Habakkuk 1:10

And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it. AND THEY SHALL SCOFF AT THE KINGS - as unable to resist them. THEY SHALL DERIDE EVERY STRONG HOLD; FOR THEY SHALL HEAP DUST, AND TAKE IT - "they shall heap" earth-mounds outside, and so "take every strong hold" (cf. ; ). (Grotius.)...

The Prophet concludes the subject which he has been hitherto pursuing. He says that the Chaldeans would not come to engage in a doubtful war, but only to triumph over conquered nations. We indeed know that the Jews, though not excelling either in number or in riches, were yet so proud, that they looked down, as it were, with contempt on other nations, and we also know, that they vainly trusted in vain helps; for as they were in confederacy with the Egyptians, they thought themselves to be beyond the reach of danger. Hence the Prophet says, that kings and princes would be only a sport to the Chaldeans, and their fortresses would be only a derision to them. How so? For _they will gather dust_, he says; that is, will make a mound of the dust of the earth, and will thus penetrate into all fortified cities. In short the Prophet intended to cut off every hope from the Jews, that they might hum...

1-11 The servants of the Lord are deeply afflicted by seeing ungodliness and violence prevail; especially among those who profess the truth. No man scrupled doing wrong to his neighbour. We should long to remove to the world where holiness and love reign for ever, and no violence shall be before us. God has good reasons for his long-suffering towards bad men, and the rebukes of good men. The day will come when the cry of sin will be heard against those that do wrong, and the cry of prayer for those that suffer wrong. They were to notice what was going forward among the heathen by the Chaldeans, and to consider themselves a nation to be scourged by them. But most men presume on continued prosperity, or that calamities will not come in their days. They are a bitter and hasty nation, fierce, cruel, and bearing down all before them. They shall overcome all that oppose them. But it is a grea...

Verse Habakkuk 1:10. _THEY SHALL SCOFF AT THE KINGS_] No power shall be able to stand before them. It will be only as _pastime_ to them to take the strongest places. They will have no need to build formidable ramparts: by sweeping the _dust_ together they shall make mounts sufficient to pass over the walls and take the city....

AND THEY - literally, “he,” the word stands emphatically, he, alone against all the kings of the earth SHALL SCOFF AT THE KINGS - and all their might taking them away or setting them up at his pleasure and caprice, subduing them as though in sport AND PRINCES - literally, grave and majestic SHALL BE A SCORN UNTO THEM - i. e. him. Compare Job 41:29. So Nebuchadnezzar bound Jehoiakim 2 Chronicles 36:6; Daniel 1:2 “in fetters to carry him to Babylon;” then, on his submission made him for three years a tributary king...

EXPOSITION VERSE 1:1-2:20 PART I. JUDGMENT UPON THE EVIL, IN THE FORM OF A COLLOQUY BETWEEN THE PROPHET AND GOD. HABAKKUK 1:1 § 1. _The inscription of the book. _THE BURDEN (see note on Nahum 1:1). The prophet (Habakkuk 3:1). This title, which is added in the inscriptions only to the names of Haggai and Zechariah, and cursorily to that of Jeremiah (46, 47; 50.), implies that he exercised the pr

AND THEY SHALL SCOFF AT THE KINGS,.... Or, "he shall" u, Nebuchadnezzar king of the Chaldeans, and the army with him; who would make a jest of kings and their armies that should oppose them, as being not at all a match for them; as the kings of Judah, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, they carried captive, and all others confederate with them, in whom they trusted, as the king of Egypt particularly; and which is observed to show the vanity of trusting in princes for safety; though it may also include all other kings the Chaldeans fought against, and the kingdoms they invaded and subdued: AND THE PRINCES SHALL BE A SCORN UNTO THEM; the nobles, counsellors, and ministers of state; or leaders and commanders of armies, and general officers, in whom great confidence is often put; but these the king of Babylon and his forces would mock and laugh at, as being nothing in their hands, and who would fall a...

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS CHAPTER 1 The Judgment of Judah Through the Chaldeans Announced _ 1. The prophet's cry to Jehovah (Habakkuk 1:1) _ 2. The answer (Habakkuk 1:5) 3. The prophet's plea (Habakkuk 1:12) Habakkuk 1:1. The prophet begins his message with a prayer-cry to Jehovah. He whose name is “the embracer” embraces the Lord and cries to Him on account of the conditions prevailing in Judah. The Spirit of God stirred up the heart of Habakkuk on account of the moral conditions in Judah. He is jealous for Jehovah's glory, which manifested itself in hating the evil. “There is no prophetic

THE CHALDEANS AS MINISTERS OF DIVINE JUSTICE. In His answer Yahweh directly addresses the evil-doers, warning them that He is about to work a work in their days they would never have believed: He is raising against them the fierce and dreaded power of the Chaldeans, who are already carrying destruction to the ends of the earth, swooping from afar like eagles on the prey, gathering captives like the sand, scoffing at kings and princes, carrying fortresses with a rush, and making their strength a god. HABAKKUK 1:5. For _baggoyim_, among the nations, read _bog dim_, ye evil-doers (LXX). I WORK (ptcp.): _i.e._ I am just about to work. Habakkuk 1:6. bitter and hasty: rather, fierce and impetuous (vehement)....

THEM. it, as above (Habakkuk 1:6). heap DUST. heap up mounds. TAKE IT. capture it: i.e. every stronghold....