Zephaniah 3, Sing, Daughter Zion!

The countries surrounding Jerusalem have been called to repent before the approaching Day of the Lord. Now YHWH's focus turns to Judah.

Zephaniah 3:1-4, Decay of Jerusalem

Woe to the city of oppressors,

    rebellious and defiled!

She obeys no one,

    she accepts no correction.

She does not trust in the LORD,

    she does not draw near to her God.

Her officials within her are roaring lions;

her rulers are evening wolves,

    who leave nothing for the morning.

Her prophets are unprincipled;

    they are treacherous people.

Her priests profane the sanctuary

    and do violence to the law.

The leaders and priests of Jerusalem are decadent, depraved, rebellious. The rulers are described as predatory lions and wolves that leave nothing for the morning. Zephaniah's knowledge of these city leaders fits one who, as a descendant of King Hezekiah, presumably had access to royalty and power≥

Despite the evil in Jerusalem, it is notable that the text still identifies YHWH as "her God," that is, as personally concerned about His special city. (Verse 3 is similar to Ezekiel 22:27, another list of sins of the leaders of Jerusalem.)

Zephaniah 3:5, Justice, Morning by Morning

The LORD within her is righteous;

    he does no wrong.

Morning by morning he dispenses his justice,

    and every new day he does not fail,

    yet the unrighteous know no shame.

Despite the evil in the city, YHWH is righteous and dispenses justice. Implied here is praise of YHWH for being righteous. Unlike the rulers mentioned above, YHWH acts each morning to provide justice.

Zephaniah 3:6-7, Is Judah any different?

“I have destroyed nations;

    their strongholds are demolished.

I have left their streets deserted,

    with no one passing through.

Their cities are laid waste;

    they are deserted and empty.

Of Jerusalem I thought,

    ‘Surely you will fear me and accept correction!’

Then her place of refuge would not be destroyed,

    nor all my punishments come upon her.

But they were still eager to act corruptly in all they did.

Written in first person, YHWH expresses His disappointment in Judah. The other nations have been judged and will be demolished. But surely Jerusalem would have been faithful! But they have not been....

Zephaniah 3:8, Wait for me

Therefore wait for me,”

    declares the LORD,

    “for the day I will stand up to testify.

I have decided to assemble the nations,

    to gather the kingdoms

and to pour out my wrath on them—

    all my fierce anger.

The whole world will be consumed

    by the fire of my jealous anger.

All the nations, even Judah, will be judged and consumed. Those who follow YHWH will need to "wait" for His actions. (This waiting is especially difficult for frail mortal humans!)

Walker (p. 559) says that the Masoretes, the ancient Jewish scribes who copied the Masoretic text, noted that verse 8 here is the only verse in the Old Testament that includes all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, including final forms -- except for shin with the dot on the left. (This observation says something about the obsession the scribes had regarding copying the ancient text!)

This ends the second portion of Zephaniah. The third portion, the last twelve verses, is on purification and restoration.

Zephaniah 3:9-13, A remnant

“Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,

    that all of them may call on the name of the LORD

    and serve him shoulder to shoulder.

From beyond the rivers of Cush

    my worshipers, my scattered people,

    will bring me offerings.

On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame

    for all the wrongs you have done to me,

because I will remove from you your arrogant boasters.

Never again will you be haughty on my holy hill.

But I will leave within you the meek and humble.

The remnant of Israel will trust in the name of the LORD.

They will do no wrong;

    they will tell no lies.

A deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouths.

They will eat and lie down

    and no one will make them afraid.”

The third portion of the scroll of Zephaniah moves on to a future day in which a remnant will be called to Israel from far away, from "beyond the rivers of Cush." (In the ANE, this is the ends of the earth!) In that future day, Jerusalem will be the home of the humble, of those who trust in YHWH.

As Motyer points out (p. 953), the passage ends with an ANE "pastoral motif that abounds throughout the Bible." Peace is represented by flocks settling down quietly to graze and rest. The pain will end; Eden will be restored.

Zephaniah 3:14-17, Sing! 

Sing, Daughter Zion; 

shout aloud, Israel!

Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!

The LORD has taken away your punishment,

    he has turned back your enemy.

The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;

    never again will you fear any harm.

 

On that day they will say to Jerusalem,

“Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp.

The LORD your God is with you,

    the Mighty Warrior who saves.

He will take great delight in you;

    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,

    but will rejoice over you with singing.”

