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New American Standard Bible
Habakkuk 2:5
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Moreover, wine betrays;an arrogant man is never at rest.He enlarges his appetite like Sheol,and like Death he is never satisfied.He gathers all the nations to himself;he collects all the peoples for himself.
Yes, moreover, wine is treacherous. A haughty man who doesn't stay at home, who enlarges his desire as She'ol, and he is like death, and can't be satisfied, but gathers to himself all nations, and heaps to himself all peoples.
Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth vnto him all nations, & heapeth vnto him all people:
Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:
"Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples."
"Just as wine can trick a person, those who are too proud will not last, because their desire is like a grave's desire for death, and like death they always want more. They gather other nations for themselves and collect for themselves all the countries.
"Moreover, wine is treacherous and betrays the arrogant man, So that he does not stay at home. His appetite is large like Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied. He gathers to himself all nations And collects to himself all peoples [as if he owned them].
Yea, in deede the proude man is as hee that transgresseth by wine: therefore shal he not endure, because he hath enlarged his desire as the hell, and is as death, and can not be satisfied, but gathereth vnto him all nations, and heapeth vnto him all people.
"Furthermore, wine betrays the haughty man, So that he does not stay at home. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied. He also gathers to himself all nations And collects to himself all peoples.
And indeed, wine betrays the haughty manSo that he does not stay at home.He enlarges his appetite like Sheol,And he is like death, never satisfied.He also gathers to himself all nationsAnd assembles to himself all peoples.
furthermore, wine betrays; an arrogant man is never at rest. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and like Death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all nations to himself and collects all the peoples as his own.
Wine is treacherous, and arrogant people are never satisfied. They are no less greedy than death itself— they open their mouths as wide as the world of the dead and swallow everyone.
Truly, wine is treacherous; the arrogant will not live at peace but keeps expanding his desires like Sh'ol; like death, he can never be satisfied; he keeps collecting all the nations for himself, rallying to himself all the peoples.
And moreover, the wine is treacherous: he is a proud man, and keepeth not at rest, he enlargeth his desire as Sheol, and he is like death and cannot be satisfied; and he assembleth unto him all nations, and gathereth unto him all peoples.
"Wine can trick a person. In the same way a strong man's pride can fool him, but he will not find peace. He is like death—he always wants more and more. And, like death, he will never be satisfied. He will continue to defeat other nations and to make those people his prisoners.
The arrogant and greedy man is never satisfied, because he has enlarged his appetite like Sheol; and like death, he has never enough, but gathers to him all peoples, and draws near to him all the nations.
Wealth is deceitful. Greedy people are proud and restless—like death itself they are never satisfied. That is why they conquer nation after nation for themselves.
How much less the defiant; the arrogant, treacherous man? He who broadens his throat like Sheol, and who, like death, is not satisfied, and who gathers to himself all the nations, and harvested for himself all the peoples, will not succeed.
And also, wine indeed betrays a proud man, and he dwells not at home ; who widens his soul like Sheol. And he is like death, and is not satisfied, but gathers all the nations to himself, and collects all the peoples to himself.
Yea, moreover, wine is treacherous, a haughty man, that keepeth not at home; who enlargeth his desire as Sheol, and he is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples.
A curse on the cruel and false one! the man full of pride, who never has enough; who makes his desires wide as the underworld! he is like death; he is never full, but he makes all nations come to him, getting all peoples together to himself.
Yea, moreover, wine is a treacherous dealer; the haughty man abideth not; he who enlargeth his desire as the nether-world, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples.
Yea in deede the proude man [is as] he that transgresseth by wine, therfore shall he not endure, because he hath enlarged his desire as the hell, & is as death, and can not be satisfied, but gathereth vnto him all nations, and heapeth vnto him all people.
But the arrogant man and the scorner, the boastful man, shall not finish anything; who has enlarged his desire as the grave, and like death he is never satisfied, and he will gather to himself all the nations, and will receive to himself all the peoples.
Yea, moreover, wine is a treacherous dealer, a haughty man, and that keepeth not at home; who enlargeth his desire as hell, and he is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples.
Yes, moreover, wine is treacherous. A haughty man who doesn't stay at home, who enlarges his desire as Sheol, and he is like death, and can't be satisfied, but gathers to himself all nations, and heaps to himself all peoples.
And as wyn disseyueth a man drynkynge, so schal the proude man be, and he schal not be maad feir; for as helle he alargide his soule, and he is as deth, and he is not fillid; and he schal gadere to hym alle folkis, and he shal kepe togidere to hym alle puplis.
