests of tyrants.” The nest was placed “on high” which means... read more

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