The first verse in thus passage addresses Zion (Jerusalem), Israel and then back to Jerusalem, in three parts, addressing all of the nation. In that day, the residents of Jerusalem will sing and shout with joy.  Indeed, even YHWH will sing!

Zephaniah 3:18-20, Honor for the exiles and the lame

“I will remove from you all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,

    which is a burden and reproach for you.

At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you.

I will rescue the lame;

I will gather the exiles.

I will give them praise and honor

    in every land where they have suffered shame.

At that time I will gather you;

    at that time I will bring you home.

I will give you honor and praise

    among all the peoples of the earth

when I restore your fortunes

    before your very eyes,”

says the LORD.

The first line of verse 18, above,  is a strange one. Motyer argues that it is aimed at the people who go to the religious feasts but do not observe them in their hearts. The feasts are a burden they would like to ignore. A century before, the prophet Amos (Amos 8:3-6) singled out exactly those individuals.

The people of Israel will be rescued from their oppressors. The "lame" (physically disabled) and the "exiles" (the outcasts) will have their fortunes restored. The promised rescue in verse 19 is then repeated with emphasis in verse 20. 

These final twelve verses look forward to a joyous remnant. With this promise, the prophecy of Zephaniah ends.

Some Random Thoughts

Some argue that "goodness" or "righteousness" are attributes of God by definition -- that is, to act with righteousness is to merely act as God desires. Yet Old Testament passages like verse 5, above, are intended to praise God for being righteous, as if righteousness was an independent attribute. A follower of God might ask, 

From where does righteousness come? 

This is not an easy philosophical question for Christians or for deists in general. Indeed the Greeks of Plato's time asked that question and gave it a name: The Euthypro Dilemma.

Regardless of the origin of righteousness, the followers of YHWH are told to Wait, to wait for a reversal of the Fall and the appearance of a new Eden. (See Revelation 21-22 for a New Testament version of this future day.)

Zephaniah 2, Judgment in Four Directions

Chapter 1 described a future dark day of judgment. Before that Day, Judah and her neighbors are called to repent. That message continues into the first three verses of chapter 2.

Zephaniah 2:1-3, Judah to seek God

Gather together, gather yourselves together,

    you shameful nation, 

before the decree takes effect

    and that day passes like windblown chaff,

before the LORD’s fierce anger comes upon you,

before the day of the LORD’s wrath comes upon you.

Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land,

    you who do what he commands.

Seek righteousness, seek humility;

    perhaps you will be sheltered

    on the day of the LORD’s anger.

The message of Chapter 1 ends with a call for Judah to turn to God and seek him in humility. Perhaps the people of Judah will be sheltered from His justice.

The repetitive "gather together" provides an emphasis; the first stich of chapter 2, translated into five English words by the NIV, is merely two words in Hebrew, each derivations of qashash. Further emphasis occurs in verse 3 with repetition of "Seek!"

After verse 3, above, there is a break in the book of Zephaniah. The prophet now looks at the countries around Judah, touching on all four points of the compass, west, east, south, north. Although the following passage list particular neighbors of Judah, it is likely that these nations also represent all the nations of the earth, in all directions.

Zephaniah 2:4-7, Philistia must repent

Gaza will be abandoned

    and Ashkelon left in ruins.

At midday Ashdod will be emptied

    and Ekron uprooted.

Woe to you who live by the sea, you Kerethite people;

the word of the LORD is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines.

He says, “I will destroy you, and none will be left.”

The land by the sea will become pastures

    having wells for shepherds

    and pens for flocks.

That land will belong

    to the remnant of the people of Judah;

    there they will find pasture.

In the evening they will lie down in the houses of Ashkelon.

The LORD their God will care for them; he will restore their fortunes.

The land of the Philistines, west of Judah along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, will also face judgment. In 1 Samuel 6:17, Philistia is represented by five towns: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. Here Gath is left out. Most likely Philistia represents the western nations, one of the four points of the compass and the four towns described here represent, in a similar manner, the land of the Philistines, moving from north to south (Motyer, p. 931.) 

Eventually the land to the west is given (says Zephaniah) to the remnant of Judah. The destruction of all nations (beginning in 1:2) is modified by a hint of a surviving remnant. That hint will bloom into an explicit promise in the last portion of this book.

Zephaniah 2:8-11, Moab and Ammon

“I have heard the insults of Moab

    and the taunts of the Ammonites,

who insulted my people

    and made threats against their land.