And how much more arrogant is a traitor, a haughty [able-bodied] man, that does not keep at home; who enlarges his desire as Sheol, and he is as death, and can't be satisfied, but gathers to himself all nations, and heaps to himself all peoples.
Yes also, because he transgresseth by wine, [he is] a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire, as hell, and [is] as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth to him all nations, and collecteth to him all people:
Indeed, wine will betray the proud, restless man! His appetite is as big as Sheol's; like death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations; he seizes all peoples.
"Indeed, because he transgresses by wine,He is a proud man,And he does not stay at home.Because he enlarges his desire as hell, [fn] And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied,He gathers to himself all nationsAnd heaps up for himself all peoples.
Wealth is treacherous, and the arrogant are never at rest. They open their mouths as wide as the grave, and like death, they are never satisfied. In their greed they have gathered up many nations and swallowed many peoples.
"Also, wine fools the proud man, so he does not stay at home. He is like the grave who always wants more. Like death, he never has enough. He gathers all nations for himself, and gathers all people for his own.
Moreover, wealth is treacherous; the arrogant do not endure. They open their throats wide as Sheol; like Death they never have enough. They gather all nations for themselves, and collect all peoples as their own.
Moreover also, when wine betrayeth, a man, is arrogant, and findeth no rest, - because he hath enlarged, like hades, his desire, yea, he, is like death, and cannot be satisfied, - but hath gathered unto himself, all the nations, and assembled unto himself, all the peoples.
And as wine deceiveth him that drinketh it: so shall the proud man be, and he shall not be honoured: who hath enlarged his desire like hell: and is himself like death, and he is never satisfied: but will gather together unto him all nations, and heap together unto him all people.
Moreover, wine is treacherous; the arrogant man shall not abide. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations, and collects as his own all peoples."
And also, because the wine [is] treacherous, A man is haughty, and remaineth not at home, Who hath enlarged as sheol his soul, And is as death that is not satisfied, And doth gather unto itself all the nations, And doth assemble unto itself all the peoples,
Like as the wyne disceaueth the dronckarde, euen so the proude shal fayle & not endure. He openeth his desyre wyde vp as the hell, & is as vnsaciable as death. All Heithen gathereth he to him, & heapeth vnto him all people.
"Note well: Money deceives. The arrogant rich don't last. They are more hungry for wealth than the grave is for cadavers. Like death, they always want more, but the ‘more' they get is dead bodies. They are cemeteries filled with dead nations, graveyards filled with corpses. Don't give people like this a second thought. Soon the whole world will be taunting them: "‘Who do you think you are— getting rich by stealing and extortion? How long do you think you can get away with this?' Indeed, how long before your victims wake up, stand up and make you the victim? You've plundered nation after nation. Now you'll get a taste of your own medicine. All the survivors are out to plunder you, a payback for all your murders and massacres. "Who do you think you are— recklessly grabbing and looting, Living it up, acting like king of the mountain, acting above it all, above trials and troubles? You've engineered the ruin of your own house. In ruining others you've ruined yourself. You've undermined your foundations, rotted out your own soul. The bricks of your house will speak up and accuse you. The woodwork will step forward with evidence. "Who do you think you are— building a town by murder, a city with crime? Don't you know that God -of-the-Angel-Armies makes sure nothing comes of that but ashes, Makes sure the harder you work at that kind of thing, the less you are? Meanwhile the earth fills up with awareness of God 's glory as the waters cover the sea. "Who do you think you are— inviting your neighbors to your drunken parties, Giving them too much to drink, roping them into your sexual orgies? You thought you were having the time of your life. Wrong! It's a time of disgrace. All the time you were drinking, you were drinking from the cup of God's wrath. You'll wake up holding your throbbing head, hung over— hung over from Lebanon violence, Hung over from animal massacres, hung over from murder and mayhem, From multiple violations of place and people. "What's the use of a carved god so skillfully carved by its sculptor? What good is a fancy cast god when all it tells is lies? What sense does it make to be a pious god-maker who makes gods that can't even talk? Who do you think you are— saying to a stick of wood, ‘Wake up,' Or to a dumb stone, ‘Get up'? Can they teach you anything about anything? There's nothing to them but surface. There's nothing on the inside. "But oh! God is in his holy Temple! Quiet everyone—a holy silence. Listen!"
