Habakkuk 2:15
in Habakkuk 2Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin until they are drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, to thee that addest thy venom, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
KJV
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!
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This verse in Habakkuk 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(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.
This site's exposition
giveth his neighbour drink
on Habakkuk 2:15-17
The fourth woe turns from war to a uniquely ugly image, giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness, humiliation added to conquest. The woe answers in kind, thou art filled with shame for glory, and the cup of the Lord's right hand shall be turned unto thee, the violence of Lebanon closing in to cover the empire that once stripped its cedar forests for its own building projects. Gill and Henry read the drunkenness imagery as deliberately reversing the humiliation Babylon inflicted on conquered kings, the cup passed back to the one who first poured it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
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.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink,....
To give a neighbour drink who is in want, who is thirsty and poor, though it be but a cup of cold water to a disciple, in the name of a disciple, to give drink to weary traveller, nay, and to give strong drink to him that is ready to perish, and wine to those that are heavy of heart, is a piece of charity which is required of us, and shall be recompensed to us.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
From cruelty the prophet goes on to denounce the woe on insolence. “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor” (to whom he owes love) drink (literally, that maketh him drink); that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also , that thou mayest look (gaze with devilish pleasure) on their nakedness.” This may either be of actual insults (as in the history of Noah), in keeping certainly with the character of the later Babylonians, the last wantonness of unbridled power, making vile sport of those like himself (his neighbor), or it may be drunkenness through misery Isa 29:9 wherein they are bared of all their glory and brought to the lowest shame.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
giveth . . . neighbour drink . . . puttest . . . bottle to him--literally, "skin," as the Easterns use "bottles" of skin for wine. MAURER, from a different Hebrew root, translates, "that pourest in thy wrath." English Version keeps up the metaphor better. It is not enough for thee to be "drunken" thyself, unless thou canst lead others into the same state.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Wo unto him that giveth his neighbor drink - This has been considered as applying to Pharaoh-hophra, king of Egypt, who enticed his neighbors Jehoiachin and Zedekiah to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar, whereby the nakedness and imbecility of the poor Jews was soon discovered; for the Chaldeans soon took Jerusalem, and carried its kings, princes, and people, into captivity.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ה֚וֹי | ho | woe to! | H1945 → | 51 times |
| מַשְׁקֵ֣ה | mashkeh | [one who] makes drink | H8248 → | |
| רֵעֵ֔הוּ | reehu | <of> neighbor his | H7453 → | |
| מְסַפֵּ֥חַ | mesapeach | [you are] pouring out | H5596 → | |
| חֲמָתְךָ֖ | chamatekha | rage your | H2534 → | |
| וְאַ֣ף | veaf | and even | H637 → | |
| שַׁכֵּ֑ר | shaker | you make [them] drunk | H7937 → | |
| לְמַ֥עַן | lemaan | so as | H4616 → | |
| הַבִּ֖יט | habit | to look | H5027 → | 69 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מְעוֹרֵיהֶֽם׃ | meoreihem | nakedness<es> their | H4589 → |
ה֚וֹיwoe to!
hoH1945 →51 times
מַשְׁקֵ֣ה[one who] makes drink
mashkehH8248 →
רֵעֵ֔הוּ<of> neighbor his
reehuH7453 →
מְסַפֵּ֥חַ[you are] pouring out
mesapeachH5596 →
חֲמָתְךָ֖rage your
chamatekhaH2534 →
וְאַ֣ףand even
veafH637 →
שַׁכֵּ֑רyou make [them] drunk
shakerH7937 →
לְמַ֥עַןso as
lemaanH4616 →
הַבִּ֖יטto look
habitH5027 →69 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מְעוֹרֵיהֶֽם׃nakedness<es> their
meoreihemH4589 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 18:3All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance…
it leads to
- Revelation 14:8
Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 17:2
The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 18:9
Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 18:23
The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voices of a bride and bridegroom will never call out in you again. For your merchants were the great ones of…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 14:8
Through
Revelation 17:2The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:7
Babylon was a gold cup in the hand of the LORD, making the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore the nations have gone mad.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 18:3
All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 51:7
Through
Revelation 17:6I could see that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus. And I was utterly amazed at the sight of her.
it leads to
- Revelation 16:6
For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink, as they deserve.”
- Revelation 16:6
Through
Genesis 9:22And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside.
it leads to
- Proverbs 30:17
As for the eye that mocks a father and scorns obedience to a mother, may the ravens of the valley pluck it out and young vultures devour it.
- Proverbs 30:17
Where this verse is studied
About Habakkuk
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Habakkuk; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EXODUS 5:1.