The Meaning of Habakkuk 2:5 Explained

Habakkuk 2:5

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:

YLT: And also, because the wine is treacherous, A man is haughty, and remaineth not at home, Who hath enlarged as sheol his soul, And is as death that is not satisfied, And doth gather unto itself all the nations, And doth assemble unto itself all the peoples,

Darby: And moreover, the wine is treacherous: he is a proud man, and keepeth not at rest, he enlargeth his desire as Sheol, and he is like death and cannot be satisfied; and he assembleth unto him all nations, and gathereth unto him all peoples.

ASV: Yea, moreover, wine is treacherous, a haughty man, that keepeth not at home; who enlargeth his desire as Sheol, and he is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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: 

What does Habakkuk 2:5 Mean?

Study Notes

hell
Sheol is, in the O.T., the place to which the dead go.
(1) Often, therefore, it is spoken of as the equivalent of the grave, merely, where all human activities cease; the terminus toward which all human life moves (e.g. Genesis 42:38 grave Job 14:13 grave Psalms 88:3 grave
(2) To the man "under the sun," the natural man, who of necessity judges from appearances, sheol seems no more than the grave-- the end and total cessation, not only of the activities of life, but of life itself. Ecclesiastes 9:5 ; Ecclesiastes 9:10
(3) But Scripture reveals sheol as a place of sorrow 2 Samuel 22:6 ; Psalms 18:5 ; Psalms 116:3 ; in which the wicked are turned Psalms 9:17 and where they are fully conscious; Isaiah 14:9-17 ; Ezekiel 32:21 see, especially, Jonah 2:2 what the belly of the great fish was to Jonah that sheol is to those who are therein). The sheol of the O.T. and hades of the N.T. are identical.
(Greek - ᾅδης , "the unseen world," is revealed as the place of departed human spirits between death and resurrection). The word occurs, Matthew 11:23 ; Matthew 16:18 ; Luke 10:15 ; Acts 2:27 ; Acts 2:31 ; Revelation 1:18 ; Revelation 6:8 ; Revelation 20:13 ; Revelation 20:14 and is the equivalent of the O.T. "sheol." (See Scofield " Habakkuk 2:5 ") . The Septuagint invariably renders sheol by hades.
Summary:
(1) Hades before the ascension of Christ. The passages in which the word occurs make it clear that hades was formerly in two divisions, the abodes respectively of the saved and of the lost. The former was called "paradise" and "Abraham's bosom." Both designations were Talmudic, but adopted by Christ in Luke 16:22 ; Luke 23:43 . The blessed dead were with Abraham, they were conscious and were "comforted" Luke 16:25 . The believing malefactor was to be, that day, with Christ in "paradise." The lost were separated from the saved by a "great gulf fixed" Luke 16:26 . The representative man of the lost who are now in hades is the rich man of Luke 16:19-31 . He was alive, conscious, in the full exercise of his faculties, memory, etc., and in torment.
(2) Hades since the ascension of Christ. So far as the unsaved dead are concerned, no change of their place or condition is revealed in Scripture. At the judgment of the great white throne, hades will give them up, they will be judged, and will pass into the lake of fire Revelation 20:13 ; Revelation 20:14 . But a change has taken place which affects paradise. Paul was "caught up to the third heaven.. .into paradise" 2 Corinthians 12:1-4 . Paradise, therefore, is now in the immediate presence of God. It is believed that Ephesians 4:8-10 indicates the time of the change. "When he ascended up on high he led a multitude of captives." It is immediately added that He had previously "descended first into the lower parts of the earth," i.e. the paradise division of Hades. During the present church-age the saved who died are "absent from the body, at home with the Lord." The wicked dead in hades, and the righteous dead "at home with the Lord," alike await the resurrection; Job 19:25 ; 1 Corinthians 15:52 . (See Scofield " Matthew 5:22 ") .

Verse Meaning

The Lord advanced the thought of Habakkuk 2:4 further. When a person drinks too much wine it leads him to reveal his pride publicly. The Babylonians were known for their consumption of wine (e.g, Daniel 5). Wine makes a person dissatisfied with his present situation and possessions, and he often leaves his home to find more elsewhere (cf. Proverbs 23:31-32). The proud person is never satisfied, like death that consumes people every day and never stops. Babylon was similar, opening wide its jaws to consume all peoples. The proud person also seeks to dominate others, and this too marked Babylon. These were the evidences of Babylon"s pride and the basis of Yahweh"s indictment of this nation (cf. Habakkuk 1:17).
"Sheol Isaiah , in the O.T, the place to which the dead go. (1) Often, therefore, it is spoken of as the equivalent of the grave, where all human activities cease; the terminus toward which all human life moves (e.g. Genesis 42:38; Job 14:13; Psalm 88:3). (2) To the man "under the sun," the natural Prayer of Manasseh , who of necessity judges from appearances, sheol seems no more than the grave-the end and total cessation, not only of the activities of life, but also of life itself ( Ecclesiastes 9:5; Ecclesiastes 9:10). But (3) Scripture reveals sheol as a place of sorrow ( 2 Samuel 22:6; Psalm 18:5; Psalm 116:3), into which the wicked are turned ( Psalm 9:17), and where they are fully conscious ( Isaiah 14:9-17; Ezekiel 32:21). Compare Jonah 2:2; what the belly of the great fish was to Jonah , sheol is to those who are therein. The sheol of the O.T. and hades of the N.T. are identical." [1]

