In the book of Habakkuk, the prophet forthrightly complained to God not once but twice. He first complained about Israel’s wickedness (Habakkuk 1:1-4). And in response, God announced He would send the Chaldeans in judgment (1:5-11). (The Chaldeans are known also as the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which lasted from 626 to 529 BC.)
That is not what Habakkuk was hoping to hear. So he complained for a second time (1:12-17), saying that for God to use wicked people in this way is contrary to His nature. God then gave His second response to Habakkuk (2:2-20).
In this second response, God made clear that He would surely judge the wicked, including Babylon. He is indeed holy, as Habakkuk had rightfully declared in 1:12—“my Holy One” (NASB 1995). By no means would God leave the Chaldeans unpunished. As part of God’s response to Habakkuk, He pronounced five “woes” upon Babylon (Habakkuk 2:6-20). Such pronouncements of judgment are common in the Bible, especially in the prophetic literature.
The Five Woes (Habakkuk 2:6-20)
The first woe upon Babylon is for their theft (Habakkuk 2:6-8). God says that Babylon’s taking land from others is a “loan” (v. 6), and the “creditors” will rise up and take Babylon as “spoil” (vv. 7-8). Babylon was conquering nation after nation, taking their land and possessions. But the creditors will come looking for their money—“Will not your creditors rise up suddenly, And those who collect from you awaken? Indeed, you will become plunder for them” (v. 7). God is saying the creditors will come and “plunder” Babylon. Babylon’s time will come—“Because you have looted many nations, All the remainder of the peoples will loot you — Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, To the town and all its inhabitants” (v. 8).
God pronounces a second woe, this time for their greed (Habakkuk 2:9-11). He says, “Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house To put his nest on high, To be delivered from the hand of calamity!” (v. 9). The “house” represents the Babylonian Empire. Though not always clear in the English translations, very similar Hebrew language in v. 9 is used in Proverbs 15:27—“He who profits illicitly troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live.” Since God is the sovereign Judge of the earth, He ensures that illicit gain brings trouble on one’s house. The Chaldeans built up their house “by cutting off many peoples,” and they devised “a shameful thing” (v. 10). So God said that “the stone will cry out from the wall, and the rafter will answer it from the framework” (v. 11). That which made up the empire would cry out against Babylon (maybe referring to rebellion).
God announces a third woe for Babylon’s violence (Habakkuk 2:12-14). This woe is on the one “who builds a city with bloodshed and founds a town with violence” (v. 12), that is, building an empire unjustly. Founding a city was often considered an act of arrogance in Scripture, especially when built by violent men. This is seen with Cain (Genesis 4:17), Nimrod the mighty hunter (Genesis 10:8-12), Babel (Genesis 11:1-9), and Pharoah, who forced Israelite slaves to build cities (Exodus 1:11). Habakkuk 2:13 asks, “Is it not indeed from the LORD of hosts That peoples toil for fire, And nations grow weary for nothing?” The troubles of the nations are “from the LORD.”
This is followed by a verse that may seem out of place within the context here of God’s woes—“For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). Yet while it may seem out of place, it is intentionally placed here at the center of the woes as a reminder that God is working all things to make His glory known among the earth, including His judgment. This is similar to Old Testament language about God’s glory filling the temple (Exodus 40:34-25; 1 Kings 8:11) and almost identical to some other passages (Numbers 14:21; Psalm 72:19).
Yet the closest parallel is Isaiah 11:9—“They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.” The context there is not judgment but the conversion of the nations (Isaiah 11:10-12) and justice throughout the earth (11:4-5, 13-15). God’s judgment and salvation are connected, as God is glorified in both judgment and salvation, and salvation is from judgment.
God announces a fourth woe on those who take advantage of their neighbors, using the imagery of making them drunk (Habakkuk 2:15-17). God says, “Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk So as to look on their nakedness!” (v. 15). The Babylonians treated other nations harshly, which is compared to intoxicating them to humiliate them. In response to this, the Babylonians would suffer the same fate:
You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor. Now you yourself drink and expose your own nakedness. The cup in the LORD’S right hand will come around to you, And utter disgrace will come upon your glory. (Habakkuk 2:16)
Just as Babylon disgraced others, so Babylon would be disgraced. The language of “cup” usually refers to God’s wrath and judgment, meaning the Lord’s wrath would come upon Babylon. As v. 17 says of this judgment, “For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, And the devastation of its beasts by which you terrified them.” Babylon would be judged “Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, To the town and all its inhabitants.” Just as Babylon intoxicated their enemies to humiliate them, so God would intoxicate them with His wrath.
God announces a fifth woe on those who worship idols and teach falsehoods (Habakkuk 2:18-20). But instead of beginning with a woe, v. 18 asks a question. “What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, Or an image, a teacher of falsehood?” He who makes an idol “trusts in his own handiwork.” So the Lord says in v. 19, “Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’ To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’ And that is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, And there is no breath at all inside it.” Idols of wood and stone and gold are just that, mere earthly elements. They are “speechless” (v. 18) and have “no breath” (v. 19). This is contrasted with God, who is a living Being who speaks through His Word. An idol is “a teacher of falsehood” (v. 18) because it teaches people to look to inanimate objects for hope. Idols teach people to thank dead things rather than God.
