_UNTO HABAKKUK, WAITING FOR AN ANSWER, IS SHEWED THAT HE MUST WAIT BY FAITH. THE JUDGMENT UPON THE CHALDEANS FOR UNSATIABLENESS, FOR COVETOUSNESS, FOR CRUELTY, FOR DRUNKENNESS, AND FOR IDOLATRY._ _Before Christ 690._... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL STAND UPON MY WATCH, &C.— _I stood upon my watch, and continued upon the tower; and I looked to see what the Lord would say unto me, and what he would answer to my expostulation:_ [namely, that in the 13th and following verses of the preceding chapter, respecting the prosperity of the wicked,... [ Continue Reading ]
AT THE END IT SHALL SPEAK, &C.— _At the end he shall break forth, and not deceive: Though he delay, expect him; because he that cometh will came, he will not tarry._... [ Continue Reading ]
BEHOLD, HIS SOUL, &C.— _Behold, if any one draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him,_ &c. Houbigant however renders it, _But if any one shall withdraw himself, his soul shall not overcome: but he who shall be constant_ [or firm in his reliance] _shall live by his faith._ It is the same admon... [ Continue Reading ]
YEA, ALSO, &C.— _A transgressor by wine,_ is quite foreign to the subject; nor do the Syriac, LXX, or Arabic mention any thing of it. Houbigant renders the verse, very agreeably to the context, thus, _For he, though he is a despiser, and powerful, and proud, yet shall he not have rest. After he shal... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE VIOLENCE, &C.— _And violence done to the land, to the city, and to all the inhabitants thereof._... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT HE MAY SET HIS NEST ON HIGH— _Who setteth his nest on high, that he may be delivered from evil;_ or _be exempted,_ or _secured from the reach of evil;_ that is to say, from the destruction of his city and empire, which the prophets of Israel, who were captives in his kingdom, denounced.... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE STONE SHALL CRY, &C.— The answer of the beam follows in the next verse. The meaning of these figurative expressions is, that the houses and towns which have been destroyed by the Chaldeans shall cry for vengeance against the destroyers.... [ Continue Reading ]
BEHOLD, IS IT NOT, &C.— _For certainly this is from the Lord of Hosts, that the people shall take pains for the fire, and the nations shall weary themselves,_ &c. Houbigant.... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE EARTH SHALL BE FILLED, &C.— Or, "Shall have a full and perfect knowledge of the glory of the Lord, when Babylon shall be overthrown;" because the prophets of the Lord had foretold that destruction. God's providence in governing the world, shall conspicuously appear in the downfal of the Baby... [ Continue Reading ]
WOE UNTO HIM THAT GIVETH HIS NEIGHBOUR DRINK— By this _neighbour,_ the neighbouring nations seem to be meant; whom the Chaldeans, as Grotius observes, enticed into their alliance, that they might afterwards treat them in the most ignominious manner. This particularly was the case of the king of Egyp... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU ART FILLED WITH SHAME, &C.— _Drink thou also, till thou art filled with shame instead of glory; and let,_ &c. _For the cup of the right hand of the Lord shall come round to thee,_ &c. _And disgrace shall succeed to thy glory._ Houbigant.... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE VIOLENCE OF LEBANON— _For upon thee shall be returned the violences done in Lebanon, and the spoil of cattle, and whatever shall remain of human blood, and of the spoils of the land,_ &c. Houbigant. See Habakkuk 2:8.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT PROFITETH THE GRAVEN IMAGE— _What,_ &c. _when the maker thereof hath graven it? The molten image, and the doctrine of lies that he who hath formed it may have hope therein, while he maketh dumb idols?_ Houbigant. The prophet speaks here against idols in general, and idolatrous princes. What wil... [ Continue Reading ]
IT SHALL TEACH— _Can this thing give instruction?—Behold,_ &c. _but no breath at all in it._ Houbigant, however, renders it, _Wilt thou have that for an instructor, which, covered over with gold and silver, hath no breath in it?_... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THE LORD, &C.— "The God of Israel is not like these imaginary deities: he gives law to all the earth; and all creatures ought to continue in silence with the most profound adoration and respect before his tremendous presence: he is the sovereign arbiter of their life and their death; of their de... [ Continue Reading ]