Habakkuk 1:15

Hab 1:15 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.

Ver. 15. They take up all of them with the angle] No less than all will serve their turns or satisfy their ambition; as we read of Alexander, who wept that there was but one world for him to conquer; Julius Caesar, who would be aut Caesar, aut nullus; either Caesar or nothing, this Nebuchadnezzar in the text, fitly compared to a greedy fisherman, who could wish to enclose and catch all the fishes in the river. Covetousness is boundless; and ambition rideth without reins. The curse of unsatisfiableness, the disease of a spiritual dropsy, is upon all carnal hearts; so that though one man should engross a monopoly of all the wealth in the world, and heap up his hoards and his honours to the stars, yet would his heart be as hungry after more as if he had nothing.

Therefore they rejoice and are glad] This is worse than all the rest, that they please and applaud themselves in their wickedness, that they hug and stroke themselves on the head, as Doeg did, Psa 52:2, and those Sodomites, Isa 3:9. This shows that men are arrived at that dead and dedolent disposition spoken of Eph 4:19, and are even straddling over hell’s mouth, which gapeth for them.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Habakkuk continues speaking to Yahweh about the Chaldeans.

He brings ... he continually slaughter

In Hab 1:15-17 the singular pronoun "he" and "his" refer to a Babylonian solider who represents all of the Babylonian soldiers. These pronouns can be stated as plural. AT: "They bring ... they continually slaughter" (See: First, Second, or Third Person and Synecdoche)

all of them ... drags men away ... gathers them

Here "them" and "men" refer to people in general. This can be stated in first person to include Habakkuk as one of the people. AT: "all of us ... drags us away ... gathers us" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)

He brings all of them up with a fishhook ... in his dragnet

Habakkuk speaks of the Chaldeans conquering people easily as if the people were fish that the Chaldeans catch with fishhooks and fishnets. (See: Metaphor)

fishhook ... fishnet ... dragnet

tools used to catch fish

he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet

Habakkuk speaks of the weapons that the Chaldeans use to conquer people and nations as if the weapons were fishing nets that they use to catch fish. AT: "they offer sacrifices and burn incense to the weapons that they use in battle" (See: Metaphor)

Will he therefore keep emptying his net, and will he continually slaughter the nations without mercy?

Habakkuk asks this question because he is frustrated and wants to know how long Yahweh will allow the Chaldeans to continue to destroy people and nations. AT: "Will you therefore let them empty their fishing nets and continue to slaughter the nations while they feel no compassion?" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

keep emptying his net

Habakkuk speaks of the Chaldeans preparing to conquer more nations as if they were fishermen who empty their nets so that they can use them to catch more fish. (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

joy

sacrifice

incense

nation

compassion

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

they take up all of them--all kinds of fishes, that is, men, as captives, and all other prey that comes in their way.

with the angle--that is, the hook. Some they take up as with the hook, one by one; others in shoals, as in a "net" and "drag" or enclosing net.

therefore--because of their successes.

they rejoice--They glory in their crimes because attended with success (compare Hab 1:11).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

15. They take up … angle] He taketh up … with the hook; he sweepeth them into (or, with) his net.

they rejoice] he rejoiceth and exulteth. The Chaldean is compared to the fisher, who rejoices over the successful haul of his net. He drags men and nations indiscriminately into his power, and is dead to all their higher sensibilities and all that is human in them.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They take up all of them with the angle,.... The prophet continues the metaphor of fishing, and observes the different ways of taking fish; which is to be applied to the case he is speaking of: as fishermen take all they can with their angles, so "they" or "he", for it is in the singular number, Nebuchadnezzar and his army, take up all out of the sea of the world; are ambitious of getting all kingdoms and nations of the world under their power and dominion; particularly all Judea, and all the inhabitants of it, good and bad, without any distinction; for all were fish which came to their net: this may design the artful and alluring methods they first made use of to get the people into their hands, by making covenants with them, and drawing them into making of presents, and paying of tribute:

they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag; with the angle the fisherman catches fish one by one, but with the net great numbers; and what he misses by throwing the net, he gets by using the drag; all which may be expressive of the ways and methods used by the king of Babylon and his army, both in the times of Jeconiah, and of Zedekiah; under the former he used the net, and carried off large numbers, and with them the royal family and great substance, but left many behind; under the latter he came and swept away all, drained the land of its riches and its inhabitants:

therefore they rejoice and are glad; as fishermen do when they have good sport; so these people rejoiced in their own success, and in the calamities of their neighbours.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

They take up all of them - (literally “he taketh up all of it”) the whole race as though it were one,

With an angle; they catch them - literally, he sweepeth it away

In their (his) net - One fisherman is singled out who partly by wiles (as by the bait of “an angle”), partly by violence (the net or drag) sweeps away and gathers as his own the whole kind. Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldaeans are herein a faint image of Satan, who casts out his baits and his nets in the stormy sea of this life, taking some by individual craft, sweeping others in whole masses, to do evil; and whoso hath no ruler, and will not have Christ to reign over him Luk 19:4, he allures, hurries, drags away as his prey. Jerome: “Adam clave to his hook, and he drew him forth out of Paradise with his net; and covered him with his drags, his varied and manifold deceits and guiles. And “by one many became sinners,” and in Adam we ‘all died,’ and all saints afterward were with him alike cast out of Paradise. And because he deceived the first man, he ceaseth not daily to slay the whole human race.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

They; either more generally oppressors every where, or else particularly the Chaldeans.

Take up; draw them out slily and craftily, when they are taken by his bait.

All of them without distinction, all alike, good or bad.

With the angle: it may refer to the delight these oppressors took in these courses, or to the more private way of destroying.

They catch them in their net; another method of the Chaldean rapine, like catching of fish, not singly and one by one, but destroying many together.

And gather them; as if they could never have enough, these Chaldeans do, fisher-like, drive men into their nets and snares. In their drag: this is a third way of destroying fish. The Chaldeans would use all ways to devour the Jews.

Therefore they, the greedy and cruel Chaldeans, rejoice, both in their own gain and in the Jews’ ruin.

And are glad: it is doubled to show the certainty of the thing, and probably to intimate the double joy they took in their prosperous oppression.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. So far as the prophet can see, Jehovah looks with favor upon their conquests, for they are successful in all their undertakings. The Chaldean armies are personified as a fisherman who makes extraordinary hauls and rejoices greatly in his success.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They take up all men with the angle; he bringeth up all together with the hook (Amo_4:2) The net. Any kind of net. Septuagint, amfiblhstnon," cast net." The drag (saghnh). The large drag net. At their own pleasure, unhindered, the Chaldeans make whole nations their prey, their fishing implements being their armies, with which they gather unto themselves countries, peoples, and booty.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They - The Chaldeans draw out all alike, good or bad. In their net - Destroying many together. And gather - As if they could never have enough, they drive men into their nets.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

He takes all of them up with the fishhook This wicked man takes up all people with his fishhook.

catches them an expression of (Prov. 6:8) “Gathers (אָגְרָה) her food in the harvest,” and (Joel 1: 17) “Granaries (מַמְּגֻרוֹת) are demolished.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.