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Yea also: or, How much more
he transgresseth: Proverbs 20:1, Proverbs 23:29-33, Proverbs 31:4, Proverbs 31:5, Isaiah 5:11, Isaiah 5:12, Isaiah 5:22, Isaiah 5:23, Isaiah 21:5, Jeremiah 51:39, Daniel 5:1-4, Daniel 5:23, Nahum 1:9, Nahum 1:10
a proud man: Habakkuk 2:4, Psalms 138:6, Proverbs 30:13, Proverbs 30:14, Isaiah 2:11, Isaiah 2:12, Isaiah 2:17, Isaiah 16:6, Jeremiah 50:29, Daniel 5:20-23, James 4:6
keepeth: 2 Kings 14:10, 1 Thessalonians 4:11,*Gr.
who: Isaiah 5:8, Isaiah 10:7-13
as hell: Proverbs 27:20, Proverbs 30:15, Proverbs 30:16, Ecclesiastes 5:10
gathereth: Habakkuk 2:8-10, Isaiah 14:16, Isaiah 14:17, Jeremiah 25:9, Jeremiah 25:17-29
Reciprocal: Ecclesiastes 4:8 - is his Isaiah 5:14 - hell Isaiah 10:14 - And my Isaiah 33:1 - thee that Isaiah 47:8 - I am Jeremiah 43:2 - all the Jeremiah 50:1 - against Babylon Jeremiah 50:31 - O thou Jeremiah 51:13 - abundant Daniel 4:30 - Is not Daniel 5:19 - that he Daniel 7:4 - lifted Hosea 12:8 - I have Amos 1:13 - ripped up the women with child Micah 2:2 - they covet Micah 6:10 - the treasures Habakkuk 1:9 - for Habakkuk 1:17 - and 2 Corinthians 6:11 - our heart James 4:2 - lust Revelation 6:8 - was Death
Cross-References
Out of the ground the LORD God caused every tree to grow that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there as well.
therefore the LORD God sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.
And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground.
"When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth."
"He gives rain on the earth, And sends water on the fields,
He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the labor of mankind, So that they may produce food from the earth,
He causes the mist to ascend from the ends of the earth, He makes lightning for the rain; He brings forth the wind from His treasuries.
Are there any among the idols of the nations who give rain? Or can the heavens grant showers? Is it not You, LORD our God? Therefore we wait for You, For You are the one who has done all these things.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine,.... Or rather, "how much less" or "more o, wine dealing treacherously": or "a man of wine", as Aben Ezra supplies it; that is, a winebibber, as Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it: and the sense in connection with the preceding verse Habakkuk 2:4 is, if a Jew, elated with his works of righteousness, his soul is not right in him, "how much less" a drunken, treacherous, proud, and ambitious heathen? if the Scribes and Pharisees, who expected the coming of the Messiah, yet withdrew from him, and opposed themselves unto him when come, "how much more" will such persons set themselves against him and his interest, thus described? by whom are meant, not the Babylonian monarchs, Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar and the Chaldeans, as usually interpreted, though there are many things in the account applicable to them; but this is breaking the thread of the prophecy, which carries on the account of the enemies of Christ, and of his kingdom, from his first to his second coming; whereas to interpret this prophecy of the Chaldeans is to go back to times before the first coming of Christ; nor does it seem necessary to say anything more concerning them, since the people of God might be satisfied that these would be in their turn destroyed, and they delivered from them; and that they, the Jews, could not be cut off as a people, since the promise of the Messiah, as springing from them, is firmly established; and it is so strongly asserted, that he should come at the appointed time, and not tarry: after which the prophet goes on to observe two different sorts of people among the Jews; one sort proud and vain glorious, who opposed themselves to Christ when he came; the other sort true believers in him, who lived by faith upon him: so things would stand among the Jews when Christ came, and so they did; there was a separation among them on his account: next the prophet proceeds to observe another sort of enemies to Christ and his interest among the heathens, which was not to be wondered at, and therefore introduced by a comparative particle, "how much more" or "less"; and who must be removed to make way for his kingdom and glory in the latter day, manifestly pointed at in Habakkuk 2:14 now who can these be but the Romans, both Pagan and Papal in succession? and with these and their rulers, civil and ecclesiastical, do the characters given as well agree as with the Babylonian monarchy, and the Chaldeans, or better and therefore, after Cocceius and Van Till I shall choose to interpret the whole of them; and it is well known that several of the Roman emperors were greatly given to luxury and intemperance, the first character they stand described by in the text. Tiberius was greatly addicted to this vice; and, because of his greediness after wine p, used to be called Biberius Caldius Mero, instead of Tiberius Claudius Nero; his successor Caligula spent the immense riches Tiberius had gathered together in less than a year's time in luxury and intemperance q; and Claudius, that succeeded him, scarce ever went out of his doors but he was drunk r; and Nero, who came after him to the empire, was of unusual luxury and sumptuousness, as the historian says s; he used to keep on his banquets from the middle of the day to the middle of the night t; to say nothing of Domitian, Commodus, and other emperors that followed after them: and these men were deceitful and treacherous, both to their friends and enemies; and it is no wonder that such as these should oppose themselves to the kingdom and interest of Christ, as they did. Kimchi interprets this of Nebuchadnezzar; and Jarchi of Belshazzar; and most interpreters think it refers to his drinking in the vessels of the temple, Daniel 5:2:
[he is] a proud man; the Roman emperors were excessively proud, like the unjust judge, neither feared God, nor regarded man; nay, set up themselves for gods, and required divine worship to be given them. Caius Caligula claimed divine majesty to himself, and set himself up to be worshipped among his brother gods; he built a temple to his own deity, and appointed priests and sacrifices; and placed a golden image of himself in it, and clothed it every day with such a garment as he himself wore u; he also set up his own image in the temple at Jerusalem. Nero suffered himself to be called lord and god by Tiridates king of the Armenians, with bended knees, and hands lift up to heaven. Domitian and Aurelianus took the same titles as Nero did; and Dioclesian would be worshipped as a god, and called himself the brother of the sun and moon; and no marvel that such men as these should be enemies to Christ, and persecutors of his people:
neither keepeth at home; or "dwells not in the fold" w; in the sheepfold of Christ, in his church, being none of his sheep, an alien from the commonwealth of Israel; and so it denotes a infidel, an heathen; a fit character for the Pagan emperors, who had no habitation in the house of God. Kimchi interprets it of Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom not being continued; or of his being driven from his habitation, his palace, from among men, to live with beasts; but it is the character, and not the punishment, of the person that is here pointed at:
who enlargeth his desire as hell, and [is] as death, and cannot be satisfied; death and the grave, though such vast numbers are continually slain by the one, and laid in the other, yet are never satisfied; see Proverbs 27:20. This describes the insatiable thirst of the Roman emperors after honour, riches, and universal monarchy; who were never satisfied with what they obtained:
but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people; that is, subdued them, and made them provinces of the Roman empire, and tributary to it, even almost all the then known world; hence the Roman empire is called the whole world, Luke 2:1 so Agrippa, in his orations to the Jews, mentions all nations as subject to the Romans x.
o ×××£ ×× "quanto magis", Calvin, Drusius, Tarnovius, Cocceius, Van Till, Burkius. p Suetonius in Vita Tiberii, c. 42. q Ib. Vita Caligulae, c. 37. r Ib. Vita Claudii, c. 33. s Eutrop. Hist. Rom. l. 7. t Suetonius in Vita Neronis, c. 27. u Suetonius in Vita Caligulae, c. 22. w ××× ×× ×× "qui non habitat; quod de mansionibus ovium imprimius dicitur", Cocceius; "qui non inhabitat grata", Van Till. x Apud Joseph de Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 16. sect. 4.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
This general rule the prophet goes on to apply in words which belong in part to all oppressors and in the first instance to the Chaldaean, in part yet more fully to the end and to antichrist. âYea also, because he transgresseth by wineâ (or better, âYea, how much more, since wine is a deceiver , as Solomon says, Proverbs 20:1, âWine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever erreth thereby shall not be wise;â and Proverbs 23:32, âIn the end it biteth like a serpent and pierceth like an adder;â and Hosea Hosea 4:11, âWhoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.â As wine at first gladdens, then deprives of all reason, and lays a man open to any deceit, so also pride. And whereas all pride deceives, how much more , when people are either heated and excited by the abuse of Godâs natural gifts, or drunken with prosperity and hurried away, as conquerors are, to all excess of cruelty or lust to fulfill their own will, and neglect the laws of God and man.
Literal drunkenness was a sin of the Babylonians under the Persian rule, so that even a pagan says of Babylon, âNothing can be more corrupt than the manners of that city, and more provided with all to rouse and entice immoderate pleasures;â and âthe Babylonians give themselves wholly to wine, and the things which follow upon drunkenness.â It was when flushed with wine, that Belshazzar, with his princes his wives and his concubines, desecrated the sacred vessels, insulted God in honor of his idols, and in the night of his excess âwas slain.â Pride blinded, deceived, destroyed him. It was the general drunkenness of the inhabitants, at that same feast, which enabled Cyrus, with a handful of men, to penetrate, by means of its river, the city which, with its provisions for many years and its impregnable walls, mocked at his siege. He calculated beforehand on its feast and the consequent dissolution of its inhabitants; but for this, in the language of the pagan historian, he would have been caught âas in a trap,â his soldiery drowned.