Therefore, as surely as I live,”

    declares the LORD Almighty,

    the God of Israel,

“surely Moab will become like Sodom,

    the Ammonites like Gomorrah—

a place of weeds and salt pits,

    a wasteland forever.

The remnant of my people will plunder them;

    the survivors of my nation will inherit their land.”

 

This is what they will get in return for their pride,

    for insulting and mocking

    the people of the LORD Almighty.

The LORD will be awesome to them

    when he destroys all the gods of the earth.

Distant nations will bow down to him,

    all of them in their own lands.

Moab and Ammon, to the east of Judah, will also be judged. The ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, probably to the southeast of the Dead Sea, represented past judgments by YHWH. The judgments on Moab and Ammon are then linked to these ancient towns. 

As Motyer points out (p. 947), once again there is the "tease" of a future hope for Israel, in the mention (verse 11) of a remnant of Israel, of survivors from the impending judgment. Along with those survivors will come other (Gentile?) nations that will bow down to YHWH.

Zephaniah 2:12, Cush

“You Cushites, too, will be slain by my sword.”

The people of Cush were probably from Nubia, in Egypt's upper Nile region. They will also be judged and destroyed. They represent the people south of Judah.

Zephaniah 2:13-15, Assyria 

He will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria,

leaving Nineveh utterly desolate and dry as the desert.

Flocks and herds will lie down there, creatures of every kind.

The desert owl and the screech owl will roost on her columns.

Their hooting will echo through the windows,

    rubble will fill the doorways,

    the beams of cedar will be exposed.

This is the city of revelry that lived in safety.

She said to herself,

    “I am the one! And there is none besides me.”

What a ruin she has become,

    a lair for wild beasts!

All who pass by her scoff and shake their fists.

Assyria and its capital, Nineveh, will also be destroyed. Assyria represents the threats to the north of Judah.

Nineveh was a powerful city for much of the seventh century BC, possibly the largest in the world for a time. Jonah preached against it at one point. But in 612 BC it was sacked by Babylonians, aided by Medes and Scythians. The picture in verse 14 would be an accurate description of Nineveh after that sack, with flocks lying down in the old city streets and owls roosting in the buildings. (As with many OT Hebrew terms for animals, the translations "desert owl" and "screech owl" are conjectured.)

Motyer calls the second part of Zephaniah (that is, 2:4-15), "Poem of the Nations."

Zephaniah 1, A Day of Darkness

We have a short prophecy from the time of King Josiah. The prophet is named Zephaniah, a name that most likely means "Yah has hidden" (Walker, p. 537.) That name appears three other times in the Old Testament; none of those other individuals fit the role or date of this prophet.

Zephaniah 1:1, Zephaniah, great-great-grandson of Hezekiah

The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:

Little is said about Zephaniah. We are not told the region he is from nor to whom he speaks. But his simple identification as the great-great-grandson of a man named Hezekiah suggests that this Hezekiah is King Hezekiah, the great-grandfather of King Josiah. The date is probably around 620 BC. The northern kingdom of Israel has fallen to the Assyrians.

Josiah instituted significant religious reforms, returning most of Judah to the worship of YHWH in the temple, with similar reforms as King Hezekiah. The reign of Josiah, including his religious reforms, is told in 2 Kings 22:1-23:30 and 2 Chronicles 34-35.

Zephaniah 1:2-3a, Sweep away

“I will sweep away everything

    from the face of the earth,”

declares the LORD.

“I will sweep away both man and beast;

    I will sweep away the birds in the sky

    and the fish in the sea—

    and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble."

A day is coming in which all humanity, indeed all of nature is destroyed. The fifth and sixth days of creation will be undone. (The Bible Project calls this "a shocking reversal of Genesis 1.") The phrase "face of the earth" is used in a similar manner to describe Noah's flood, see Genesis 6:7 and 7:4.

Zephaniah 1:3b-6, Hand stretched out against Judah, Baal, Molek

“When I destroy all mankind

    on the face of the earth,”

declares the LORD,

“I will stretch out my hand against Judah

    and against all who live in Jerusalem.

I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,

    the very names of the idolatrous priests—

those who bow down on the roofs

    to worship the starry host,

those who bow down and swear by the LORD

    and who also swear by Molek,

those who turn back from following the LORD

    and neither seek the LORD nor inquire of him.”

Even in Josiah's reign, with its significant reforms, some in Judah still worshiped Baal and Molek. 

