Bible Verses and Early Church Commentary | Historical Christian Faith

¹ I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. ² And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. ³ For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. ⁴ Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. ⁵ 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: ⁶ 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! ⁷ Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? ⁸ Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. ⁹ Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! ¹⁰ Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. ¹¹ For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. ¹² Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity! 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? ¹⁴ For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. ¹⁵ Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! ¹⁶ Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD's right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory. ¹⁷ For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. ¹⁸ What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? ¹⁹ Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. ²⁰ But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

[AD 420] Jerome on Habakkuk 2:1

(Chapter 2, Verse 1) I will stand upon my watch, and set myself upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. LXX: I will stand upon my watch, and get upon the rock, and will watch to see what will be said unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. Symmachus more clearly pursued: Like a guard I will stand upon the lookout, and I will stand like one who is enclosed, and will watch to see what will be said unto me, and what I shall answer, and I will contradict the one who argues against me. For munition and stone, in whose place Symmachus interpreted as concluded, is called Masur in Hebrew, which Theodotion, Aquila, and the fifth edition translated as a compass. The Lord had responded to the first cause: Look among the nations and see, and be amazed, and be astounded. To this the prophet, acting as if repenting of the previous statement, moderated the question, saying: O Lord my God, my holy one, we shall not die (Habakkuk 1:12). But nevertheless, with reverence and praise for God himself had queried: Your eyes are blinded so that you do not see evil, and you do not look upon iniquity (ref. Hab 1:13). Why do you not look upon those who do evil and remain silent while the wicked devours the righteous? And what is the devouring of the righteous, carried out in part: so that people become like fish of the sea, and like creeping creatures. And with a hook, and a net, and a dragnet, all are drawn toward destruction, and there is no end to their killing. Therefore, because he is a prophet, and therefore he seeks and doubts, it is right that what is answered to him should be answered to everyone: I will stand, he says, on my watchtower, that is, in the height of my prophecy, and I will see what happens after the captivity of the people, and the destruction of the city and the temple, and afterwards what will follow. Or indeed, like this: I will guard my heart with all diligence, and I will stand upon the rock of Christ. And with this compass and circle, I will enclose myself like a wall, so that the roaring lion cannot break through to me, and I will see what God answers me after the second question: and after he has answered me and rebuked me for complaining, what should I also respond to him. On the other hand, he describes with an elegant and remarkable perception the impatience that we humans always have in debates: that before someone responds to us, and we know in what they have accused us, we prepare ourselves to respond. From which it is shown that the response is not of reason, but of contention. For if it were reason, the response should be awaited, and thus see whether it should respond or agree with a reasonable response. But this should also be noted from what he said, that in order to see what he speaks in me, the prophetic vision and speech of God do not happen externally to the prophets, but internally and in response to the inner person. Hence also Zacharias: And the angel, he said, who spoke in me (Zech. I, 9). And in the Psalms: I will hear what the Lord speaks in me (Psalm LXXXIV, 9).

Source: Commentary on Habakkuk

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Habakkuk 2:1

Where, then, did I find you in order to learn about you? For you were not already in my memory before I learned of you. Where, then, did I find you in order to learn about you, unless in yourself above me? Yet there is no place. We go backward and we go forward, yet there is no place. O truth, you do preside over all things, even those that take counsel with you, and you do answer in the same time all who consult you, however diverse their questions. You do answer clearly, but all do not hear clearly. All seek counsel concerning what they wish, but they do not always hear what they wish. He serves you best who does not so much expect to hear the thing from you that he himself desires, but rather to desire what he hears from you.

Source: Confessions 10.26

[AD 435] John Cassian on Habakkuk 2:1

If someone perseveres continually in this watchfulness, therefore, he will effectively bring to pass what is quite plainly expressed by the prophet Habakkuk: “I will stand on my watch and go upon my rock, and I will look out to see what he will say to me and what I should reply to him who reproaches me.” The laboriousness and difficulty of this is very clearly proved by the experiences of those who dwell in the desert of Calamus or Porphyrion.

Source: CONFERENCE 24:4.1

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Habakkuk 2:1

Will stand: Waiting to see what the Lord will answer to my complaint, viz., that the Chaldeans, who are worse than the Jews, and who attribute all their success to their own strength, or to their idols, should nevertheless prevail over the people of the Lord. The Lord's answer is, that the prophet must wait with patience and faith: that all should be set right in due time; and the enemies of God and his people punished according to their deserts.

[AD 99] Clement of Rome on Habakkuk 2:2-3

The all-merciful and beneficent Father has [a heart for] those who fear him, and kindly and lovingly he bestows his favors upon those who come to him with a simple mind. Therefore let us not be double-minded; neither let our soul be lifted up on account of his exceedingly great and glorious gifts. Far from us be that which is written, “Wretched are they who are of a double mind and of a doubting heart; who say, ‘These things we have heard even in the times of our fathers, but, behold, we have grown old, and none of them has happened unto us.’ ” You foolish ones! Compare yourselves with a tree; take the vine. First of all, it sheds its leaves, then it buds, next it puts forth leaves, and then it flowers; afterwards comes the sour grape, and then follows the ripened fruit. You perceive how in a little time the fruit of a tree comes to maturity. Of a truth, soon and suddenly shall his will be accomplished, as the Scripture also bears witness, saying, “Speedily will he come, and will not tarry,” and “The Lord shall suddenly come to his temple, even the holy one, for whom you look.”

Source: 1 CLEMENT 23

[AD 339] Eusebius of Caesarea on Habakkuk 2:2-3

He is blessed who is named by another prophet, “He that comes,” in the passage, “Yet a little while, and he that comes will come and will not tarry,” who also came in the name of the Lord God his Father. And he is the Lord God that appeared for us. For he insists that he has come in the name of his Father when he says to the Jews, “I have come in my Father’s name, and you receive me not. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.” He, then, who appeared for us—the Lord God, the blessed, who comes in the name of the Lord—was also the stone that those of old built up on the foundation of the Mosaic teaching, which they set aside and which, though set aside by them, has become the head of the corner of the church of the Gentiles. The oracle says it is wonderful, not to all that look on it but only to the eyes of the prophets, when it says, “And it is wonderful in our eyes.”

Source: PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 9:18

[AD 379] Basil of Caesarea on Habakkuk 2:2-3

You are perhaps distressed that you are driven outside the walls, but you shall dwell under the protection of the God of heaven. The angel who watches over the church has gone out with you. So they lie down in empty places day by day, bringing upon themselves heavy judgment as seen in the dispersion of the people. And, if in all this there is sorrow to be borne, I trust in the Lord that it will not be without its use to you. Therefore, the more have been your trials, look for a more perfect reward from your last judge. Do not take your present troubles ill. Do not lose hope. Yet a little while and your helper will come to you and will not tarry.