Silent Before the Lord (Habakkuk 2:20)
Habakkuk 2:20 stands as the conclusion to God’s second response to Habakkuk. It is part of the fifth woe, but it also stands alone—“But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.” That is God’s response to idolatry. Let all the earth be silent before the Holy Lord.
These woes were upon Babylon, but they were given generally to apply to all men. So we can still say today—Woe to you who steal things from others! Woe to you who build your house by evil gain! Woe to you who build your cities with bloodshed! Woe to you who take advantage of others! Woe to you who worship idols!
Habakkuk was right to refer to God as “my Holy One,” as he did early in the book (Habakkuk 1:12). That was part of Habakkuk’s complaint—an appeal to God’s nature. He asked, “Why are You silent [Heb. charash] when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?” (1:13). God answers in 2:20—“Let all the earth be silent [Heb. has] before Him.” While the Hebrew words for “silent” are different in 1:13 and 2:20, the connection is there, nonetheless. We may think God is silent, as Habakkuk charged. But He is not. He speaks. It is we who need to be silent and stand in awe of the Lord. We must submit to God and not murmur against Him.
Jesus’ Woes in Matthew 23
“Woes” are especially prominent in the prophets, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve. As for the New Testament, there are woes in Revelation. But the vast majority of New Testament woes are spoken by Christ in the Gospels, especially Matthew and Luke. Our Lord regularly pronounced woes on the wicked, which highlights that He was in fact a prophet, like the prophets of old.
The majority of Christ’s woes are upon the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23, which includes eight woes. Isaiah pronounced six woes in Isaiah 5:8-23, the most famous being Isaiah 5:20, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil.” In his commentary on Matthew, R. T. France noted that the polemic of woes in Matthew 23 is “particularly characteristic of Isaiah,” and thus, “the series of six woes against the ungodly in Isa 5:8-23 may have influenced this passage.” However, France also noted the formula occurs in other prophets, including the five woes of Habakkuk 2:6-20 (France, The Gospel of Matthew, NICNT [Eerdmans, 2007], 867–868).
While there are some similarities between Isaiah 5 and Matthew 23, I want to particularly focus on the similarities between Jesus’ eight woes in Matthew 23 and the five woes against Babylon in Habakkuk 2. In fact, we can make the connection that while God in Habakkuk 2 pronounces judgment on the nation of Babylon, Jesus in Matthew 23 pronounces judgment on the nation of Israel. In its rejection of the Christ, Israel had become a new Babylon, and would thus be judged like other idolatrous nations. (This may have implications for interpreting references to Babylon in Revelation. See Revelation 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:2, 10, 21.)
Habakkuk 2 and Matthew 23
The five woes of Habakkuk 2 were as follows: (1) Theft, (2) Greed (3) Violence, (4) Taking advantage of others, (5) Idolatry and false teaching. Jesus touches on all of these in Matthew 23:
Theft and Greed—“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses” (Matthew 23:14); “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence” (Matthew 23:25); “you devour widows’ houses” (Matthew 23:14).
Taking advantage of others—“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses” (Matthew 23:14); “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23); “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matthew 23:28).
Idolatry and false teaching—“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13); “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves” (Matthew 23:15).
Violence—While the Pharisees and scribes did not use violence like the Babylonians, these Jewish teachers still kept God’s people under captivity, albeit a spiritual captivity. They stole and practiced injustice and promoted false religion. Yet Jesus still charged them with violence. In fact, He charged them with violence as the eighth and final woe, making this the capstone of His condemnation:
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, “If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.” So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?
Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. (Matthew 23:29-35)
This final woe foreshadowed the Jewish leaders murdering the Son of God on the cross. They were just like the Babylonians whom God condemned in Habakkuk 2. And God brought judgment on both. Cyrus, king of Persia, defeated Babylon in 539 BC (and Cyrus returned the Jews to the land in 538 BC). Likewise, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70, just as Christ predicted (Matthew 24). Thus, we see that Christ judges the nations. He judges the wicked empires like Babylon. But He also judges His own people and their leaders when they stray from Him.
Habakkuk 2:16, said “The cup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you.” God’s cup of wrath will surely come around to all of us—that is, unless we are covered in the blood of the Lamb who satisfied the Father’s wrath on the cross (propitiation). Let us not be like the Babylonians, nor like the Pharisees. Let us turn from theft and greed, from violence and bloodshed, from taking advantage of others, and from idolatry and false doctrine. And rather than questioning the Providence beyond our comprehension, let us be silent before the Holy Lord of Israel.
*All Scripture quotations in this article are from the NASB 1995.
