Habakuk 2:8

2:8 Because you robbed many countries, ¹ 

all who are left among the nations ²  will rob you.

You have shed human blood

and committed violent acts against lands, cities, ³  and those who live in them.

Habakuk 2:17

2:17 For you will pay in full for your violent acts against Lebanon; ⁴ 

terrifying judgment will come upon you because of the way you destroyed the wild animals living there. ⁵ 

You have shed human blood

and committed violent acts against lands, cities, and those who live in them.

Habakuk 1:6

1:6 Look, I am about to empower ⁶  the Babylonians,

that ruthless ⁷  and greedy ⁸  nation.

They sweep across the surface ⁹  of the earth,

seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.

Habakuk 2:5

2:5 Indeed, wine will betray the proud, restless man! ¹⁰ 

His appetite ¹¹  is as big as Sheol’s; ¹² 

like death, he is never satisfied.

He gathers ¹³  all the nations;

he seizes ¹⁴  all peoples.

[2:8]  ¹ tn Or “nations.”

[2:8]  ² tn Or “peoples.”

[2:8]  ³ tn Heb “because of the shed blood of humankind and violence against land, city.” The singular forms אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”) and קִרְיָה (qiryah, “city”) are collective, referring to all the lands and cities terrorized by the Babylonians.

[2:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “for the violence against Lebanon will cover you.”

[2:17]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew appears to read literally, “and the violence against the animals [which] he terrified.” The verb form יְחִיתַן (yÿkhitan) appears to be a Hiphil imperfect third masculine singular with third feminine plural suffix (the antecedent being the animals) from חָתַת (khatat, “be terrified”). The translation above follows the LXX and assumes a reading יְחִתֶּךָ (yÿkhittekha, “[the violence against the animals] will terrify you”; cf. NRSV “the destruction of the animals will terrify you”; NIV “and your destruction of animals will terrify you”). In this case the verb is a Hiphil imperfect third masculine singular with second masculine singular suffix (the antecedent being Babylon). This provides better symmetry with the preceding line, where Babylon’s violence is the subject of the verb “cover.”

[2:17]  sn The language may anticipate Nebuchadnezzar’s utilization of trees from the Lebanon forest in building projects. Lebanon and its animals probably represent the western Palestinian states conquered by the Babylonians.

[1:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “raise up” (so KJV, ASV).

[1:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “bitter.” Other translation options for this word in this context include “fierce” (NASB, NRSV); “savage” (NEB); or “grim.”

[1:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “hasty, quick.” Some translate here “impetuous” (so NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “rash,” but in this context greed may very well be the idea. The Babylonians move quickly and recklessly ahead in their greedy quest to expand their empire.

[1:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “the open spaces.”

[2:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Indeed wine betrays a proud man and he does not dwell.” The meaning of the last verb, “dwell,” is uncertain. Many take it as a denominative of the noun נָוָה (navah, “dwelling place”). In this case it would carry the idea, “he does not settle down,” and would picture the drunkard as restless (cf. NIV “never at rest”; NASB “does not stay at home”). Some relate the verb to an Arabic cognate and translate the phrase as “he will not succeed, reach his goal.”

[2:5]  sn The Babylonian tyrant is the proud, restless man described in this line as the last line of the verse, with its reference to the conquest of the nations, makes clear. Wine is probably a metaphor for imperialistic success. The more success the Babylonians experience, the more greedy they become just as a drunkard wants more and more wine to satisfy his thirst. But eventually this greed will lead to their downfall, for God will not tolerate such imperialism and will judge the Babylonians appropriately (vv. 6-20).

[2:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “who opens wide like Sheol his throat.” Here נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is understood in a physical sense, meaning “throat,” which in turn is figurative for the appetite. See H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 11-12.

[2:5]  ¹² sn Sheol is the proper name of the subterranean world which was regarded as the land of the dead. In ancient Canaanite thought Death was a powerful god whose appetite was never satisfied. In the OT Sheol/Death, though not deified, is personified as greedy and as having a voracious appetite. See Prov 30:15-16; Isa 5:14; also see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 168.

[2:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “he gathers for himself.”

[2:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he collects for himself.”