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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Habakkuk 1:1-4

We are told no more in the title of this book (which we have, Hab. 1:1) than that the penman was a prophet, a man divinely inspired and commissioned, which is enough (if that be so, we need not ask concerning his tribe or family, or the place of his birth), and that the book itself is the burden which he saw; he was as sure of the truth of it as if he had seen it with his bodily eyes already accomplished. Here, in these verses, the prophet sadly laments the iniquity of the times, as one... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Habakkuk 1:2

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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Habakkuk 1:3

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... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Habakkuk 1:2

O Lord, how long shall I cry - The prophet feels himself strongly excited against the vices which he beheld; and which, it appears from this verse, he had often declaimed against, but in vain; the people continued in their vices, and God in his longsuffering. Habakkuk begins his prophecy under a similar feeling, and nearly in similar words, as Juvenal did his Satires: - Semper ego auditor tantum? Nunquamne reponam? Vexatus toties rauci Theseide Codri? read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Habakkuk 1:3

And cause me to behold grievance - עמל amal , labor, toil, distress, misery, etc., the common fruits of sin. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Habakkuk 1:2

Verse 2 As I have already reminded you, interpreters think that the Prophet speaks here of future things, as though he had in his view the calamity which he afterwards mentions; but this is too strained a meaning; I therefore doubt not but that the Prophet expostulates here with God for so patiently indulging a reprobate people. For though the Prophets felt a real concern for the safety of the people, there is yet no doubt but that they burned with zeal for the glory of God; and when they saw... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Habakkuk 1:3

Verse 3 He afterwards adds, How long wilt thou show me iniquity, and make me to see trouble? Here the Prophet briefly relates the cause of his indignation,—that he could not, without great grief, yea, without anguish of mind, behold such evils prevailing among God’s chosen people; for they who apply this to the Chaldeans, do so strainedly, and without any necessity, and they have not observed the reason which I have stated—that the Prophet does not here teach the Jews, but prepares them for a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 1:1-4

The cry of a good man under the perplexing procedure of God. "The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thee wilt not save!" etc. Of Habakkuk nothing is known for certainty. The fifth and sixth verses of the first chapter tell us that he prophesied before that series of invasions by the Chaldeans which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of the people—probably between 640... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 1:2

Shall I cry; Septuagint, κέκραξομαι . The Hebrew is taken to imply that the prophet had long been complaining of the moral depravity of Judah, and calling for help against it There is no reference here, as Ewald fancies, to acts of violence committed by the Chaldeans, who, in fact, are announced as coming to chastise the wickedness of the chosen people ( Habakkuk 1:6 ). And thou wilt not hear! The continuance of evil unchecked is an anomaly in the prophet's eye; and, putting himself... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Habakkuk 1:2

The lamentation of a good man. I. OVER THE RELIGIOUS DEGENERACY OF HIS AGE . Not merely for himself, but as the representative of the godly remnant of Judah, Habakkuk expostulates with Jehovah concerning the wickedness of the times in which he lived. The picture he sets before Jehovah is one of deep national corruption, such as existed in the days of Jehoiakim ( Jeremiah 20:8 ; Jeremiah 22:3 , Jeremiah 22:13-17 ). A picture of wickedness. 1 . Great. 2 . ... read more

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