Worship of celestial beings, such as the sun or the stars, was common in the ANE. Ancient towns such as Beth Shemesh ("House of the sun") reflect those ancient practices. (The trigonometry we inherited from the Babylonians was originally motivated by astrology.)  Those who worshiped celestial beings did so on their flat rooftops.

Zephaniah 1:7-9, The day of the Lord is near 

Be silent before the Sovereign LORD,

    for the day of the LORD is near.

The LORD has prepared a sacrifice;

    he has consecrated those he has invited.

 

“On the day of the LORD’s sacrifice

    I will punish the officials

    and the king’s sons

and all those clad

    in foreign clothes.

On that day I will punish

    all who avoid stepping on the threshold,

who fill the temple of their gods

    with violence and deceit.

A day of the Lord is coming, a day of judgment for those who refuse to worship YHWH and have their own gods, leading to violence and deceit. The line "all who avoid stepping on the threshold" is unclear. Motyer suggests an allusion to the Philistine worshipers of Dagon, as explained in 1 Samuel 5:4-5, in which the worshipers stepped over the threshold, not on it.

Zephaniah 1:10-11, Cry from the Fish Gate

“On that day,”

    declares the LORD,

“a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,

    wailing from the New Quarter,

    and a loud crash from the hills.

Wail, you who live in the market district;

    all your merchants will be wiped out,

    all who trade with silver will be destroyed.

The future disaster will bring a cry from the merchants whose wealth is destroyed. There will be wailing at the Fish Gate and the New Quarter, even in the nearby hills. 

The Fish Gate was on the northern wall of Jerusalem. The attack by Nebuchadnezzar would come from that direction. The rebuilding of the Fish Gate, after the exile, is mentioned in Nehemiah 3:3. At this website I found the following map:

The Hebrew word translated "New Quarter" is hammishneh, which merely means "second." In context, this is a region of Jerusalem. This region is mentioned in 2 Kings 22:14, 2 Chronicles 34:22 as the home of the prophetess Huldah during the reign of Josiah.

Zephaniah 1:12-13, Searching Jerusalem

At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps

    and punish those who are complacent,

    who are like wine left on its dregs,

who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing,

    either good or bad.’

Their wealth will be plundered, their houses demolished.

Though they build houses, they will not live in them;

though they plant vineyards, they will not drink the wine.”

God is portrayed as walking through Jerusalem with a lamp, searching out evil, finding those who think that God does not act. Wine "left on its dregs" is a harsh wine caused by leaving the fermenting wine too long in the fermentation jars. Wine was supposed to be carefully poured into new containers at the right time, during which the dregs would be filtered out. (See also Jeremiah 48:11.)

Zephaniah 1:14-16, A day of darkness

The great day of the LORD is near—

    near and coming quickly.

The cry on the day of the LORD is bitter;

    the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.

That day will be a day of wrath—

    a day of distress and anguish,

        a day of trouble and ruin,

    a day of darkness and gloom,

        a day of clouds and blackness—

  a day of trumpet and battle cry

against the fortified cities

    and against the corner towers.

Six rhythmic lines emphasize the coming Day of the Lord. It will be a day of wrath, anguish, distress and darkness. The fortified cities and their towers will be attacked. (Motyer, p. 923, suggests that the six repetitions of "day", Hebrew yom, are a deliberate reflection of the six days of creation in Genesis 1.)

Darkness is described with four words, darkness, gloom, clouds, blackness. Various combinations of these words appear in the scenes at Mount Sinai in Deuteronomy 4:11 and in the plague of darkness in Exodus 10:21-22. All four words, emphasizing deep darkness, occur at the beginning of Joel 2:2. These words suggest a reversal of Day 1 of creation, replacing light and order with darkness and chaos.

There was a similar message in Amos 5:18-20, in the northern kingdom over a century before.

Zephaniah 1:17-18, I will bring distress

“I will bring such distress on all people

    that they will grope about like those who are blind,

    because they have sinned against the LORD.

Their blood will be poured out like dust

    and their entrails like dung. 

Neither their silver nor their gold

    will be able to save them

    on the day of the LORD’s wrath.”

In the fire of his jealousy

    the whole earth will be consumed,

for he will make a sudden end

    of all who live on the earth.

The text switches briefly to first person. God speaks of bringing a bloody event in which gold and silver will be of no value. Then the text shifts back to third person, to summarize the event. This event will be the end of "all" who live on the earth. There is, at this moment, no mention of a remnant.

