TEXT [Commentary]

  4.   The third taunt: the pillaging Babylonians will be destroyed (2:12-14)

12 “What sorrow awaits you who build cities

with money gained through murder and corruption!

13 Has not the LORD of Heaven’s Armies promised

that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes?

They work so hard,

but all in vain!

14 For as the waters fill the sea,

the earth will be filled with an awareness

of the glory of the LORD.

NOTES

2:12 build cities. The Neo-Babylonian inscriptions often attest the Babylonians’ preoccupation with building projects. So dedicated were they to such matters that Nabopolassar compelled his own son to do hard physical labor in the building of Etemenanki, the temple tower of Babylon. (See the “Inscription of Nabopolassar” in Assyrian and Babylonian Literature, trans. P. Bruce [New York: D. Appleton, 1901], 131-133.) Nebuchadnezzar inherited his father’s passion for building, and his inscriptions recount many incidents of building projects. (See the several inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar II in Assyrian and Babylonian Literature, 134-157.)

corruption! Lit., “injustice,” “unrighteousness.” The root of this feminine noun also appears as a masculine noun with little or no difference in meaning. Commenting on the masculine noun, Girdlestone (1956:79) remarks: “The word . . . is thought to designate the want of integrity and rectitude which is the accompaniment, if not the essential part, of wrong-doing.” He goes on to point out that this noun is also translated “iniquity” in “about thirty passages [in the KJV]” where the stress is upon “a departure from that which is equal and right.”

The Hebrew noun that occurs here is often used in parallel with terms of wickedness (e.g., “bloodshed,” “ruthlessness,” “treachery”). The word thus suggests wrongdoing and injustice of all sorts, often taking the form of oppressive, shameful, and sometimes violent acts (cf. 2 Sam 3:34; Mic 3:10). Such conduct is an affront to a holy and righteous God (Deut 32:4) and marks the Babylonians as those who, unlike the righteous who reflect God’s standards, are arrogant and presumptuous.

2:13 Has not . . . ? The NLT has left the particle hinneh [TH2009, ZH2180] untranslated (cf. NIV, NRSV), viewing it as a simple flavoring particle. In his German translation of the OT (Die Heilige Schrift), Luther, however, is probably on the right track in translating it as an inferential particle: “Wird’s nicht also . . . geschehen?” (Will it not therefore come to pass?). So viewed, the question introduces a solution drawn from the antecedent observations. Because of the Babylonians’ violent acts, will not God see to it that they (or any such nation) will exhaust themselves in vain?

They work so hard, but all in vain! The synonyms yaga‘ [TH3021, ZH3333] and ya‘ep [TH3286, ZH3615] (“toil” and “exhaust oneself”) denote the effort and wearisome effects of hard work. The person so engaged is left with a fatigue that borders on being overcome with fainting.

2:14 glory. This glory (kabod) refers to God’s self-manifestation in visible and active presence among people, as opposed to God’s transcendence, for which yashab [TH3427, ZH3782] (to dwell) was used (e.g., 1 Sam 4:4). Both stand in distinction from shekinah [TH7931, ZH8905], the technical term for God’s immanence (see the commentary on Joel 3:18-21).

COMMENTARY [Text]

The third taunt song proceeds on the basis of the previous one; the image of building found there is continued here. Now the chief materials used in constructing the Neo-Babylonian “house” are seen for what they are: murder and corruption. Despite the magnificence of the Babylonian edifice, God denounces all this splendor, for he sees the atrocities by which the Babylonians will aggrandize themselves in building lavishly endowed cities. All that effort will prove to be valueless, however, because it will be rewarded in the end by fire (cf. Jer 50:32; 51:58). Craigie (1985:98) observes, “The city that is built on a foundation of iniquity and constructed at the expense of bloodshed cannot flourish; all will be for nought.”

Babylon must be judged—not only for its unbridled arrogance but also because God’s purposes include a universal exhibit of his glory and judgment. The words of 2:14 are adapted from Isaiah 11:9 (cf. Num 14:21). Isaiah’s prophecy looks ahead to the great messianic era in all its fullness and perfection; Habakkuk used Isaiah’s prophecy to validate the pronouncement of the destruction of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Because the Babylonians glorified only themselves and the gods of human manufacture (whose temples they would adorn and maintain), they scorned the living and true God and robbed him of his worship. If God is to be received fully on earth as in heaven, the earth must be filled “with an awareness of the glory of the LORD” (2:14). Isaiah’s prophecy is thus personalized for the Babylonians. The prophetic words are a reminder that all other glory-seekers will be silenced so that God may have his rightful preeminence (cf. Isa 48:11).

By God’s “glory” is meant his magnificence. The word is commonly used to depict his self-manifestation by which his inner excellence becomes visible. Further, glory lies behind all of his activities. The term is also used of the intrinsic honor that is due him (Pss 66:2; 79:9) and that is proper and essential for people to give (Ps 66:7-8; Jer 13:16). Thus the Babylonians’ decision to honor self rather than the one God of the universe was equivalent to failure in achieving the primary purpose of being human (cf. Isa 42:8; 48:11); they were therefore culpable before God (cf. 1 Sam 8:7; 10:17-19; 12:19).

The glory of the Lord that filled the Tabernacle at its inauguration (Exod 40:34-35) and the Temple at its dedication (1 Kgs 8:10-12), that attended the announcement of Christ’s birth (Luke 2:9-14) and is reflected in the lives of believers who are united to Christ (2 Cor 3:18), will one day be known and experienced by all (Isa 59:19) who confess that “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:11).