God’s Word Translation
Habakkuk 1:17
17Will they keep on emptying their nets and always kill nations without mercy?
Habakkuk 1:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
- New International Version (NIV)Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Shall they therefore empty their net, And continue to slay nations without pity?
Context of Habakkuk 1:17
15The Babylonians pull them all up with fishhooks, drag them away in nets, and gather them in dragnets. So they rejoice and are happy. 16That is why they sacrifice to their nets and burn incense to their dragnets. They are rich and well fed because of them. Will they keep on emptying their nets and always kill nations without mercy?
Read all of Habakkuk 1Habakkuk 1:17 word by word
הַ֥עַל כֵּ֖ן יָרִ֣יק חֶרְמ֑וֹ וְתָמִ֛יד לַהֲרֹ֥ג גּוֹיִ֖ם לֹ֥א יַחְמֽוֹל׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Habakkuk 1:17
- Habakkuk 1:9They will all come for violence. Every face will be directed forward. They will gather prisoners like sand.
- Habakkuk 2:5Also because wine is treacherous he is arrogant and never rests. He has a large appetite like the grave. He is like death—never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself. He collects all the people to himself.
- Isaiah 14:16Those who see you stare at you; they look at you closely and say, “Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook the kingdoms,
- Jeremiah 25:9so I’m going to send for all the families from the north. I will also send for my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, declares the Lord. I will bring the families from the north to attack this land, its people, and all these surrounding nations. I’m going to destroy them and turn them into something terrible, something ridiculed, and something permanently ruined.
- Jeremiah 46:1The Lord spoke this message to the prophet Jeremiah about the nations.
- Jeremiah 52:1Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.
- Ezekiel 25:1The Lord spoke his word to me. He said,
Commentaries on Habakkuk 1:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17And not spare continually to slay the nation? - They are running from conquest to conquest; burning, slaying, sacking, and slaughtering. Like the fishermen, who throw cast after cast while any fish are to be caught, so Nebuchadnezzar is destroying one nation after another. This last sentence explains the allegory of the net.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations? - The prophet, like Isaiah Isaiah 18:4-5, stands at the very last point, before the fury and desire of the enemy was fulfilled. People, like fish, were gathered together for a prey; he who had taken them was rejoicing and exulting beforehand in his booty; his portion and meat were the choice of the earth; the prophet leeks on, as it were, and beholds the net full; there…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-17Verses 12-17 However matters may be, yet God is the Lord our God, our Holy One. We are an offending people, he is an offended God, yet we will not entertain hard thoughts of him, or of his service. It is great comfort that, whatever mischief men design, the Lord designs good, and we are sure that his counsel shall stand. Though wickedness may prosper a while, yet God is holy, and does not approve the wickedness. As he cannot do iniquity himself, so he is…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-17Habakkuk struggled to understand how God's answer in Habakkuk 1:5–11 fit with God's character. How could a holy and just God punish Judah using a people more unrighteous than they were?Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. Shall they ... empty their net?--Shall they be allowed without interruption to enjoy the fruits of their violence? therefore--seeing that they attribute all their successes to themselves, and not to Thee. The answer to the prophet's question, he by inspiration gives himself in the second chapter.Read the comment
Topics related to Habakkuk 1:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Habakkuk 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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