The Day of the Lord, An Introduction to Zephaniah

The short three-chapter book of Zephaniah comes from the reign of Josiah, around 610-640 BC. The northern kingdom of Israel is gone. Nabopolassar, father of Nebuchadnezzar, is rising to power in the Babylonia while Necho II of Egypt is threatening in the west. A quarter century after Josiah's death, Babylonia will destroy Jerusalem and carry the citizens of the southern kingdom, Judah, into exile.

The Setting

See 2 Kings 22:1-23:30 and 2 Chronicles 34-35 for a description of the reign of Josiah, including the religious reformation of that time. Since Zephaniah calls for a reformation in Judah, it is possible that Zephaniah speaks before those reforms or in the midst of reform. Zephaniah speaks after the reforms of Josiah since he seems to be very aware of parts of the Old Testament covenant (particularly Deuteronomy) that were discovered by Josiah in the renovation of the temple.

During this time, the Assyrian Empire, which had assimilated the northern kingdom of Israel, was in decline. That empire was weakened by invasions of the Scythians from southern Russia. Babylon was slowly growing in the east and would threaten Jerusalem after Josiah's reign. Zephaniah forecasts the destruction of Nineveh (2:13-15), an event that occurred in 612 BC.

Outline

The scroll of Zephaniah falls into three parts, parts that are not reflected in the three medieval chapter divisions. Those parts are:

• Zephaniah 1:1-2:3, A day of darkness approaches the whole earth; it focuses on Judah.
• Zephaniah 2:4-3:8, Judgment is announced for countries around Judah, and then finally, Judah.
• Zephaniah 3:9-3:20, A remnant survives and enters a new Eden.

Resources and References

For the book of Zephaniah, I have relied on the following resources:

• a commentary by Larry Walker in the seventh volume of the Expositor's Bible Commentary.
• a commentary by J. Alec Motyer in The Minor Prophets: A Commentary on Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, edited by Thomas Edward McComiskey, 2018. (Motyer has also been a major source for my study in Isaiah and Haggai.)

There are other resources online.

• Amongst the online commentaries provided by EasyEnglishBible, is an online commentary on Zephaniah.
• The Gospel Coalition now has a set of online commentaries. Here is their commentary on Zephaniah.
• I highly recommend the Bible Project video on Zephaniah.

I place hyperlinks in pink, created so that one can click on a link and see the linked site open in another window... and go down a rabbit hole if they wish!

Habakkuk 3, Habakkuk's Lament

Habakkuk finishes his prophecy with a lament song of stubborn worship and persistence. The psalm echoes Psalm 77, Psalm 18 and the Creation and Flood narratives.

Habakkuk 3:1-2, "Your deeds"

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.

LORD, I have heard of your fame;

 I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. 

Renew them in our day,

 in our time make them known; 

in wrath remember mercy.

Habakkuk begins his praise by declaring his awe for YHWH actions and plans. He asks that YHWH once again renew His action among His people, and within legitimate wrath, asks the YHWH include mercy.

Habakkuk 3:3-5, "Your deeds"

God came from Teman,

 the Holy One from Mount Paran.

Selah

 His glory covered the heavens 

and his praise filled the earth. 

His splendor was like the sunrise; 

rays flashed from his hand, 

where his power was hidden. 

Plague went before him; 

pestilence followed his steps. 

Habakkuk looks back to the ancient appearance of YHWH at Sinai and quotes a line from the psalm of Moses in Deuteronomy 32, echoing verse 2. (There, Seir is a synonym for Edom, as is Teman.) 

Armerding (pp. 525-6) argues that the Hebrew word kaor, translated "sunrise" by the NIV, simply means "bright light" and that the context of this passage evokes the lightning and thunder of God's appearance at Mount Sinai (eg. Exodus 19:16-19.)

Habakkuk 3: 6-7, Nations tremble

He stood, and shook the earth; 

he looked, and made the nations tremble. 

The ancient mountains crumbled 

and the age-old hills collapsed. 

His ways are eternal. 

I saw the tents of Cushan in distress, 

the dwellings of Midian in anguish. 

When God acts, the nations tremble. God can cause earthquakes which collapse the mountains and hills. The nations around Israel, such as Cush/Cushan in Egypt and Midian (south of Israel) are upset and fear God.

Habakkuk 3:8-12, Conqueror of seas

Were you angry with the rivers, O LORD? 

Was your wrath against the streams? 

Did you rage against the sea 

when you rode with your horses

 and your victorious chariots? 