He is a proud man, neither keepeth at home. - It is difficult to limit the force of the rare Hebrew word rendered âkeep at home;â for one may cease to dwell or abide at home either with his will or without it; and, as in the case of invaders, the one may he the result of the other. He who would take away the home of others becomes, by Godâs Providence, himself homeless. The context implies that the primary meaning is the restlessness of ambition; which abides not at home, for his whole pleasure is to go forth to destroy. Yet there sounds, as it were, an undertone, âhe would not abide in his home and he shall not.â We could scarcely avoid the further thought, could we translate by a word which does not determine the sense, âhe will not home,â âhe will not continue at home.â The words have seemed to different minds to mean either; as they may . Such fullness of meaning is the contrary of the ambiguity of pagan oracles; they are not alternative meanings, which might be justified in either case, but cumlative, the one on the other. The ambitious part with present rest for future loss. Nebuchadnezzar lost his kingdom and his reason through pride, received them back when he humbled himself; Belshazzar, being proud and impenitent, lost both his kingdom and life.
Who enlargeth his desire - literally, his soul. The soul becomes like what it loves. The ambitious man is, as we say, âall ambition;â the greedy man, âall appetite;â the cruel man, âall savagery;â the vain-glorious, âall vain glory.â The ruling passion absorbs the whole being. It is his end, the one object of his thoughts, hopes, fears. So, as we speak of âlargeness of heart,â which can embrace in its affections all varieties of human interests, whatever affects man, and âlargeness of mindâ uncramped by narrowing prejudices, the prophet speaks of this âambitious man widening his soul,â or, as we should speak, âappetite,â so that the whole world is not too large for him to long to grasp or to devour. So the Psalmist prays not to be delivered into the murderous desire of his enemies (Psalms 27:12; Compare Psalms 41:3 (Psalms 41:2 in English); Ezek. 26:27) (literally their soul,) and Isaiah, with a metaphor almost too bold for our language Isaiah 5:14, âHell hath enlarged her soul, and opened her mouth beyond measure.â It devours, as it were, first in its cravings, then in act.
As hell - which is insatiable Proverbs 30:15. He saith, âenlargethâ; for as hell and the grave are year by year fuller, yet there is no end, the desire âenlargethâ and becometh wider, the more is given to it to satisfy it.
And (he) is (himself) as death - o, sparing none. Our poetry would speak of a destroyer as being âlike the angel of death;â his presence, as the presence of death itself. Where he is, there is death. He is as terrible and as destroying as the death which follows him.
And cannot be satisfied - Even human proverbs say (Juv. Sat. xiv. 139): âThe love of money groweth as much as the money itself groweth.â âThe avaricious is ever needy.â Ecclesiastes 5:10 : âhe that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver.â For these fleeting things cannot satisfy the undying soul. It must hunger still; for it has not found what will allay its cravings .
But gathereth - literally, âAnd hath gatheredâ - He describes it, for the rapidity with which he completes what he longs for, as though it were already done.
Unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people - One is still the subject of the prophecy, rising up at successive times, fulfilling it and passing away, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, Attila, Timur, Genghizchan, Hunneric, scourges of God, all deceived by pride, all sweeping the earth, all in their ambition and wickedness the unknowing agents and images of the evil One, who seeks to bring the whole world under his rule. But shall it prosper?
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 5. Because he transgresseth by wine — From the present translation, it is not easy to see either reason or meaning in the first clause of this verse. Newcome translates, "Moreover, as a mighty man transgresseth through wine, he is proud, and remaineth not at rest." Houbigant thus: "For he, though he be a despiser, and powerful, and proud, yet shall he not have rest."
Nebuchadnezzar is here represented in his usual character, proud, haughty, and ambitious; inebriated with his successes, and determined on more extensive conquests; and, like the grave, can never have enough: yet, after the subjugation of many peoples and nations, he shall be brought down, and become so despicable that he shall be a proverb of reproach, and be taunted and scorned by all those whom he had before enslaved.
And cannot be satisfied — When he has obtained all that is within his reach, he wishes for more; and becomes miserable, because any limits are opposed to his insatiable ambition. It is said of Alexander: -
Unus Pellaeo juveni non sufficit orbis;
AEstuat infelix angusto limite mundi.
Juv. Sat. x. 168.
One world sufficed not Alexander's mind;
Coop'd up, he seem'd on earth and seas confined.
And the poet justly ridicules him, because at last the sarcophagus was found too large for his body!
