Habakkuk 2:6

Habakkuk 2:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!
• New International Version (NIV)“Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying, “ ‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion! How long must this go on?’
• English Standard Version (ESV)Shall not all these take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say, "Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own— for how long?— and loads himself with pledges!"
• New Living Translation (NLT)“But soon their captives will taunt them. They will mock them, saying, ‘What sorrow awaits you thieves! Now you will get what you deserve! You’ve become rich by extortion, but how much longer can this go on?’

Context of Habakkuk 2:6

4“Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith. 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. “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. 8Because you have plundered many nations, All the remnant of the people shall plunder you, Because of men’s blood And the violence of the land and the city, And of all who dwell in it.

Habakkuk 2:6 word by word

הֲלוֹא־אֵ֣לֶּה כֻלָּ֗ם עָלָיו֙ מָשָׁ֣ל יִשָּׂ֔אוּ וּמְלִיצָ֖ה חִיד֣וֹת ל֑וֹ וְיֹאמַ֗ר ה֚וֹי הַמַּרְבֶּ֣ה לֹּא־ל֔וֹ עַד־מָתַ֕י וּמַכְבִּ֥יד עָלָ֖יו עַבְטִֽיט׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Shall not all these take upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: loudH5375
• a parableמָשָׁלmâshâl · proverbH4912
• against him, and a tauntingמְלִיצָהmelîytsâh · mockeryH4426
• proverbחִידָהchîydâh · riddleH2420
• against him, and sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Woeהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
• to him that increasethרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235
• not his! how long? and to him that ladethכָּבֵדkâbad kâbêd · to honor: heavyH3513
• himself with thick clayעַבְטִיט‛abţîyţ · debtH5671

Cross-references for Habakkuk 2:6

• Numbers 23:7And he took up his oracle and said: “Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, From the mountains of the east. ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!’
• Isaiah 14:4that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: “How the oppressor has ceased, The golden city ceased!
• Jeremiah 29:22And because of them a curse shall be taken up by all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire”;
• Jeremiah 50:13Because of the wrath of the Lord She shall not be inhabited, But she shall be wholly desolate. Everyone who goes by Babylon shall be horrified And hiss at all her plagues.
• Ezekiel 32:21The strong among the mighty Shall speak to him out of the midst of hell With those who help him: ‘They have gone down, They lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’
• Micah 2:4In that day one shall take up a proverb against you, And lament with a bitter lamentation, saying: ‘We are utterly destroyed! He has changed the heritage of my people; How He has removed it from me! To a turncoat He has divided our fields.’ ”
• Habakkuk 1:9“They all come for violence; Their faces are set like the east wind. They gather captives like sand.
• Job 20:15He swallows down riches And vomits them up again; God casts them out of his belly.
• Job 22:6For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason, And stripped the naked of their clothing.
• Proverbs 22:16He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches, And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.
• Jeremiah 51:34“Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon Has devoured me, he has crushed me; He has made me an empty vessel, He has swallowed me up like a monster; He has filled his stomach with my delicacies, He has spit me out.
• James 5:1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!
• Psalms 94:3Lord, how long will the wicked, How long will the wicked triumph?
• Luke 12:20But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
• 1 Corinthians 7:29But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none,
• 1 Peter 4:7But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.

Commentaries on Habakkuk 2:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Shall not all these take up a parable against him - His ambition, derangement, and the final destruction of his mighty empire by the Persians, shall form the foundation of many sententious sayings among the people. "He who towered so high, behold how low he is fallen!" "He made himself a god; behold, he herds with the beasts of the field!" "The disturber of the peace of the world is now a handful of dust!"Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him? - Nebuchadnezzar gathered, Daniel 3:4-5, “all people, nations, and languages, to worship the golden image which he had set up.” The second Babylon, pagan Rome, sought to blot out the very Christian Name; but mightier were the three children than the King of Babylon; mightier, virgins, martyrs, and children than Nero or Decius. These shall rejoice over Babylon, that…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. 6-8In the first of Habakkuk’s taunt songs, he condemns the Babylonians for plundering other nations. him who amasses what is not his and makes himself rich with many loans: The image compares the Babylonians to creditors (people who lend money) who demand harsh repayment. Their oppression causes those they exploit to rise up against them. Greed can damage the spiritual life of both individuals and nations (Luke 12:15; Ephesians 5:3).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. Shall not all these--the "nations" and "peoples" (Ha 2:5) "heaped unto him" by the Chaldean. take up a parable--a derisive song. Habakkuk follows Isaiah (Is 14:4) and Micah (Mi 2:4) in the phraseology. against him--when dislodged from his former eminence. Woe--The "derisive song" here begins, and continues to the end of the chapter. It is a symmetrical whole, and consists of five stanzas, the first three consisting of three verses each, the fourth of…Read the comment

Topics related to Habakkuk 2:6

• Ambition
• Covetousness
• Oppression
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Thick clay
• Blood
• Consult
• Proverb
• Put
• Teach
• Weary
• Wood
• Clay
• Figure

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