In Genesis 1:6-10, God divided the waters on Days 2 and 3; in Genesis 7:11-12, YHWH overwhelmed the earth with the flood; in Exodus 14:21-28, He split the sea and gave Israel victory over Egypt. Throughout ancient history, Israel has recognized YHWH as God over the chaotic seas and waters. Habakkuk brings all this to mind as he praises God's power over the streams, rivers and seas.

Habakkuk 3:9-12, Divine warrior splits the earth

You uncovered your bow, 

you called for many arrows. 

Selah

You split the earth with rivers;  

the mountains saw you and writhed. 

Torrents of water swept by; 

the deep roared and lifted its waves on high. 

Sun and moon stood still in the heavens

 at the glint of your flying arrows, 

at the lightning of your flashing spear. 

In wrath you strode through the earth 

and in anger you threshed the nations.

Habakkuk looks back to God's power during the Exodus, controlling the sea. As a mighty warrior, God is portrayed calling for arrows to fill His quizzer. Earthquakes and floods are easily within His power. Verses 10-12, echo Psalm 77:16-19.

Habakkuk 3:13-15, Deliver Your people

You came out to deliver your people, 

to save your anointed  one. 

You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, 

you stripped him from head to foot. 

Selah

With his own spear you pierced his head 

when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, 

gloating as though about to devour the wretched who were in hiding.

You trampled the sea with your horses, 

churning the great waters. 

In those ancient days, God came to save His people (his "anointed" nation.) He crushed their enemies. Once again, Habakkuk recalls God's power over the sea.

Habakkuk 3:16, Patiently waiting

 I heard and my heart pounded,

 my lips quivered at the sound;

 decay crept into my bones, 

and my legs trembled. 

Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity

 to come on the nation invading us.   

Habakkuk recalls those ancient times and so vows to wait patiently (but painfully) for God to come to His people.

Habakkuk 3:17-19, Even if...

Though the fig tree does not bud 

and there are no grapes on the vines, 

though the olive crop fails 

and the fields produce no food, 

though there are no sheep in the pen

 and no cattle in the stalls, 

yet I will rejoice in the LORD, 

I will be joyful in God my Savior. 

The Sovereign LORD is my strength; 

he makes my feet like the  feet of a deer, 

he enables me to go on the heights. 

For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.     
    
Habakkuk's final (and famous) declaration is one of commitment, regardless of the future. Even if the prosperity does not return, still, even then, he will rejoice in God. It is on the sovereign YHWH that Habakkuk relies. The last verse echoes Psalm 18:32-33.

Some Random Thoughts

The existence of Evil, indeed the triumph of Evil, was a problem that plagued the Old Testament writers. The ancient book of Job directly addresses that problem, but the conflict also appears throughout many of the psalm. It is a theme of Habakkuk. 

One can read this book as a sequel to the book of Job. The only answers Habakkuk has are that (1) God is in charge and (2) Habakkuk will stubbornly trust and wait.

Long ago, in a discussion on belief and faith, a young woman said to me, "At times my faith is simply desperation." Habakkuk would understand that woman's remark. Habakkuk has no choice but to commit, in sorrow and anguish, to waiting for God to act in His own timing.

Waiting is hard.

First published July 26, 2025; updated July 26, 2025

Habakkuk 2, A Watchman Waits

Habakkuk has been shocked to hear that God will use Babylon to punish the injustices of Judah.

Habakkuk 2:1, "At my watch"

I will stand at my watch 

and station myself on the ramparts; 

I will look to see what he will say to me, 

and what answer I am to give to this complaint.

Habakkuk, after his plea to God, promises to persist and watch for an anwer, as if he were a night watchman on the walls of a city. Armerding sees this verse as the conclusion to chapter 1. Regardless, it is a thematic verse for Habakkuk. As he challenges God, he commits to waiting for an answer. 

Habakkuk 2:2-3, Prepare a herald

Then the LORD replied: 

"Write down the revelation 

and make it plain on tablets 

so that a herald may run with it.

For the revelation awaits an appointed time; 

it speaks of the end and will not prove false. 

Though it linger, 

wait for it; 

it will certainly come 

and will not delay. 

In the culture of the ANE, few people could read. So a herald might carry a message to the towns and villages, reading the pronouncement out loud at each location. Here God's answer comes as a message to be engraved on a tablet, to be carried away and read to the populace. A revelation about "the end" is coming. 

Does "the end" signify the end of Babylonian oppression? Or a future end of all wickedness? The Septuagint (says Armerding, p. 512), replaces "he/it will certainly come", with "the coming one will come", which has a Messianic undertone.

