New King James Version
Habakkuk 2:5
5“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, And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied, He gathers to himself all nations And heaps up for himself all peoples.
Habakkuk 2:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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:
- New International Version (NIV)indeed, wine betrays him; he is arrogant and never at rest. Because he is as greedy as the grave and like death is never satisfied, he gathers to himself all the nations and takes captive all the peoples.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"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."
- New Living Translation (NLT)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.
Context of Habakkuk 2:5
3For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. 4“Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith. “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, And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied, He gathers to himself all nations And heaps up for himself all peoples. 6“Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And a taunting riddle against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases What is not his—how long? And to him who loads himself with many pledges’? 7Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty.
Read all of Habakkuk 2Habakkuk 2:5 word by word
וְאַף֙ כִּֽי־הַיַּ֣יִן בּוֹגֵ֔ד גֶּ֥בֶר יָהִ֖יר וְלֹ֣א יִנְוֶ֑ה אֲשֶׁר֩ הִרְחִ֨יב כִּשְׁא֜וֹל נַפְשׁ֗וֹ וְה֤וּא כַמָּ֙וֶת֙ וְלֹ֣א יִשְׂבָּ֔ע וַיֶּאֱסֹ֤ף אֵלָיו֙ כָּל־הַגּוֹיִ֔ם וַיִּקְבֹּ֥ץ אֵלָ֖יו כָּל־הָעַמִּֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Yea also, because he transgressethבָּגַדbâgad · to act treacherouslyH898
- by wineיַ֫יִןyayin · wineH3196
- a proudיָהִירyâhîyr · proudH3093
- manגָּבֶרgeber · great manH1397
- neither keepeth at homeנָוָהnâvâh · to dwellH5115
- who enlargethרָחַבrâchab · to enlargeH7337
- his desireנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: appetiteH5315
- as hellשְׁאוֹלshe'ôl she'ôl · hell: SheolH7585
- as deathמָ֫וֶתmâveth · deathH4194
- and cannot be satisfiedשָׂבֵעַώâba‛ ώâbêa‛ · to satisfyH7646
- but gatherethאָסַף'âsaph · to gatherH622
- unto him all nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- and heapethקָבַץqâbats · to gatherH6908
- unto him all peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
Cross-references for Habakkuk 2:5
- Proverbs 20:1Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
- Proverbs 23:29Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?
- Proverbs 31:4It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes intoxicating drink;
- Isaiah 5:11Woe to those who rise early in the morning, That they may follow intoxicating drink; Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!
- Isaiah 21:5Prepare the table, Set a watchman in the tower, Eat and drink. Arise, you princes, Anoint the shield!
- Jeremiah 51:39In their excitement I will prepare their feasts; I will make them drunk, That they may rejoice, And sleep a perpetual sleep And not awake,” says the Lord.
- Daniel 5:1Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand.
- Nahum 1:9What do you conspire against the Lord? He will make an utter end of it. Affliction will not rise up a second time.
- Habakkuk 2:4“Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.
- Psalms 138:6Though the Lord is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar.
- Proverbs 30:13There is a generation—oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up.
- Isaiah 2:11The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
- Isaiah 16:6We have heard of the pride of Moab— He is very proud— Of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath; But his lies shall not be so.
- Jeremiah 50:29“Call together the archers against Babylon. All you who bend the bow, encamp against it all around; Let none of them escape. Repay her according to her work; According to all she has done, do to her; For she has been proud against the Lord, Against the Holy One of Israel.
- Daniel 5:20But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him.
- James 4:6But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
Commentaries on Habakkuk 2:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Because 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…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5This 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. “Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine” (or better, “Yea, how much more, since wine is a deceiver, as Solomon says, Proverbs 20:1, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever erreth thereby shall not be wise;” and Proverbs 23:32, “In the end it…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-14Verses 5-14 The prophet reads the doom of all proud and oppressive powers that bear hard upon God's people. The lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, are the entangling snares of men; and we find him that led Israel captive, himself led captive by each of these. No more of what we have is to be reckoned ours, than what we come honestly by. Riches are but clay, thick clay; what are gold and silver but white and yellow earth? Those…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-5Habakkuk's mission was to tell people that God's justice may seem slow, but it will definitely come.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. Yea also, because--additional reason why the Jews may look for God punishing their Chaldean foe, namely, because ... he is a proud man--rather, this clause continues the reason for the Jews expecting the punishment of the Chaldeans, "because he transgresseth by wine (a besetting sin of Babylon, compare Da 5:1-31, and Curtius [5.1]), being a proud man." Love of wine often begets a proud contempt of divine things, as in Belshazzar's case, which was the…Read the comment
Topics related to Habakkuk 2:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Habakkuk 2
- 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries