Habakkuk 2:6
New International Version
“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?’

New Living Translation
“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?’

English Standard Version
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!”

Berean Standard Bible
Will not all of these take up a taunt against him, speaking with mockery and derision: ‘Woe to him who amasses what is not his and makes himself rich with many loans! How long will this go on?’

King James Bible
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 King James Version
“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’?

New American Standard Bible
“Will all of these not take up a song of ridicule against him, Even a saying and insinuations against him And say, ‘Woe to him who increases what is not his— For how long— And makes himself rich with debts!’

NASB 1995
“Will not all of these take up a taunt-song against him, Even mockery and insinuations against him And say, ‘Woe to him who increases what is not his— For how long— And makes himself rich with loans?’

NASB 1977
“Will not all of these take up a taunt-song against him, Even mockery and insinuations against him, And say, ‘Woe to him who increases what is not his— For how long— And makes himself rich with loans?’

Legacy Standard Bible
“Will not all of these lift up a taunt-song against him, Even satire and riddles against him And say, ‘Woe to him who increases what is not his— For how long— And makes himself rich with loans?’

Amplified Bible
“Will all these [victims of his greed] not take up a taunting song against him, And in mocking derision against him Say, ‘Woe (judgment is coming) to him who increases that which is not his— How long [will he possess it]? And [woe to him who] makes himself wealthy with loans.’

Christian Standard Bible
Won’t all of these take up a taunt against him, with mockery and riddles about him? They will say, “Woe to him who amasses what is not his — how much longer? — and loads himself with goods taken in pledge.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Won’t all of these take up a taunt against him, with mockery and riddles about him? They will say: Woe to him who amasses what is not his— how much longer?— and loads himself with goods taken in pledge.

American Standard Version
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 that ladeth himself with pledges!

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
These all shall take up against him a proverb and a parable and a riddle and they will say: ”Woe to him who gathers to increase to himself what is not his! How long will a cloud of filth prevail over him?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Shall not all these take up a parable against him? and a proverb to tell against him? and they shall say, Woe to him that multiplies to himself the possessions which are not his! how long? and who heavily loads his yoke.

Contemporary English Version
But they will be mocked with these words: You're doomed! You stored up stolen goods and cheated others of what belonged to them.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a dark speech concerning him: and it shall be said: Woe to him that heapeth together that which is not his own? how long also doth he load himself with thick clay?

English Revised Version
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 that ladeth himself with pledges!

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Won't all of them ridicule him, directing clever sayings and riddles at him, like: " 'How horrible it will be for the one who makes himself rich with what is not his own and makes himself wealthy on loans. How long will this go on?'

Good News Translation
The conquered people will taunt their conquerors and show their scorn for them. They will say, "You take what isn't yours, but you are doomed! How long will you go on getting rich by forcing your debtors to pay up?"

International Standard Version
"Will not all of these ridicule him with mocking scorn? They will say, 'Woe to the one who hordes for himself what isn't his. How long will you enrich yourself by extortion?'

JPS Tanakh 1917
Shall not all these take up a parable against him, And a taunting riddle against him, And say: 'Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! How long? and that ladeth himself with many pledges!'

Literal Standard Version
Are these not—all of them—an allegory taken up against him, | And a moral of acute sayings for him, | And say, Woe [to] him who is multiplying [what is] not his? Until when also is he multiplying to himself heavy pledges?

Majority Standard Bible
Will not all of these take up a taunt against him, speaking with mockery and derision: ‘Woe to him who amasses what is not his and makes himself rich with many loans! How long will this go on?’

New American Bible
Shall not all these take up a taunt against him, and make a riddle about him, saying: Ah! you who store up what is not yours —how long can it last!— you who load yourself down with collateral.

NET Bible
"But all these nations will someday taunt him and ridicule him with proverbial sayings: 'The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead (How long will this go on?)--he who gets rich by extortion!'

New Revised Standard Version
Shall not everyone taunt such people and, with mocking riddles, say about them, “Alas for you who heap up what is not your own!” How long will you load yourselves with goods taken in pledge?

New Heart English Bible
Won't all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, 'Woe to him who increases that which is not his, and who enriches himself by extortion. How long?'

Webster's Bible Translation
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!

World English Bible
Won’t all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases that which is not his, and who enriches himself by extortion! How long?’

Young's Literal Translation
Do not these -- all of them -- against him a simile taken up, And a moral of acute sayings for him, And say, Woe to him who is multiplying what is not his? Till when also is he multiplying to himself heavy pledges?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Woe to the Chaldeans
6Will not all of these take up a taunt against him, speaking with mockery and derision: ‘Woe to him who amasses what is not his and makes himself rich with many loans! How long will this go on?’ 7Will not your creditors suddenly arise and those who disturb you awaken? Then you will become their prey.…

Cross References
Job 20:15
He swallows wealth but vomits it out; God will force it from his stomach.

Isaiah 10:13
For he says: 'By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, for I am clever. I have removed the boundaries of nations and plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their rulers.

Isaiah 14:4
you will sing this song of contempt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has ceased, and how his fury has ended!

Jeremiah 50:13
Because of the wrath of the LORD, she will not be inhabited; she will become completely desolate. All who pass through Babylon will be horrified and will hiss at all her wounds.

Micah 2:4
In that day they will take up a proverb against you and taunt you with this bitter lamentation: 'We are utterly ruined! He has changed the portion of my people. How He has removed it from me! He has allotted our fields to traitors.'"

Habakkuk 2:12
Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by iniquity!


Treasury of Scripture

Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increases that which is not his! how long? and to him that lades himself with thick clay!

take.

Numbers 23:7,18
And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel…

Isaiah 14:4-19
That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! …

Jeremiah 29:22
And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;

Woe to him.

Habakkuk 1:9,10,15
They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand…

Job 20:15-29
He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly…

Job 22:6-10
For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing…

how.

Psalm 94:3
LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?

Luke 12:20
But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

1 Corinthians 7:29-31
But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; …

ladeth.

Habakkuk 2:13
Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?

Isaiah 44:20
He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

Isaiah 55:2
Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

Jump to Previous
Acute Bitter Clay Curse Debtors Derision Extortion Goes Heaps Increases Increaseth Makes Mockery Moral Multiplying Parable Piles Pledges Property Proverb Rich Riddle Ridicule Sayings Scoffing Scorn Shame Simile Taunt Taunting Thick Weighted Wo Woe Won't Word
Jump to Next
Acute Bitter Clay Curse Debtors Derision Extortion Goes Heaps Increases Increaseth Makes Mockery Moral Multiplying Parable Piles Pledges Property Proverb Rich Riddle Ridicule Sayings Scoffing Scorn Shame Simile Taunt Taunting Thick Weighted Wo Woe Won't Word
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.














(6-20) The destruction of the Chaldaeans has hitherto been only implied. It is now plainly foretold in a denunciatory song, put into the mouths of the invader's victims. In this song there are five strophes, of three verses each, 6-8; 9-11; 12-14; 15-17; 18-20.

(6-8) Woe on the reckless rapacity which has spared neither life nor property.

(6) How long?--i.e., how long shall this continual annexation be witnessed?

That ladeth himself with thick clay.--Better, That accumulates to himself usury. So the Targum. The rendering "thick clay" originates in a false etymology of the word abtet, which the student will find in Rashi's Commentary. For the true derivation see Frst's Lexicon.

