The Meaning of Habakkuk 1:15 Explained

Habakkuk 1:15

KJV: They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.

YLT: Each of them with a hook he hath brought up, He doth catch it in his net, and gathereth it in his drag, Therefore he doth joy and rejoice.

Darby: He taketh up all of them with the hook, he catcheth them in his net, and gathereth them into his drag; therefore he rejoiceth and is glad:

ASV: He taketh up all of them with the angle, he catcheth them in his net, and gathereth them in his drag: therefore he rejoiceth and is glad.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

They take up  all of them with the angle,  they catch  them in their net,  and gather  them in their drag:  therefore they rejoice  and are glad. 

What does Habakkuk 1:15 Mean?

Context Summary

Habakkuk 1:1-17 - The Apparent Prosperity Of The Wicked
Habakkuk probably lived toward the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, when the Chaldeans were preparing to invade the land. Jerusalem was filled with wickedness. Crimes of violence and lawlessness had become so numerous that the prophet was appalled at the sight. He could only point to the fate of other nations, which must also befall Judah unless the people repented. Paul quotes Habakkuk 1:5 in Acts 13:41. The Chaldeans are compared to the leopard, the evening wolf, and the east wind. The prophet turns to Jehovah in an agony of expostulation and entreaty. Was He not from everlasting? Was He not Israel's Rock? The prophet's solace is the reflection, "We shall not die." An ancient reading is, "Thou canst not die." We are reminded of Revelation 1:18. O thou undying, unchanging, life-giving Savior, we cling to thee amid the storms that sweep the world, as limpets to the rock. [source]

Chapter Summary: Habakkuk 1

1  Unto Habakkuk, complaining of the iniquity of the land,
5  is shown the fearful vengeance by the Chaldeans
12  He complains that vengeance should be executed by them who are far worse

What do the individual words in Habakkuk 1:15 mean?

All of them with a hook they take up they catch them in their net and gather them in their dragnet upon thus they rejoice and are glad
כֻּלֹּה֙ בְּחַכָּ֣ה הֵֽעֲלָ֔ה יְגֹרֵ֣הוּ בְחֶרְמ֔וֹ וְיַאַסְפֵ֖הוּ בְּמִכְמַרְתּ֑וֹ עַל־ כֵּ֖ן יִשְׂמַ֥ח וְיָגִֽיל

כֻּלֹּה֙  All  of  them 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
בְּחַכָּ֣ה  with  a  hook 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular
Root: חַכָּה  
Sense: hook, angle, hook fastened in jaw, fish hook.
הֵֽעֲלָ֔ה  they  take  up 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
יְגֹרֵ֣הוּ  they  catch  them 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: גָּרַר  
Sense: to drag, drag away.
בְחֶרְמ֔וֹ  in  their  net 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: חֵרֶם 
Sense: a thing devoted, thing dedicated, ban, devotion.
וְיַאַסְפֵ֖הוּ  and  gather  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: אָסַף 
Sense: to gather, receive, remove, gather in.
בְּמִכְמַרְתּ֑וֹ  in  their  dragnet 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מַכְמֹר 
Sense: net, fishing net.
עַל־  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
כֵּ֖ן  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֵּן 
Sense: so, therefore, thus.
יִשְׂמַ֥ח  they  rejoice 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׂמַח  
Sense: to rejoice, be glad.
וְיָגִֽיל  and  are  glad 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: גִּיל  
Sense: to rejoice, exult, be glad.