Source: LETTER 238

[AD 420] Jerome on Habakkuk 2:2-4

(Vers. 2 seqq.) And the Lord answered me, and said: Write the vision, and explain it upon tables, that he that readeth it may run over it. For as yet the vision is far off, and it shall appear at the end, and shall not lie: if it make any delay, wait for it: for it shall surely come, and it shall not be slack. Behold, he that is unbelieving, his soul shall not be right in himself: but the just shall live in his faith. LXX: And the Lord answered me, and said: Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it: for as yet the vision is for an appointed time, and it shall appear at the end, and shall not lie. If he fails, sustain him, for he will come, and will not delay: if he withdraws himself, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But the just shall live by my faith. Regarding the tablets and the box, which in Hebrew is called Alluoth ((Al. Luth)), Symmachus interpreted the pages. And where the Septuagint placed: But the just shall live by my faith, all equally translated, he shall live by his own faith. Finally, Symmachus, with a more significant interpretation, said: But the just shall live by his own faith, which in Greek is said, ὁ δίκαιος τῇ ἑαυτοῦ πίστει ζήσει: Indeed, if Baemunatho had the letter Yod and not Vau at the end, as the Septuagint thought, and it was read as Baemunathi (), they would have translated it correctly, in my faith. However, the similarity of the letters Vau and Jod, which are only distinguished by their size, has been a cause of error. The following discussion explains why this is so. According to the promise made to the holy man in Isaiah, 'Before they call, I will answer; while they are yet speaking, I will hear' (Isa. 65:24), the Lord also responds to the prophet and commands him to write down the vision and make it plain upon tablets, that is, to write it more clearly. But I think those tablets, about which the apostle also speaks to the Corinthians: You are our letter, written in our hearts: which is known and read by all men: being made manifest, that you are a letter of Christ, ministered by us, and written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of fleshly hearts (2 Corinthians 3:23). But Solomon also signifies something similar in Proverbs, saying: Write it on the tablet of your heart (Proverbs 3:3). But he is ordered to write more clearly, so that the reader may be able to run through it without any hindrance to its speed, and may be held back by a desire to read. And this is commanded, because the vision is still far off, and at the appointed time. And when the end of things shall come, then also he will come, and the true prophecy will be proved by the completed work. And if perhaps, for your eagerness, O reader, and the ardour of seeing the vision, it may have seemed to you to make a little delay in what has been promised, do not despair of his coming; but wait patiently: for you have me, who promise and say to you: He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But if anyone is unbelieving of this promise of mine, and, while I am saying 'coming, he will come, and he will not delay,' begins to doubt and silently waver within himself, thinking that what is being delayed for a time will not come; such a person will displease my soul, according to the saying: 'My soul hates your new moons and sabbaths' (Isaiah 1:13). And when God said 'his soul,' we should understand it as meaning 'his intellect and thoughts,' so that it would be 'my intellect will be displeased.' But just as it will displease the one who, with my promise, doubts that what I pledge will come to pass, so the righteous person who believes in my promise will live by their faith. These lines describe the picture of this chapter. And what he says is this, in this way, but only if we mix in the translation of the Septuagint. Write in your heart, and like little children who learn the first elements of the alphabet, they practice curved accents and a trembling hand on a boxwood tablet, and they become accustomed to write correctly through meditation. So you, who have spoken as the voice of a doubting people, write in the tablets of your heart and in the boxwood of your chest what I am saying. For it is a vision that is promised and commanded to be described and written more plainly, so that it is not wrapped in any cloud and not obscured by any enigmatic ambiguities: clear hope may have a clear promise. And this, O prophet, I command, not because you do not know (for you would not be a prophet if you were ignorant), but so that what you have written more clearly may be read and perused by the reader without hindrance and difficulty; which the Seventy translated as: ὅπως διώκῃ ὁ ἀναγινώσκων, that is, so that the one who reads may pursue; according to that sense which is written to Timothy: Pursue justice, and godliness, and faith, and charity, and patience, and meekness (I Tim. VI, 11). And to the Romans: Pursue hospitality (Rom. XII, 13). And to the Corinthians: Pursue charity (I Cor. XIV, 1). But the vision itself that I told you about: write down the vision and make it plain on a tablet, so that the one who reads it may run. It is still for an appointed time, but it speaks of the end and does not lie. Though it may delay, wait for it, for it will surely come and will not be late (Hab. II, 3). And it will come in the consummation of the world, and in the last hour of the day, of which John also speaks: Little children, it is the last hour now (I John II, 18). And he will not come in vain: for he will save many, and with the remnant of the Israelite people he will gather a multitude of nations. But if he shall withdraw for a little while, and the vision which you, reader, are commanded to read in the box and on the tablets which the prophet described, shall begin to come later, wait for it: because it will surely come, and it will not be delayed. But if your faith doubts, and you think that what I promise will not happen, you will have as a great punishment that you displease my soul. But the one who believes in my words and does not doubt what I promise, will receive the reward of eternal life. And you should not immediately accuse, whether in killing yourself or in giving life to another, that there is partiality in me, because he himself is the cause of his own life, who lives by his faith: just as you have displeased my soul by withdrawing and refusing to believe. But clearly in these words there is a prophecy about the coming of Christ. And so the proposed question is solved, that until he comes, iniquity will rule in the world, and judgment will not come to an end: and the true Nebuchadnezzar will capture men in his net and his dragnet like little fish, and the rational creature like a reptile, not having a prince. Moreover, what we have interpreted for the vision, because it is still far off: and if it delays, wait for it, that is, the vision: let no one think, deceived by error, that he could have put the vision, which is of the feminine gender, in the masculine gender, which is less common in Latin. Indeed, the word 'vision' in Hebrew, which is translated as 'Hazon' (), is of the masculine gender and is declined in the same gender throughout, that is, as 'visus'. However, the Septuagint translators said, 'Write it as 'visionem'; and afterwards, if it fails, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay. If it withdraws, my soul will have no pleasure in it.' They first translated 'vision' in the feminine gender, which, as we have said, is masculine in Hebrew. Then according to the Hebrew gender, where it is declined masculine, sustain it, and it will not please my soul in it, they also declined in the masculine gender. Indeed, they should have translated the vision according to the first interpretation, also putting the feminine gender in the other parts of the vision, saying, wait for her: for she will come, and if she withdraws, it will not please my soul in her, that is, in the vision. This is why, so that we would not appear to be silent about what we knew. Moreover, I am not unaware that according to their interpretation it can be understood in this way: Write down the vision in which Christ is promised, and weave this message in your prophecy, whether in a box, or on tablets, or, as Symmachus translated, on pages, so that at the appointed time and in the end of the world, my Son may come, who will save the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and also join other sheep with the ancient sheep, and making one flock, unite the two staffs, which Ezekiel, that is, the power of God, holds joined and closely connected in his prophetic hand (Ezek. 7). But if Christ, the prophet or you, my people (through whose person my prophet seems to have doubted), withdraws a little and seems to be delayed, wait for him, for he will come, and he will not delay; and the rest of what we have already explained. Furthermore, the reason why the Apostle used the testimony of the Septuagint more, writing to the Romans: 'The just shall live by faith' (Rom. 1:17), and not what is contained in the Hebrew, is evident. For he was writing to the Romans, who did not know the Hebrew Scriptures: and he did not care about the words, since the meaning was safe, and the discussion did not have any immediate disadvantage. Otherwise, wherever the meaning is different, and it is written differently in Hebrew and in the Septuagint, he noted it using the testimonies he had learned from Gamaliel, a teacher of the law.

Source: Commentary on Habakkuk

[AD 420] Jerome on Habakkuk 2:2-3

“[The Lord] who keeps the truth forever.” If we are crushed by falsehood and deceit, let us not grieve over it. The Lord is the guardian of truth for all eternity. Someone has lied against us, and the liar is given more credence than we who are telling the truth. We must not despair. The Lord keeps faith forever. Aptly said, “keeps.” He keeps truth and keeps it in his own treasury; he pays back to us what he has stored away for us. “Who keeps truth forever.” Christ is truth; let us speak truth, and truth will safeguard truth for us. “[The Lord] secures justice for the oppressed.” Even if justice delays its coming, do not give up hope; “it will surely come,” and bring salvation, securing justice for the oppressed. May our conscience testify only that we are not suffering on account of our sins and that we are not guilty of the charge brought against us.

Source: HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 55

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Habakkuk 2:2-3

Of what else than the advent of Christ, who was to come, is Habakkuk understood to say, “And the Lord answered me, and said, ‘Write the vision openly on a tablet of boxwood so that the one who reads these things may understand.’ ” For the vision is yet for a time appointed, and it will arise in the end, and it will not become void. If it delays, wait for it, because it will surely come and will not be delayed.