Verses 6-8. - § 8. The destruction of the Babylonians is announced by the mouth of the vanquished nations, who utter five woes against their oppressor. The first woe: for their rapacity. Verse 6. - All these. All the nations and peoples who have been subjugated and barbarously treated by the Babylonians (comp. Isaiah 14:4). A parable. A sententious song (see note on Micah 2:4). A taunting proverb. The Anglican Version combines the two Hebrew words, which stand unconnected, into one notion. So the Vulgate, loquelam aenigmatum. The latter of the two generally means "riddle," "enigma;" the other word (melitzah) is by some translated, "a derisive satirical song," or "an obscure, dark saying;" but, as Keil and Delitzsch have shown, is better understood of a bright, clear, brilliant speech. So the two terms signify "a speech containing enigmas," or a song which has double or ambiguous meanings (comp. Proverbs 1:6). Septuagint, Πρόβλημα εἰς διήγησις, αὐτοῦ. Woe (Nahum 3:1). This is the first of the five "woes," which consist of three verses each, arranged in strophical form. Increaseth that which is not his. He continues to add to his conquests and possessions, which are not his, because they are acquired by injustice and violence. This is the first denunciation of the Chaldeans for their insatiable rapacity. How long? The question comes in interjectionally - How long is this state of things to continue unpunished (comp. Psalm 6:3; Psalm 90:13)? That ladeth himself with thick clay; Septuagint, βαρύνων τὸν κλοιὸν αὐτοῦ στιβαρῶς, "who loadeth his yoke heavily;" Vulgate, aggravat contra se densum lutum. The renderings of the Anglican and Latin Versions signify that the riches and spoils with which the conquerors load themselves are no more than burdens of clay, which are in themselves worthless, and only harass the bearers. The Greek Version seems to point to the weight of the yoke imposed by the Chaldeans on them; but Jerome explains it differently, "Ad hoc tantum saevit ut devoret et iniquitatis et praedarum onere quasi gravissima torque se deprimat." The difficulty lies in the ἄπαξ λεγόμενον αβτιτ, which forms an enigma, or dark saying, because, taken as two words, it might pass current for "thick clay," or "a mass of dirt," while regarded as one word it means "a mass of pledges," "many pledges." That the latter is the signification primarily intended is the view of many modern commentators, who explain the clause thus: The quantity of treasure and booty amassed by the Chaldeans is regarded as a mass of pledges taken from the conquered nations a burden of debt to be discharged one day with heavy retribution. Pusey, "He does in truth increase against himself a strong pledge, whereby not others are debtors to him, but he is a debtor to Almighty God, who careth for the oppressed (Jeremiah 17:11)."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Will not
הֲלוֹא־ (hă·lō·w-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

all
כֻלָּ֗ם (ḵul·lām)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

of these
אֵ֣לֶּה (’êl·leh)
Pronoun - common plural
Strong's 428: These, those

take up
יִשָּׂ֔אוּ (yiś·śā·’ū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5375: To lift, carry, take

a taunt
מָשָׁ֣ל (mā·šāl)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4912: A pithy maxim, a simile

against him,
עָלָיו֙ (‘ā·lāw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

with mockery
וּמְלִיצָ֖ה (ū·mə·lî·ṣāh)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4426: Satire, a mocking poem

and riddles
חִיד֣וֹת (ḥî·ḏō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 2420: A riddle, an enigmatic, perplexing saying or question

against him,
ל֑וֹ (lōw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew

saying:
וְיֹאמַ֗ר (wə·yō·mar)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

‘Woe
ה֚וֹי (hō·w)
Interjection
Strong's 1945: Ah! alas! ha!

to him who amasses
הַמַּרְבֶּ֣ה (ham·mar·beh)
Article | Verb - Hifil - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 7235: To be or become much, many or great

what is not his
לֹּא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

and makes himself rich
וּמַכְבִּ֥יד (ū·maḵ·bîḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 3513: To be heavy, weighty, or burdensome

with many loans!
עַבְטִֽיט׃ (‘aḇ·ṭîṭ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5671: Something pledged, pawned goods

How
עַד־ (‘aḏ-)
Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while

long will this go on?’
מָתַ֕י (mā·ṯay)
Interrogative
Strong's 4970: Extent, when


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OT Prophets: Habakkuk 2:6 Won't all these take up a parable (Hab Hb)
Habakkuk 2:5
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