_The burden_ The grievous calamities, or heavy judgments; _which Habakkuk did see_ That is, _foresee_, and was commissioned to foretel. This burden, or prophetic vision, communicated to Habakkuk, was against the Chaldeans as well as the Jews. For while the prophet was complaining of iniquity among t... [ Continue Reading ]
_O Lord, how long shall I cry_, &c. How long shall I complain unto thee of might overcoming right, and thou wilt not save or prevent it? The prophet here proposes the common objection against Providence, taken from the prosperity of the wicked, and their oppression of the righteous, which has often... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold_, &c. For a punishment of such exorbitant practices, behold, God is about to make the heathen the instruments of his vengeance. _Ye among the heathen, and regard_ Consider and weigh it well, in its nature and consequences; for it is intended as a warning to you, and assures you that judgment... [ Continue Reading ]
_For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans_ This is spoken of as a matter of great wonder and astonishment, because the Chaldeans, in the times of Hezekiah, Manasseh, and Josiah, were allies of the Jewish nation, and seemed linked to them in the greatest friendship; so that they had no fear on that side, but... [ Continue Reading ]
_Their judgment, &c., shall proceed of themselves_ They will judge themselves of what they shall do, without paying regard to any thing but their own will, and shall have power to put in execution whatever they resolve upon. _Their horses also are swifter than the leopards_ “Leopards tamed and taugh... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they shall scoff at the kings_, &c. The Hebrew use the singular number here, (_He shall scoff_, &c.,) as well as in the following verse, and it is to be understood of the king of Babylon, who treated the kings he conquered with scorn and contempt: so he used Zedekiah and his princes. _They shal... [ Continue Reading ]
_Art thou not_, &c. Here the prophet, upon being made sensible that the king of Babylon should attribute all his victories to some false or fictitious deity, or to his own abilities, breaks out into a passionate exclamation to Jehovah, _Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God? _ Art not thou he... [ Continue Reading ]
_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 pa... [ Continue Reading ]