Source: City of God 18.31

[AD 50] Galatians on Habakkuk 2:3-4

O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. [Habakkuk 2:3-4] And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

[AD 56] Romans on Habakkuk 2:3-4

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. [Habakkuk 2:3-4]

[AD 69] Hebrews on Habakkuk 2:3-4

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. [Habakkuk 2:3-4] But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

[AD 258] Cyprian on Habakkuk 2:4

“And if you will not believe, neither will you understand.” Also the Lord in the Gospel: “For if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sins.” Moreover, righteousness should subsist by faith. In it was life, as predicted in Habakkuk: “Now the just shall live by faith in me.” Hence Abraham, the father of the nations, believed. In Genesis “Abraham believed in God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.” In like manner Paul wrote to the Galatians: “Abraham ‘believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ So you see, those of faith are the descendants of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’ So then, those who are people of faith are blessed with Abraham who had faith.”

Source: Treatise XII. Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 12:1.5

[AD 428] Theodore of Mopsuestia on Habakkuk 2:4

“But the righteous one will live from my faith.” So even if someone should be uncertain in their trust in the future and doubt if it will really happen, such a one is very much the object of dislike to me, because I define a righteous person as one who trusts in the promises and gets benefit from them.

Source: COMMENTARY ON HABAKKUK 2:1-4

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Habakkuk 2:4

Therefore pride is contrary to this justice of God, because it puts its trust in its own works. Thus the psalm continues, “Let not the foot of pride come to me.” This justice is the grace of the New Testament, by which the faithful are just, while they live by faith, until, by the perfection of justice, they are brought to the face-to-face vision, as they are also equally brought to immortality of the body itself, by the perfection of salvation.

Source: LETTER 140:30

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Habakkuk 2:4

Those just people also were saved by their salutary faith in him as man and God who, before he came in the flesh, believed that he was to come in the flesh. Our faith is the same as theirs, since they believed that this would be, while we believe that it has come to pass. Hence the apostle Paul says, “But having the same spirit of faith, as it is written: ‘I believed for which cause I have spoken,’ we also believe for which cause we speak also.” If, then, those who foretold that Christ would come in the flesh had the same faith as those who have recorded his coming, these religious mysteries could vary according to the diversity of times, yet all refer most harmoniously to the unity of the same faith. It is written in the Acts of the Apostles that the apostle Peter said, “Now therefore why do you make trial of your God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of our Lord Jesus just as they will.” If, therefore, they, that is, the fathers, being unable to bear the yoke of the old law, believed that they were saved through grace of the Lord Jesus, it is clear that this grace saved even the just people of old through faith, for “the just man lives by faith.”

Source: LETTER 190

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Habakkuk 2:4

But “Mary,” the other sister of Lazarus, “took a pound of perfume made from costly, pistic, aromatic nard. She anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the ointment fragrance.” We have heard what happened; let us search out the hidden meaning. You, whoever wishes to be a faithful soul, together with Mary anoint the Lord’s feet with costly perfume. That perfume was justice, and so it was a full pound. However, it was perfume made from costly, pistic, aromatic nard. What does “pistic” mean? We might believe it to be some place in which this was costly perfume; and yet this is not an idle phrase and is quite well consonant with the mystery. The Greek word means “faith.” You were seeking to work justice: “the just man lives by faith.” Anoint Jesus’ feet by living well. Follow the Lord’s footsteps. Wipe with your hair. If you have more than enough, give to the poor, and you have wiped the Lord’s feet. For hairs seem to be the body’s superfluity. For you they are superfluous, but for the Lord’s feet they are necessary. Perhaps on earth the Lord’s feet are in need. For about whom except about his members will he say in the end, “When you did it for one of the least of mine, you did it for me”? You spent your superfluity, but you gave service to my feet.

Source: TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 50:6

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Habakkuk 2:4

For it is not simply the enduring of such things that is advantageous, but the bearing of such things for the name of Christ not only with a tranquil mind, even with exultation. For many heretics, deceiving souls under the Christian name, endure many such things; but they are excluded from that reward on this account, that it is not said merely, “Blessed are they which endure persecution,” but it is added, “for righteousness’ sake.” Now, where there is not sound faith, there can be no righteousness, for the just man lives by faith. Neither let schismatics promise themselves anything of that reward; for similarly, where there is no love there cannot be righteousness, for “love works no ill to his neighbor.” And if they had it, they would not tear in pieces Christ’s body, which is the church.

Source: SERMON ON THE MOUNT 5:13

[AD 461] Leo the Great on Habakkuk 2:4

And hence Tobias also, while instructing his son in the precepts of godliness, says, “Give alms of your substance, and turn not your face from any poor man. So shall it come to pass that the face of God shall not be turned from you.” This virtue makes all virtues profitable, for by its precepts it gives life to that very faith by which “the just lives” and which is said to be “dead without works.” As the reason for works consists in faith, so the strength of faith consists in works.

Source: SERMON 10:4

[AD 258] Cyprian on Habakkuk 2:5

Since, therefore, the Lord thus threatens such shepherds through whom the sheep of the Lord are neglected and perish, what else ought we to do, dearly beloved brother, but to show full diligence in collecting and restoring the sheep of Christ and to apply the medicine of paternal piety to care for the wounds of the lapsed? The Lord also in the Gospel warns and says, “It is not the healthy who need a physician, but they who are sick.” For although we shepherds are many, yet we feed one flock. All of the sheep whom Christ sought by his blood and passion we ought to embrace and to cherish, and not to allow our suppliant and grieving brothers to be cruelly despised and to be trodden under foot by the proud presumption of certain ones, since it is written, “The man, however, who is stiff-necked, boastful of himself, will accomplish nothing at all. His greed is as wide as Sheol.”

Source: Epistle LXVI:4

[AD 420] Jerome on Habakkuk 2:5-8

(Verse 5 and following) And just as wine deceives a drinker, so too will the proud man be, and he will not be adorned, who has expanded his soul like Sheol and is like death, and he will not be satisfied. And he will gather all nations to himself, and he will heap all peoples to himself. Will not all these take up a proverb against him and a taunting riddle about him, and say: Woe to him who multiplies what is not his own! How long will he heap up thick clay against himself? Will not those who bite you suddenly rise up and those who harass you wake up, and you will become their prey? Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples will plunder you because of human bloodshed and the violence done to the land, the city, and all its inhabitants. Woe to him who is arrogant though! Man of pride, who accomplishes nothing. He who enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and like Death, he is never satisfied. And he will gather all nations to himself, and he will receive all peoples to himself: will not all these take up a parable against him, and a mockery of his narration, and say: Woe to him who multiplies things that are not his own: how long will he burden himself heavily with his own torment, because suddenly those who bite him will rise up, and your schemers will be watchful, and you will be a prey to them? For you have plundered many nations, all the remaining peoples will plunder you because of the blood of men and the wickedness of the land, city, and all its inhabitants. When these things have been promised concerning the coming of Christ, or, as some please, concerning the end of the vision, and the fulfillment of God's help: whoever believes that it will come, will live by his faith; but whoever is unbelieving, will displease the Lord's souls; King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon will be deceived by his pride. And just as wine affects the drinker, and after he has risen, neither his foot, nor his mind fulfills its duty; and all joy and exhilaration of the mind turns into ruin: so a proud man will not be adorned, nor will he achieve his own will to the end, and according to Symmachus he will not prosper, that is, there will be a shortage in all things. Who, like death and hell, is not satisfied with the slain: and subduing all nations and peoples under his rule, he did not consider an end to his greed. Will not everyone speak out against him when he is intoxicated with the cup of the Lord and is asleep from the wine-filled chalice, a disgrace? Woe to him who, ravaging the entire world, is not satisfied with plunder and does not cease to strip the already naked, and to this extent he rages in order to devour, and under the burden of wickedness and spoils he weighs himself down like a heavy yoke. At the same time, consider how elegantly he called the dense multiplied riches clay. Will not the Medes and Persians suddenly rise up, destroying the empire of the Babylonians, biting him first and then tearing him apart? And let Nebuchadnezzar become a prey for them, and let the destroyer of the whole world be plundered by the remaining peoples who were able to escape his hand and cruelty. But this will happen to him because of the blood of man, that is, of the Jews, and because of the wickedness of the land, namely, Israel, and the city, undoubtedly meaning Jerusalem and all the inhabitants in it in general. Let us discuss and the Septuagint. Everything we have said about Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar can be related to this world and to the devil, who is truly arrogant and proud, and believes himself to be something, but will lead to nothing. Indeed, his efforts and all his labor will be in vain: he delights in the likeness of hell and death, not satisfied with the killings of countless people, and rejoices in deceiving all nations, and gathering people to himself. Those who see him sent into the Abyss and handed over to Tartarus will recall in harmonious voice the things they read in the prophets allegorically and enigmatically, seeing them fulfilled and interpreting them about him: Woe to the devil, who has multiplied what does not belong to him. Woe to the lost one, who has gathered what she did not bear. How long will this voice be of rebuke or demonstration of judgment? And he will make his torment even heavier with infinite weight. And it is fitting, because it is arrogant and proud (pride is properly shown in the extension of the neck and the raising of the head), that the punishment should be very severe, so that what was erect may be bent. And this will happen because suddenly those who will bite him will rise up, either angels, with whom the devil will be handed over for punishment, or those who had been tempted by him, later repenting and converted to the banners of Christ, they will bite him, according to what is said elsewhere: 'Your peaceful men have set traps for you' (Jeremiah 28). Finally, it follows: And your adversaries will awake, that is, those whom you put to sleep before, those whom you intoxicated, you will be subject to their snares, who lay waste to your kingdom, and those who were captured in Christ's troops. For you have plundered many nations, and you have despoiled the Jewish people of the ornamental and sacred garments that I gave them: therefore all the remaining peoples, who have not subjected their neck to your empire, will plunder you and make you naked. Because you have both killed many people and shed their blood. But also the wickedness of the land, that is, of Judea, and the city of Jerusalem, and all its inhabitants (who said against their Creator: Crucify, crucify him: his blood be upon us and upon our children (John 19:6)), shall return upon your head, and shall be the cause of your plundering. This can also be interpreted as referring to the Antichrist, who will be so arrogant and proud that he will sit in the temple of God, pretending to be God. And, like hell and death, it will kill so many and gather them to itself, so that, if possible, it may even deceive the elect of God. It will also gather to itself all nations and lead all peoples into its error. But when they see him afterwards, whom Christ will destroy with the breath of his mouth, they will understand that what was predicted about him beforehand is true, and they will say all that follows with the same understanding with which we have explained about the devil. But what he says is, that all the remaining people will strip you because of the blood of men, and the impiety of the land, and the city, and all who dwell in it, let us understand the remaining holy people, who did not serve the Antichrist, from whom the wicked one will be stripped because of the impiety which he exercised over the whole earth, and the devastation of the city of the Church, and the persecution of all who dwelled in it. For such great devastation and such great impiety at the end of things, while the Antichrist rages, will prevail in the Churches, and with the multiplied iniquity of many, love will grow so cold (Mat. XXIV) that the Lord, who knows the secrets of the heart and what is to come, does not ignore, will say: Do you think, when the Son of Man comes, He will find faith on earth? (Luc. XVIII, 8) We can also, according to John the Apostle (who writes: As you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come (1 John 2:18); by this we know that it is the last hour), condemn all heretics and the entire perverse doctrine of those who arrogantly despise the knowledge and simplicity of the Church, who do not lead to any good end but delight in the deaths of many, arrogantly and proudly speaking and twisting the entire content of scripture to fit their own understanding. They truly multiply for themselves not what is theirs, but rather the heaviest mud and a burdensome millstone by which they will be dragged to punishment, gathering for themselves spoils from many nations and shedding the blood of humans, exercising impiety in the Church and against all its inhabitants. But the remaining people, namely the men of the Church, who have not been deceived by their error, will suddenly rise up and awaken as from a deep sleep, and they will bite them and lay traps for them, and they will have them as prey. Some think that what is said, 'Woe to those who accumulate what is not theirs,' etc., can apply to the rich, who extend the boundaries of their possessions and gather for themselves things that do not belong to man, and from whom they will suddenly be left. But the Lord demonstrates that what is not of man, that is, a rational animal, is earthly possession, saying: If you were not faithful in another's, what is yours, who will give you? And they discussed the entire text of the chapter about this matter. But I do not know if they can maintain the order of prophetic questioning and solving.

Source: Commentary on Habakkuk

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Habakkuk 2:5

As wine deceiveth: Viz., by affording only a short passing pleasure; followed by the evils and disgrace that are the usual consequences of drunkenness; so shall it be with the proud enemies of the people of God; whose success affordeth them only a momentary pleasure, followed by innumerable and everlasting evils.

[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Habakkuk 2:6

Let your people not desire many things, for the reason that few things are many to them. Poverty and riches are names that imply want and satiety. He is not rich who wants anything, nor poor who does not want. Let no one spurn a widow or cheat an orphan or defraud his neighbor. Woe to him who has a fortune amassed by deceit and builds in blood a city, in other words, his soul. For it is this that is built like a city. Greed does not build it but sets it on fire and burns it. Do you wish to build your city well? “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasures without fear.” The riches of a person ought to work for the redemption of his soul, not to its destruction. Wealth is redemption if one uses it well; so too it is a snare if one does not know how to use it. For what is a person’s money if not provision for the journey?

Source: LETTER 15

[AD 444] Cyril of Alexandria on Habakkuk 2:6

As for the inventors of impure heresies, those profaners and apostates who have opened their mouths wide against the divine glory, “those who have uttered perverted things,” we could accuse them of having slipped in their madness as low as the foolish pagans. [They have slipped] perhaps even lower, for it would have been better never to have known it than to have turned away from the sacred commandment which was handed on to them. What the book of Proverbs so rightly speaks of has indeed come about: “that the dog has returned to its vomit, and no sooner has it washed than the pig returns to wallow in the slime.” They have circulated among themselves blasphemous accusations against Christ and like wild, ferocious wolves ravage the flock for which Christ died. They pillage what is his very own, “bloating themselves on what is not theirs,” as it is written, and “stuffing their gorge to the full.” How aptly does that saying apply to them, that “they came out from us but were not part of us.”

Source: ON THE UNITY OF CHRIST

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Habakkuk 2:6

Thick clay: Ill-gotten goods, that, like mire, both burden and defile the soul.

[AD 380] Apostolic Constitutions on Habakkuk 2:9

You shall not speak evil; for he says, “Love not to speak evil, lest you be taken away.” You shall not be mindful of injuries, for “the ways of those that remember injuries are unto death.”? You shall not be double-minded or double-tongued, for “a man’s own lips are a strong snare to him,” and “a talkative person shall not be prospered upon the earth.” Your words shall not be vain, for “you shall give an account of every idle word.” You shall not tell lies, for he says, “You shall destroy all those that speak lies.” You shall not be covetous or rapacious, for he says, “Woe to him that is covetous toward his neighbor with an evil covetousness.”

Source: CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 7:4

[AD 420] Jerome on Habakkuk 2:9

(Verse 9.) Woe to him who gathers evil greed to his house, that his nest may be on high and he may escape from the power of evil. You have devised ruin to your house, you have destroyed many peoples, and your soul has sinned. For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork will answer. LXX: O you who multiply evil greed to your house, that you may set your nest on high and be delivered from the hand of evil. You have devised ruin to your house, you have consumed many peoples, and your soul has sinned; therefore the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork will speak these things. Still, this is the same speech that heaps evils upon itself, and does not understand the multitude of riches as the cause of its own ruin; at the same time, it is argued through metaphor as the pride that places its nest on high like a bird, and thinks it is safe from the hands of evil, that is, never to come into the power of enemies: this plan of pride and arrogant thought had an end in ignominy. You have killed many people, and in killing others, you have raged against your own soul, and in such cruelty you have reveled, that, if it can be said, the stones of the city and the wood of the walls that you have overthrown cry out your ferocity. He said this to the Lord in the Gospel, against the Pharisees who were criticizing him, asking why he did not rebuke the children who were shouting to him: Hosanna in the highest to the son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. 'Have you not read,' he said, 'that it is written (Psalm 8:3): Out of the mouth of babes and infants you have brought forth praise? And if these were silent, the stones would shout out' (Matthew 21:9, 16). For although many may understand it thus: if the Jews were silent, the multitude of the Gentiles would confess me; nevertheless this is a more explicit and truer understanding: even if men were silent, and envious tongue did not speak of the multitude of my miracles, nevertheless the very stones, and the foundations of the walls, and the building of the walls itself, would be able to resound my greatness. To make it more significant, let's also take examples from secular literature. Crispus (Sallustius) speaks in his histories: 'The Saguntines, famous for their trustworthiness and hardships, were esteemed above mortals, with greater zeal than wealth, since among them even then the half-ruined walls, uncovered houses, and burnt temple walls displayed Punic hands.' Similarly, Tullius speaks to Caesar in defense of Marcellus: 'By god, the walls!' (As it seems to me) the members of this court strive to thank you, because in a short time that authority will be in the hands of their ancestors and their seats. Moreover, what we have interpreted is: And the wood that is between the joints of the buildings, it will answer: concerning which the Seventy translated: And the scarabaeus made of wood will speak these things, Symmachus translated it more clearly in his own way: and the wooden joint of the building will speak these things. Theodotius also, and the joining together of wood will speak this: and also a fifth edition, and the joining together of wood will speak this: and these interpretations themselves agree with the interpretation of Symmachus and our interpretation; for what is called in the Hebrew language Chaphis (), signifies wood, which is put in the middle of the structure to hold the walls together; and commonly among the Greeks it is called ἱμάντωσις. Therefore, according to the story, this is what the prophetic speech signifies: the stones of the walls that were destroyed by you, and their burnt wood will sound your cruelty. I found, except for five editions, that is, Aquila's, Symmachus's, the Septuagint, Theodotion's, and a fifth one, in the twelve prophets and two other editions, in one of which it is written: \"For a stone will cry out from the wall, and a worm speaking in the wood;\" and in the other: \"For a stone from the wall will cry out, and a worm will speak from the wood.\" But Aquila also put something different than what we said, \"and a lump,\" that is, a mass of wood will reply. We will explain the interpretation of these things in the exposition of the translators of the Septuagint, in which instead of \"woe,\" \"O\" is used, and the speech is directed either to the devil or the Antichrist or to the heretics, who multiply their wicked avarice. Wickedness, however, is called avarice, to distinguish it from the good avarice of the doctor of Ecclesiasticus, who is never satisfied with the multitude of his followers, and the more disciples he has, the more he is aroused to the study of doctrine. Therefore, woe to the one who multiplies his worst avarice, so that he gathers perverse assemblies in his house and sets his nest high, so that he may be delivered from the hand of evil. For the devil, the Antichrist, and the heretics promise that those who accept their teaching will possess the heavenly kingdom and avoid the fires of hell. And when they have made these promises, their plan cannot come to fruition, but it will be a plan of confusion and dishonor for their house, after the falsehood of their promises is revealed, and when it is proven that their plan is a plan of confusion, not salvation. This teacher of perversity, as we said, has consumed many peoples, and the more he has had in his company, the more he has sinned against his own soul. Finally, the stones of his church and the beetle, that is, the scarab beetle from the wood, will cry out against the prideful avarice because he has deceived all nations by his persuasion. The stones, we can understand, represent the foolish hearts of believers who follow the teachings of heretics, and the scarab beetle from the wood represents the corrupt teachers who, for the sake of shameful gain, take up the preaching of the cross and speak from their mouths. For their god is their belly, and they do everything for the sake of food, and they are reduced to dung (for the scarab beetle or the beetle is a worm of dung); and they only take up the cross in order to teach the avarice and pride of their master, the devil, with a viper's mouth. If you ever see some heretic speaking as if he were speaking hidden and secret mysteries against the Church, and prefer the devil's house to Christ's, say: \"A stone cries out from the wall, and a beetle speaks from the wood.\" I read in a certain book that the beetle is understood to be superimposed on heretics because their teachings are like dung. Hence, the Apostle says that he considers the error of the old teaching as dung (Philippians 3). Not that the old Law, as the Manicheans think, should be compared to the Gospel as dung (which is impious to say, since both Testaments belong to the same God), but because the teachings of the Pharisees, the commandments of men, and the second scriptures (δευτερώσεις) of the Jews are called dung by the Apostle. I know a brother who understood the stone crying out from the wall to be the Lord and the beetle speaking from the wood to be the thief who blasphemed against the Lord, which, although it can be understood piously, I cannot find how it can be fitted with the entire context of the prophecy. There are some who think that the beetle speaking from the wood can be referred to the person of the Savior, which appears impious from the very order of the discourse. For the beetle will speak from the wood, is not understood in a good, but in a bad sense, that is, it will speak of the worst avarice of the one who multiplies it against his own house and the confusion of the devil, and the other things that preceded his wickedness and crime. As for Aquila's saying, \"and a lump of wood will reply,\" we refer the lump to the sense that the Lord placed in the Gospel: \"Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees\" (Matthew 16:11). And when the apostles doubted and could not know what it meant, the evangelist interpreted it, saying: \"He had said to them concerning the teaching of the Pharisees.\" Therefore, rightly the teaching of heretics speaks from the wood, for they cannot persuade otherwise unless they prefer the glory of the wood to their own perversity. Also, that which we said, \"For a stone will cry out from the wall, like a worm speaking in the wood,\" or \"a stone from the wall will cry out, and a worm will speak from the wood,\" some of our people say that the worm speaking in the wood is that one who says in the psalm: \"But I am a worm and not a man\" (Psalm 22:6), and they refer the speaking bird to the same person who says: \"I have become like a solitary sparrow on the roof\" (Psalm 102:8), and other things similar to these.

Source: Commentary on Habakkuk

[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Habakkuk 2:11

Helena adored the king, not the wood [of the cross], indeed, because this is an error of the Gentiles and a vanity of the wicked. But she adored him who hung on the tree, whose name was inscribed in the title; him, I say, as a scarab, cried out to his Father to forgive the sins of his persecutors. The woman eagerly hastened to touch the remedy of immortality, but she feared to trample under the foot the mystery of salvation. Joyful at heart, yet with anxious step, she knew not what she should do. She proceeded, however, to the resting place of truth. The wood shone, and grace flashed forth. And, as before, Christ had visited as woman Mary, so the spirit visited a woman in Helena. He taught her what as a woman she did not know and led her upon a way that no mortal could know.

Source: ON THE DEATH OF THEODOSIUS 46

[AD 420] Jerome on Habakkuk 2:12-14

(Verse 12 and following) Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed, and establishes a town with injustice: are these things not from the Lord of hosts? For the peoples shall labor in vain, and the nations shall exhaust themselves: for the earth shall be filled, that they may know the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. LXX: Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed, and establishes a town with wickedness: are these things not from the Almighty Lord? And many peoples have failed in fire, and many nations are crowded: for the earth will be filled to know the glory of the Lord, like water to work the seas. There is no doubt that the prophetic word still speaks against Nebuchadnezzar according to the letter; and he mourns because he built Babylon in blood, and he constructed the walls of that city in the ruins and deaths of many. Since he did this to the city that he had built in blood, he afterwards listens to what will be brought upon him by the Lord. For it follows: Are not these from the Lord of hosts? that is, what is being said. The peoples will labor in much fire, and the nations in emptiness, that is, Babylon in flames, the peoples will labor in vain, and strive for nothing, and the peoples of the Chaldean nation will be exhausted. For the earth will be filled, so that it may know the glory of the Lord, that is, when Babylon has been overthrown, the power of God's might will be made clear to all, like waters covering the sea: thus the glory of the Lord will fill the whole earth, as waters cover the channel and the depths of the sea. These things, as we have said, literally. Moreover, it is clear that both the devil, and the Antichrist, and the perverse doctrine of heretics build the city in blood, that is, their Church in the destruction of those whom they have deceived, and prepare the city in wickedness, speaking against God iniquity, and exalting their mouth. And when they have done this, it is clearly shown that they build the city in blood and prepare it in wickedness of their own. For it follows: Are not these from the Lord Almighty? That is, such a building is not from the Lord of hosts, whom the LXX translators have now interpreted as Almighty. For many peoples will fail, and although countless nations are led astray by them, they will either grow weary, which more clearly means they have fainted, or they will certainly be confined and unable to be compared to the multitude of the Church. Indeed, when those people have failed in fire (which either means the fire of their devilish leader has been extinguished or certainly the fire of the Lord has been kindled, about which He says, 'I came to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled' (Luke 12:49) ), and when they have retraced their previous course and have repented and have abandoned the journey they began, which means that they have fainted, the whole earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord, when their sound goes out to the whole world through the preaching of the apostles, just as the waters cover the sea (Psalm 18), that is, so that all the saltiness and bitterness of the age, which the earth has drunk in as the devil pours it down, will be covered by the waters of the Lord and the place of the sea and the former bitterness will not appear. And in the psalm it is said, Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered (Psalm 32:1). However, it can also be understood (although it does not fit the order of the reading, nor does it relate to the present text of Scripture) as referring to the city of Jerusalem, full of the blood of the prophets, as the Scripture mentions (Matthew 23), that the blood of the saints has overflowed in it from gate to gate. And what is said in the Lord's passion: His blood be on us and on our children (Matthew 27:25). And to which God speaks in Isaiah: When you lift up your hands to me, I will not listen to you: for your hands are full of blood (Isa. I, 15). This is built in iniquities: in which, according to the same prophet, justice slept. Nor is its foundation from the Lord of hosts. Hence, many peoples have perished in fire, and many nations have been exhausted at the time when Jerusalem was surrounded by the armies of Vespasian and Titus, and on the solemn day of Passover were held captive in the city like a prison: and they were depleted by hunger and scarcity, and the siege of Hadrian brought them to their ultimate ruins. But when the city of bloodshed and the city of iniquities and the people who had come to their aid were destroyed by fire, and the exhausted hands were released, the whole earth was filled with the glory of Christ, and just as with water, so the whole world was covered with his words and teachings.

Source: Commentary on Habakkuk

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Habakkuk 2:13

Are not these things: That is, shall not these punishments that are here recorded, come from the Lord upon him that is guilty of such crimes.

The people shall labour: Viz., the enemies of God's people.

[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Habakkuk 2:15

What then are we to do who received such instructions about interpretation from Paul, a teacher of the church? Does it not seem right that we apply this kind of rule that was delivered to us in a similar way in other passages? Or as some wish, forsaking these things that such a great apostle taught, should we turn again to “Jewish fables”? It seems to me that if I differ from Paul in these matters I aid the enemies of Christ, and this is what the prophet says, “Woe to him who causes his neighbor to drink for foul subversion!” Let us cultivate, therefore, the seeds of spiritual understanding received from the blessed apostle Paul, insofar as the Lord shall see fit to illuminate us by your prayers.