Habakkuk 2:4-5, Evil puffed up ... but the Righteous...

"See, he is puffed up;

 his desires are not upright-- 

but the righteous will live by his faith--

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. 

The evil person (ruler? nation?) is arrogant and puffed up. But the righteous person -- as Habakkuk attempts to model -- persists by stubborn faith. 

The statement, "but the righteous will live by his faith" will be quoted three times in the New Testament. Paul cites it in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11 and it occurs again in Hebrews 10:38. 

Habakkuk 2:6-8, "How long must this go on?"

"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?' 

Will not your debtors suddenly arise? 

Will they not wake up 

and make you tremble? 

Then you will become their victim. 

Because you have plundered many nations, 

the peoples who are left will plunder you. 

For you have shed man's blood; 

you have destroyed lands and cities 

and everyone in them. 

The remainder of chapter 2 is a sequence of five warning "woe!" messages. These are to taunt the coming oppressor. In each message, the oppressor receives judgment in kind (lex talionis.) In the first "woe!", the evil oppressors are eventually overthrown and destroyed. But before that happens, they plunder nations and people. Evil triumphs for a time.

Habakkuk 2:9-11, Futile nest on high

"Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain 

to set his nest on high, 

to escape the clutches of ruin!

You have plotted the ruin of many peoples, 

shaming your own house

 and forfeiting your life. 

The stones of the wall will cry out, 

and the beams of the woodwork will echo it. 

In the second "woe!", the rich and powerful see themselves as impervious to retribution and ruin. But that is not so -- as they have plotted the ruin of others, so too will they be brought down. Even the stones and beams of their houses cry out for justice!

Habakkuk 2:12-14, City built with bloodshed

"Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed

 and establishes a town by crime! 

Has not the LORD Almighty determined 

that the people's labor is only fuel for the fire, 

that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing? 

Even cities can be built on organized crime. But all of that is vanity; the evil labor will eventually be in vain.

Habakkuk 2:14, Covered with the knowledge of God

For the earth will be filled 

with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, 

as the waters cover the sea. 

A brief interlude reminds everyone that eventually the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God and will respond to His justice.

Habakkuk 2:15-17, Drinking destruction

"Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, 

pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, 

so that he can gaze on their naked bodies. 

You will be filled with shame instead of glory. 

Now it is your turn! 

Drink and be exposed! 

The cup from the LORD's right hand is coming around to you,

and disgrace will cover your glory. 

The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, 

and your destruction of animals will terrify you. 

For you have shed man's blood; 

you have destroyed lands and cities 

and everyone in them. 

In the fourth "woe!", those who use alcohol to seduce others, so that they can be aroused by their nakedness, are told that they, themselves will be exposed.

Habakkuk 2:18-19, Silly silly idols

"Of what value is an idol, 

since a man has carved it? 

Or an image that teaches lies? 

For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; 

he makes idols that cannot speak. 

Woe to him who says to wood, `Come to life!' 

Or to lifeless stone, `Wake up!'  

Can it give guidance? 

It is covered with gold and silver; 

there is no breath in it. 

In this passage, the fifth "Woe!" is occurs in the middle of the accusation. One watches as a man carves a piece of wood -- and then worships it! He builds an image out of stone -- and then tells it to come to life!

The absurdity of idol worship impressed many Old Testament prophets. Habakkuk, like Isaiah 44:9-20. Isaiah 2:8, Jeremiah 10, and others, finds idol making not just sin, but illogical and ridiculous. 

Habakkuk 2:20, Holy temple

But the LORD is in his holy temple; 

let all the earth be silent before him." 

    

Just as before in verse 14, there is an insertion, a statement of worship. Regardless of the powers arranged around Israel, God is still in charge, still in His temple.

First published July 25, 2025; updated July 25, 2025

Habakkuk 1, Violent People Approach Us

Habakkuk lives in Judah at the end of the seventh century BC, after the destruction of the northern kingdom, Israel. He brings to God all his concerns about the future of the southern kingdom, Judah. Habakkuk's three chapter lament is similar to those of Isaiah long before him and of his contemporary, Micah.

Habakkuk 1:1-3, "Why do you tolerate injustice?"

The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received. 

How long, O LORD, must I call for help, 

but you do not listen? 

Or cry out to you, "Violence!" 

but you do not save? 

Why do you make me look at injustice? 

Why do you tolerate wrong? 

Destruction and violence are before me; 

there is strife, and conflict abounds. 

