Will he, therefore, empty his net and continue to slay nations without mercy?
Parallel translations
- WEB Will he therefore continually empty his net, and kill the nations without mercy?
- KJV Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
- NKJV Shall they therefore empty their net, And continue to slay nations without pity?
- NASB Will they therefore empty their net, And continually slay nations without sparing?
- NLT Will you let them get away with this forever? Will they succeed forever in their heartless conquests?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Habakkuk asks whether Babylon will be allowed to keep emptying its net, slaughtering nations endlessly without mercy. The question presses God on how long unchecked cruelty will continue.
Overview
The prophet closes his second complaint by asking if there is any limit to Babylon's merciless conquest. The implied appeal is that surely a just God will not let such slaughter go on forever. This honest pressing of God for justice sets up the divine answer in chapter 2, where God assures that the appointed end will come and the proud oppressor will fall.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Jer 46:1–28This is the word of the LORD about the nations—the word that came to Jeremiah the prophet
- Jer 25:9–26behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.
- Jer 52:1–34Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.
- Isa 14:6It struck the peoples in anger with unceasing blows; it subdued the nations in rage with relentless persecution.
- Isa 19:8Then the fishermen will mourn, all who cast a hook into the Nile will lament, and those who spread nets on the waters will pine away.
- Isa 14:16–17Those who see you will stare; they will ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made the kingdoms tremble,
- Ezek 25:1–17Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
- Hab 2:17For your violence against Lebanon will overwhelm you, and the destruction of animals will terrify you, because of your bloodshed against men and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers.
- Hab 2:5–8and wealth indeed betrays him. He is an arrogant man never at rest. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and like Death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself and collects all the peoples as his own.
- Hab 1:9–10All of them come bent on violence; their hordes advance like the east wind; they gather prisoners like sand.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
'The righteous shall live by his faith' (2:4) becomes a cornerstone of the gospel in Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews — the faith that lays hold of Christ.
How Habakkuk 1:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.