Source: HOMILIES ON EXODUS 5:1

[AD 420] Jerome on Habakkuk 2:15-17

(Verg. 15 seqq.) Woe to him who gives drink to his friend, sending forth his gall and intoxicating him, so that he may see his nakedness. He is filled with shame instead of glory. Drink also yourself, and be drunk, for the cup of the Lord's right hand will surround you, and the vomit of shame will be upon your glory. For the wickedness of Lebanon will cover you, and the destruction of animals will frighten them away, from the blood of men and the iniquity of the land, the city, and all the inhabitants therein. Woe to those who give drink to their neighbor, mixing in their own venom, so that they may look into their hidden corners. Drink of the shame of glory, and be moved, for the cup of the Lord’s right hand has surrounded you, and shame has gathered upon your glory. For the wickedness of Lebanon will cover you, and the misery of beasts will terrify you, because of the blood of men and the impieties of the land and the city, and of all who dwell in it. For the confused subversion, Symmachus interpreted it as, καὶ ἀφιὼν ἀκρίτως τὸν θυμὸν ἑαυτοῦ, which means, and releasing without judgment his own fury. Theodotius interpreted it as ἀπὸ χύσεώς σου, which means from your outpouring. The fifth edition ἐξ ἀπροσδοκήτου ἀνατροπῆς τῆς ὀργῆς σου, which signifies, from the unexpected overturning of your anger. Aquila, ἐξ ἐπιτρίψεως χόλου σου, which we can translate as, from the outburst of your rage. In another edition, I found οὐαὶ τῷ ποτίζοντι τὸν ἑταῖρον αὐτοῦ ἀέλλην πετομένην, which in our language means: Woe to the one who gives his companion a flying whirlwind. But I read it translated elsewhere: Woe to the one who gives drink to his neighbor's ἔκστασιν ὀχλουμένην, that is, troubled madness. This is done in order to understand how much the Hebrew word Maspha () which the LXX translated as subversion, differs in all editions. Therefore, this is still an invective against Nebuchadnezzar, because forgetting his own condition, and as if unaware that he is a man, he offered happiness and bitterness to another man. However, we can understand it either as the king of Judea, or generally all men whom he has intoxicated with evils, so that he may see the nakedness of Sedecias and all the captives. This was interpreted by Symmachus and the fifth edition, that he may see their ignominies. However, these things are said in the metaphor of a drunken man, and of those made shameful by nakedness, because Nebuchadnezzar has intoxicated all with the cup of his fury, and has seen all stripped and captive, and those who were once glorious have been reduced to the utmost servitude: for this is what he says: He is filled with ignominy instead of glory, so that it may be understood that a friend, and close, or a partner of the kingdom, who drinks your cup, O Nebuchadnezzar. Because you have made many people drunk, you too shall drink from the cup of the Lord's wrath and become intoxicated. You will be surrounded by the punishments of the Lord's right hand, and all that you have consumed will be vomited forth in disgrace. You will be brought down from your lofty glory to the depths of misfortune. The iniquity of Lebanon will cover you, and your pride and the destruction of the temple will be your downfall. The plundering of the sanctuary will lay waste to you. And because the mountain of Lebanon was mentioned, under the same metaphor it compares victims, sacrifices, or certainly the multitude of peoples that were killed in Jerusalem, to animals or beasts, saying: And the devastation of animals will oppress you. But all this you will suffer, because you devastated Judah, you overturned the land of promise, and the city of Jerusalem and all its inhabitants. I met a certain Hebrew in Lydda, who was wise among them and was called a secretary, telling such a story: Zedekiah, he said, was blinded by King Nebuchadnezzar in Riblah, which is Antioch, and in various mocking ways, he was led to Babylon (2 Kings 25; Jeremiah 39). And when one day Nebuchadnezzar was celebrating a banquet, he commanded him to give him a drink, which, when drunk, would make the drinker's stomach flow freely: and suddenly, brought in before the mouths of the feasters, he was compelled to expel from his belly, polluted with filth, and this is what the Scripture here says: Woe to him who gives drink to his friend, sending his gall and making him drunk, so that he may see his nakedness and disgrace for glory: namely, that he who was the most powerful king was brought to such a disgrace by him. And God threatens him that he himself will drink this kind of potion and suffer all that Zedekiah suffered. How ridiculous this is, you know, even without me speaking. For if they say, 'Drink yourself and pass out, and the cup of the Lord's right hand will surround you, and the vomit of shame will be upon your glory,' they do not understand it as referring to the cup, but to the evils that Nebuchadnezzar will drink. Therefore, the cup that was given to Zedekiah should be understood as referring to evils, not, as they want, a cleansing potion. But if they say truly, and if this kind of potion is moderate, as I recounted above: therefore this cup which Nebuchadnezzar is about to drink is to be considered full of purgative, so that the God of Sabaoth and the Almighty Lord may offer purgative for the great revenge of Nebuchadnezzar and may make him defiled with his own dung. This is against the Jewish tradition. But let us come to spiritual understanding. Woe to you, devil, or Antichrist, or perverse doctrine of heretics, who intoxicate ((alternatively: who intoxicate and overthrow and give)) the deceived people with your teachings and turbid potion, and overthrow their previous faith, giving them a potion not from Siloam, not from the Jordan, not from the fountains of Israel, but from the brook Cedron and from the river of Egypt, of which Jeremiah says: 'What to you and the way of Egypt for you to drink waters from Geon' (Jeremiah 2:18)? For which reason it is written in Hebrew 'Sior' (which means turbid and muddy); although the rivers of Egypt are believed to come out of the paradise of the Scriptures, yet because they are trampled on by the feet of Pharaoh, they have lost their splendor, and violated by Egyptian mire, they have turned into torrents, concerning which it is said with rejoicing: 'Our soul has passed through a torrent.' (Ps. 123:5) But if someone objects and brings up the torrent of Corath, from which Elijah drank (1 Kings 17), and another torrent, from which the Lord drank on the way (for it is thus written: 'He will drink from the brook on the way' (Ps. 109:7)), it must be said that whoever is in Egypt and on the way of this world, even if he is Moses and Aaron, even if he is Jeremiah and Elijah, he must necessarily drink from the temptations of Egypt and the wilderness. Therefore, the word of the Lord, who assumed flesh for this reason, to drink from the brook, considering his majesty, said: 'Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.' (Matt. 26:39) Seeing again that he was in Egypt, and that the waters could not be cleansed unless he himself could, he said: Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. These things, therefore, because the devil intoxicates his neighbors with subversion and turbid drink and perverse teachings, that is, the rational animal, and makes those whom he deceives look to their own caves. For the teachings of the Church are free: they rejoice by day and by light. But those who are intoxicated, are intoxicated by night (1 Thess. 5:7): and those who intoxicate them, do not lead them into the courts of the Lord, which are not darkened by any roof, but into caves. For they made the house of the Father, which had been a house of prayer, into caves of robbers, promising certain initiations and mysteries, and hidden secrets known only to heretics, of which Isaiah speaks: And they shall hide themselves: and shed into caves, and into the clefts of rocks, and into the holes of the earth (Isa. II, 18, 19). Therefore, let us not enter into the caves of heretics, nor hide ourselves there, where the impious Saul used to expel the filth of his teachings (1 Sam. XXIV): but rather let us ascend to the lofty cave of Mount Sinai, where Elijah also saw the Lord (1 Sam. XIX), and Moses saw His back parts (Exod. XXXIII). And Isaiah cries out concerning the Lord: 'He will dwell in the high cave.' (Isai. XXXII, 16) But if anyone does not have a turbid cup and heretical teaching, and he is the master of the Church, and he does all things for the sake of dirty gain, and he sells doves in the temple, that is, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and on the priestly seat he sets free birds. This person does not indeed make the house of prayer a den of thieves, but he makes the house of the Father a house of business. After this comes: Drink, for the glory, the fullness of shame, O devil, O twisted doctrine, O heretic, who thought yourself to be a golden chalice, by which all nations are intoxicated, in order to see your caves and secrets, to fill with the greatness of glory the fullness of shame, and to consider the works of the potter's hands as a vessel of clay: drink also from the chalice of the Lord, of which it is said in the psalm: 'The chalice in the hand of the Lord is filled with mixed wine,' and He inclined from this into that: nevertheless, its dregs are not emptied out. And to move the prior opinion, and do not think them to be firm and stable, in which you desired to stand first: because the cup of the right hand of the Lord has encompassed you. Moreover, because you have caused a turbulent overthrow to your neighbor, shame will be gathered upon you, and upon your glory, which you believed to have first: and you will suffer this, because the impiety of Lebanon will cover you, according to what is said: And let his prayer become sin (Psalm 109:7). For Mount Lebanon, next to the Greek word ὁμώνυμος, is the name of frankincense; but frankincense is the symbol of spiritual incense, which is the worship of God. Therefore, the perverse speech of heretics, not directed by the simplicity of the Gospel, will be turned into sin for them, and impiety will cover their worship of God. Hence it follows: 'And the misery of beasts shall frighten thee, because of the blood of men, and the impieties of the land, and the city, and all that dwell therein.' And this is the meaning: Those whom you deceived with your frauds and made into your beasts from the flock of Christ, when you see them in misery and endure punishment for their error, then you will be terrified, then you will fall. And do not think that when I mentioned Lebanon and its beasts, I was speaking of brute animals and not of men, I tell you more plainly: You will endure these things, because you have shed the blood of many men whom you have caused to perish for God. And you have exercised wickedness in the land of the living, in the land of the gentle, and your wickedness has also raged in the city of the Lord, that is, in His Church; and you have made many who dwell in it participants in your wickedness. Let this be said under the mask of heretics. But if we want to understand about the Antichrist, or about the devil who will work in the Antichrist, and he will intoxicate many with his cup, with which he desires to overthrow the discipline of Christ, so that they may enter his caves drunkenly: but after the end has come, for the glory with which he magnified himself, he will be filled with ignominy. However, he will be filled, because he will drink the cup of punishments, and he will be moved, not steadfast in his wickedness, but fearful and late in his repentance. For the cup of the Lord's right hand will surround him, who is the Lord and Savior, when he has killed him with the breath of his mouth, and has destroyed him by the brightness of his coming. Then all the disgrace that he gathered for himself with thoughts, actions, and words will come upon his glory: so that as much as he was considered illustrious before, so much afterwards he will be full of disgrace. For he blasphemed against God, and the impiety which he practiced in Lebanon will cover him, and the rage of many people who were ravaged against the Church of God will be imputed to him; nor will he be able to lift up his head, but he will be crushed to the ground in terror. For he has killed many people, and with his impiety he has devastated the whole world, that is, the Church of Christ and its inhabitants. Therefore, it should be understood that this chapter, which we have now presented, namely: Woe to him who gives his neighbor a turbid drink for his downfall; and the previous three in which it was said: Woe to him who multiplies for himself what does not belong to him, and: Woe to him who gathers evil avarice to his house, and: Woe to him who builds a city in blood, can be equally understood according to history, and according to the anagogical interpretation, or against Nebuchadnezzar, or against the devil and the Antichrist and the heretics.

Source: Commentary on Habakkuk

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Habakkuk 2:17

The iniquity of Libanus: That is, the iniquity committed by the Chaldeans against the temple of God, signified here by the name of Libanus.