Unlike other prophetic books, in this one, the prophet speaks first, addressing God and pleading for an answer. The book begins with "How long?" announcing a lament of parallel lines. Habakkuk complains about the violence and injustice of Judah and asks God why He allows evil to triumph. The rest of the book will wrestle with this lament and with God's response.

The Hebrew word chamas, "violence', appears six times in this book and fourteen times in the psalms (for example, Psalm 140.)

Habakkuk 1: 4, Paralyzed law

Therefore the law is paralyzed, 

and justice never prevails. 

The wicked hem in the righteous, 

so that justice is  perverted.    

Habakkuk is especially frustrated with injustice in Judah. Violence and conflict paralyze the standard routes to justice, blocking the law from its rightful task.

Habakkuk 1:5-7, "Be amazed"

"Look at the nations and watch-- 

and be utterly amazed. 

For I am going to do something in your days 

that you would not believe,

even if you were told. 

I am raising up the Babylonians,

that ruthless and impetuous people, 

who sweep across the whole earth 

to seize dwelling places not their own.

 

They are a feared and dreaded people; 

they are a law to themselves 

and promote their own honor.

The injustice in Judah will be met by the fearful Babylonians, who will sweep over the ancient Near East, including Judah. The Babylonians have their own view of justice -- it merely promotes the power of Babylon. 

Nabopolassar rose to control of Babylon in 626 BC and began to consolidate power over Assyria. In 605 BC, his son, Nebuchadnezzar, considerably expanded the power of Babylon. Armerding suggests that this passage was then most likely written prior to 605 BC.

The Hebrew text has rhythmic wordplay in hammar wə·han·nim·hār; ("bitter and hasty"), translated here as "ruthless and impetuous".

Habakkuk 1:8-11, The horror of the Babylonians

Their horses are swifter than leopards, 

fiercer than wolves at dusk. 

Their cavalry gallops headlong; 

their horsemen come from afar. 

They fly like a vulture swooping to devour;

 they all come bent on violence. 

Their hordes advance like a desert wind 

and gather prisoners like sand.

They deride kings and scoff at rulers. 

They laugh at all fortified cities; 

they build earthen ramps and capture them.

Then they sweep past like the wind and go on-- 

guilty men, whose own strength is their god." 

The Babylonian army is swift and powerful. Their opponents react in terror as they approach. Central to the evil of Babylon is their worship of their own brutality and power -- that military power "is their god."

Habakkuk has asked God to intervene in Judah.  But this answer, bringing in the Babylonians, is not the answer that he wants!

Habakkuk 1:12, An everlasting Rock

O LORD, are you not from everlasting? 

My God, my Holy One, we will not die.

 O LORD, you have appointed them to execute judgment; 

O Rock, you have ordained them to punish. 

These four parallel lines repeat Habakkuk's trust in YHWH's longterm "everlasting" covenant plan.

Habakkuk 1:13, Why the Babylonians?

Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; 

you cannot tolerate wrong. 

Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? 

Why are you silent 

while the wicked swallow up those 

more righteous than themselves? 

Habakkuk persists with his questions. Why does YHWH allow the Babylonians to execute justice? Why allow the wicked to destroy the wicked? Where is God's righteousness in this plan?

Habakkuk 1:14-17, Fishhooks

You have made men like fish in the sea, 

like sea creatures that have no ruler. 

The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, 

he catches them in his net, 

he gathers them up in his dragnet; 

and so he rejoices and is glad. 

Therefore he sacrifices to his net 

and burns incense to his dragnet, 

for by his net he lives in luxury 

and enjoys the choicest food. 

Is he to keep on emptying his net, 

destroying nations without mercy? 

Poor mortal men are impotent before God's justice. They are like fish dragged out of the sea by fishhooks. Yet when the Babylonians drag out the Israelites, the Babylonians will then sacrifice to their pagan gods. When they pull humans in with their dragnet, they make sacrifices to their nets! What is good in that?

If we view Habbakuk 1:12-2:1 as a single passage (as does Armerding, p. 505), then Habakkuk's cry begins and ends with worship. He praises God in verses 12-13a, cries out "Why?" in verses 13b-17, and then in 2:1 commits himself again to faithfulness and worship.

Some Random Thoughts

The Hebrew word for violence, chamas, survives in Aramaic as hamas, meaning "zeal." In modern times, that word has also become equated with the Palestinian group Hamas, which officially takes its name as an Aramaic acronym for "Islamic Resistance Movement."

First published July 24, 2025; updated July 24, 2025