Context Summary

Habakkuk 2:1-20 - "the Just Shall Live By Faith"
Having prayed, the prophet expected an answer and looked out for it. When it came, there would be no mistaking it. But until we see eye to eye, we must live by simple faith in God. Note that wonderful clause in Habakkuk 2:4, which is referred to so often afterward. See Romans 1:17; Galatians 2:16; Galatians 3:11. Life in this age, as in that, may be obtained and maintained by faith in the ever-living God. Through long waiting-times the only source of continued life is the faith which draws all from God. From Habakkuk 2:5 onwards, the prophet enumerates Babylon's sins: her pride, love of strong drink, rapacity, and violence. It could not be God's will that the mighty city should flourish on the anguish of the world.
From scenes of anarchy and riot which foretell Chaldea's doom, we pass into Jehovah's temple, where peaceful silence reigns! Let us live in that secret place! "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him!" [source]

Chapter Summary: Habakkuk 2

1  Unto Habakkuk, waiting for an answer, is shown that he must wait by faith
5  The judgment upon the Chaldean for unsatiableness,
9  for covetousness,
12  for cruelty,
15  for drunkenness,
18  and for idolatry

What do the individual words in Habakkuk 2:5 mean?

And indeed because by wine he transgresses [He is] a man proud and not he does stay at home because he enlarges as hell his desire and he [is] like death and cannot be satisfied and He gathers to himself all nations and heaps up for himself peoples
וְאַף֙ כִּֽי־ הַיַּ֣יִן בּוֹגֵ֔ד גֶּ֥בֶר יָהִ֖יר וְלֹ֣א יִנְוֶ֑ה אֲשֶׁר֩ הִרְחִ֨יב כִּשְׁא֜וֹל נַפְשׁ֗וֹ וְה֤וּא כַמָּ֙וֶת֙ וְלֹ֣א יִשְׂבָּ֔ע וַיֶּאֱסֹ֤ף אֵלָיו֙ כָּל־ הַגּוֹיִ֔ם וַיִּקְבֹּ֥ץ אֵלָ֖יו הָעַמִּֽים

וְאַף֙  And  indeed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Conjunction
Root: אַף  
Sense: also, yea, though, so much the more adv.
כִּֽי־  because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
הַיַּ֣יִן  by  wine 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַיִן  
Sense: wine.
בּוֹגֵ֔ד  he  transgresses 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: בָּגַד  
Sense: to act treacherously, deceitfully, deal treacherously.
גֶּ֥בֶר  [He  is]  a  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: גֶּבֶר  
Sense: man, strong man, warrior (emphasising strength or ability to fight).
יָהִ֖יר  proud 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: יָהִיר  
Sense: proud, arrogant, haughty.
וְלֹ֣א  and  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יִנְוֶ֑ה  he  does  stay  at  home 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָוָה 
Sense: to beautify.
אֲשֶׁר֩  because 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
הִרְחִ֨יב  he  enlarges 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רָחַב  
Sense: to be or grow wide, be or grow large.
כִּשְׁא֜וֹל  as  hell 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, common singular
Root: שְׁאֹול  
Sense: sheol, underworld, grave, hell, pit.
נַפְשׁ֗וֹ  his  desire 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
וְה֤וּא  and  he  [is] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
כַמָּ֙וֶת֙  like  death 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָוֶת  
Sense: death, dying, Death (personified), realm of the dead.
וְלֹ֣א  and  cannot 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יִשְׂבָּ֔ע  be  satisfied 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׂבַע  
Sense: to be satisfied, be sated, be fulfilled, be surfeited.
וַיֶּאֱסֹ֤ף  and  He  gathers 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָסַף 
Sense: to gather, receive, remove, gather in.
אֵלָיו֙  to  himself 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
הַגּוֹיִ֔ם  nations 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
וַיִּקְבֹּ֥ץ  and  heaps  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קָבַץ  
Sense: to gather, assemble.
אֵלָ֖יו  for  himself 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
הָעַמִּֽים  peoples 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.