[AD 420] Jerome on Habakkuk 2:18

(Verse 18.) What profit is there in a carved image, because the maker thereof hath carved it, a molten and a false image? because the maker thereof hath trusted in his own workmanship, to make dumb idols. LXX: What profit is there in a carved image, because they have carved it, and fashioned it by the molten workman, a false image? because the artificer thereof hath trusted in his own workmanship, to make dumb idols. Furthermore, it is said in the preceding (or in the preceding matter), concerning Nebuchadnezzar, that he made a statue of the idol Bel, and set it in the field of Dura: or, as it is written in Hebrew, Dora, about which we read more fully in Daniel (Dan. 3). Therefore, the Scripture marvels at the madness and foolishness of the king, because he commanded a golden statue to be made, and the artist places confidence in the image that he created. And indeed, we can apply this, generally speaking, to all idol worshippers. We cannot consider that which is sculpted and that which is cast to be the same thing. For the sculpting, we can understand it to be in stones and marbles; but the casting is understood in those metals which can be melted and cast, for example, gold, silver, bronze, lead, and tin. Let this saying be, that according to tropology we may understand what is the difference between a sculpture and an idol. We read in Deuteronomy: Cursed be he who makes a sculpture and an idol, the work of the craftsman's hands, and sets it up in secret (Deut. XXVII, 15). I believe that sculptures and idols are perverse doctrines which are worshiped by those who made them. See how Arianus sculpted an idol for himself and worshiped what he had sculpted. Cerne Eunomium conflasse imaginem falsam, et conflationi suae curvare cervicem. Signanterque Scriptura: Et ponet, inquit, illud in abscondito. Habent enim et ipsi orgia sua, et quasi pro perfectis quibusque discipulis tradunt abscondita sacramenta, quae si ad lucem processerint, statim quod ficta sunt, arguuntur. Nihil igitur eis proderit sculptura et conflatio sua. Sculptura, quae refertur ad lapides, in his dogmatibus intelligitur, quae stultitiam prima fronte demonstrant. Conflatio is where there appears to be a semblance of secular wisdom, and as if with gold, the image is formed of the disciplines of philosophers and the splendor of eloquence. Therefore, the fabrication will be of no benefit to its maker. And the mute and deaf image will not be able to hear its worshipper. If ever you see someone refusing to believe the truth, and despite the falsity of their own doctrines being exposed, persevering in their chosen pursuit, you can rightly say: They hope in their fabrication and create mute or deaf images. For κωφὰ signifies both among the Greeks: although Symmachus, interpreting as ἄλαλα, seems to have understood muta rather than surda. Nor does that expression of the Scriptures move anyone, of which we have often said: Who, do you think, is the faithful and wise steward (Luke XII, 42)? And in another place: Who is wise and understands these things (Psalm CVI, 43)? because who, or what, is taken for rarely: since we can also understand this very thing from another place as impossible: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ: tribulation, or distress (Romans VIII, 35)? And the rest. And in the present chapter: What does it profit the sculptor, because his own sculpted image? For in both cases, impossibility is demonstrated, that neither can tribulation and distress separate the love of the Apostles from Christ, nor is there any usefulness in idols.

Source: Commentary on Habakkuk

[AD 420] Jerome on Habakkuk 2:19-20

(Verse 19, 20). Woe to him who says to wood, 'Wake up!' or to silent stone (or lying stone), 'Arise!' Can it give instruction? Look, it is covered with gold and silver, but there is no breath in its midst. The Lord, however, is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him. LXX: Woe to him who says to wood, 'Wake up!' and to the stone, 'Rise!' and it is the image, the production of gold and silver, but there is no spirit in it. But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him. This can also be applied to Nebuchadnezzar and all those who worship idols. And it describes the human error, that they consider silver, gold, gems, and silk, with which idols are adorned or covered, to be gods because of the brilliance of the material, even though an artist can give form, but cannot give life to the limbs. And on the contrary, the Lord is said to be in his holy temple (Psalm X): not in a temple made by hand, but either in heaven or in each of the saints, according to the apostle who says: Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you (I Corinthians III, 16)? And elsewhere: Your bodies are the temple of God (I Corinthians VI, 19); or in the Son, as He Himself says: The Father who dwells in me, He does the works (John XIV, 10). But certainly according to that, which created the heavens and the earth, the seas and the entire world (Virg. VI Aeneid.)

The spirit nourishes within; infused throughout the limbs, the mind moves the mass, and mingles itself with the great body: the whole world, which consists of the sky, the earth, and the circles of the heavens, is said to be the house of God. Hence the Apostle confidently says: 'For in Him we live and move and have our being' (Acts 17:28). And if anyone opposes this, let him learn the custom of Holy Scripture, which never refers to a perverse spirit absolutely, but always qualifies it with some addition, as in the case of being led astray by the spirit of fornication (Hosea 4:12). And in the Gospel: But when an unclean spirit goes out of a man (Luke XI, 24), and similar things to these. However, the spirit wherever it is mentioned alone and absolutely without any addition, is always referred to the good part, that is, to the Holy Spirit, as the Apostle says: He who sows in the Spirit, will reap life eternal from the Spirit (Galatians VI, 8). And elsewhere: But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace (Galatians V, 22); and in another place: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the desires of the flesh (ibid., 16). Nor do we say this because the Holy Spirit is not also referred to with an attribute. For he is called both the Holy Spirit and the principal spirit and the upright spirit and the spirit of God, and similar expressions. But what we do say is that the Holy Spirit is often referred to both with an attribute and alone, while the perverted spirit is never mentioned without an attribute. And it can even be said (if someone wants to interpret the perverted spirit contentiously in this passage), that it is something else; 'Every spirit is not in him' means something different from 'Every spirit is not around him', for it can sit by idols; but it cannot be within. And Aquila translates more accurately from Hebrew, saying: 'And his spirit is not in his entrails, or in his midst.' Therefore, it must be understood that in some Hebrew texts, the word 'omnis' (all) is not added, but the word 'spirit' is read in an absolute sense. And if someone, being overcome by reason, understands the word 'spirit' in a positive way, and asks why, when it is said about the Holy Spirit, it is read with the addition: 'And all spirit is not in Him?' Let it be known that every spirit, various graces are understood to be of the Holy Spirit: so that there may be understanding: Nothing in itself of grace, it will have nothing of power. Indeed, this is understood more according to tropology, that in all the idols of heretics and the inventions of the devil, there is no grace of the Holy Spirit; but they seem to prefer the image of divinity and the beauty of teachings, while in them there is nothing breathing and alive. Let us also say this, lest we appear to conceal from the reader what we know, that the spirit and the wind are called by the same word among the Hebrews, that is, Rua (), and it is usually understood either as the sense of a place or as the wind. Therefore in this place we can understand 'spirit' as referring to wind, because idols do not breathe; or as referring to soul, because the inanimate sculptures. But that 'spirit' is understood as soul is clearly indicated by the prayer of the Savior: 'Father, into your hands I commend my spirit' (Luke 23:46). For Jesus could not entrust to the Father a perverse spirit (which is also wrong to even consider), or the Holy Spirit, who is God himself, but rather his own soul, of which he had said, 'My soul is sorrowful even unto death' (Matthew 26:36, Mark 14). And: No one can take my life from me, but I lay it down voluntarily, and I take it up again of my own accord. (John 10:17, 18).

Source: Commentary on Habakkuk

[AD 311] Methodius of Olympus on Habakkuk 2:20

“When the time is come, you shall be shown forth.” What exposition does this require, if a person diligently direct the eye of the mind to the festival which we are now celebrating? “For then shall you be shown forth,” he says, “as upon a kingly charger, by your pure and chaste mother, in the temple, and that in the grace and beauty of the flesh assumed by you.” All these things the prophet, summing up for the sake of greater clearness, exclaims in brief: “The Lord is in his holy temple.” “Fear before him all the earth.”

Source: ORATION CONCERNING SIMEON AND ANNA 4