Habakkuk 2:15
Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin until they are drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness!
Woe to him
The word "woe" in Hebrew is "הוֹי" (hoy), a term often used by the prophets to pronounce judgment or lamentation. It signifies a deep sorrow or impending doom. In the context of Habakkuk, it serves as a divine warning against those who engage in morally corrupt actions. This phrase sets the tone for the verse, indicating that the actions described are not only socially reprehensible but also subject to divine judgment.

who gives drink to his neighbors
The act of giving drink, particularly in a context that leads to intoxication, is symbolic of leading others into sin or moral compromise. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, hospitality was a valued virtue, but here it is twisted into a means of exploitation. The Hebrew word for "neighbors" (רֵעֵהוּ, re'ehu) implies a close relationship, making the betrayal even more egregious. This phrase highlights the perversion of trust and community for selfish gain.

pouring it from the wineskin
The imagery of "pouring it from the wineskin" suggests an abundance and intentionality in the act. Wineskins were common in ancient times for storing and serving wine, and the act of pouring signifies a deliberate action. This phrase underscores the premeditated nature of the sin, as the perpetrator is not merely offering a drink but is actively seeking to intoxicate.

until they are drunk
Drunkenness in the Bible is often associated with a loss of self-control and moral decay. The Hebrew root "שׁכר" (shakar) means to become drunk or intoxicated. This state of inebriation is not just physical but also spiritual, leading individuals away from righteousness. The phrase serves as a warning against the dangers of excess and the moral responsibility one has towards others.

so that he can gaze on their nakedness
The ultimate motive revealed here is one of exploitation and humiliation. "Nakedness" in Hebrew (עֶרְוָה, ervah) often connotes shame and vulnerability. In biblical times, to see someone’s nakedness was to uncover their shame, often with sexual connotations. This phrase exposes the sinister intent behind the actions, highlighting a profound disrespect for human dignity and the sanctity of the individual.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Habakkuk
A prophet in the Old Testament who dialogues with God about the justice and judgment upon Judah and the surrounding nations.

2. Babylonians (Chaldeans)
The nation used by God to execute judgment on Judah, known for their oppressive and immoral practices.

3. Judah
The southern kingdom of Israel, facing impending judgment due to their disobedience and idolatry.

4. God
The sovereign Lord who communicates with Habakkuk, revealing His plans for justice and righteousness.

5. Neighbors
Symbolically representing those who are led into sin or taken advantage of by others, often seen as victims of exploitation.
Teaching Points
The Dangers of Exploitation
This verse highlights the moral corruption involved in exploiting others for personal gain. Christians are called to love their neighbors and protect their dignity.

The Consequences of Drunkenness
Drunkenness leads to a loss of self-control and can result in shameful behavior. Believers are encouraged to practice moderation and self-discipline.

God’s Justice Against Oppression
God pronounces woe upon those who oppress and take advantage of others. This serves as a reminder that God sees and will judge all unrighteous acts.

The Call to Righteous Living
Christians are called to live in a way that honors God, avoiding behaviors that lead to sin and shame. This includes being mindful of how our actions affect others.

The Importance of Accountability
Believers should hold each other accountable, encouraging one another to live in a way that reflects Christ’s love and righteousness.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the behavior described in Habakkuk 2:15 reflect the broader moral decay of the society in Habakkuk’s time?

2. In what ways can we be tempted to exploit others in our own lives, and how can we guard against this?

3. How does the Bible’s teaching on drunkenness and self-control apply to modern-day issues of substance abuse?

4. What are some practical ways we can promote justice and protect the dignity of others in our communities?

5. How can we encourage one another to live righteously and hold each other accountable in our Christian walk?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 9:20-23
The account of Noah’s drunkenness and the subsequent exposure of his nakedness by his son Ham, illustrating the shame and dishonor associated with such actions.

Proverbs 23:29-35
A warning against the dangers of excessive drinking, highlighting the moral and physical consequences.

Ephesians 5:18
An exhortation to be filled with the Spirit rather than being drunk with wine, emphasizing self-control and godly living.

Isaiah 5:11-12
A condemnation of those who pursue strong drink and ignore the deeds of the Lord, paralleling the moral decay addressed in Habakkuk.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10
A reminder that those who practice unrighteousness, including drunkenness, will not inherit the kingdom of God.
God's Retributive JusticeS.D. Hillman Habakkuk 2:15-17
National Wrongs Ending in National Woes. No. 4D. Thomas Habakkuk 2:15-17
People
Habakkuk
Places
Chaldea, Lebanon
Topics
Addest, Bodies, Bottle, Cup, Curse, Drink, Drunk, Drunken, Flask, Gaze, Gives, Giveth, Giving, Inflaming, Makes, Makest, Making, Mayest, Mix, Naked, Nakedness, Neighbor, Neighbors, Neighbour, Order, Overcome, Passion, Pourest, Pouring, Puttest, Shame, Strong, Thereto, Till, Venom, Wine, Wineskin, Witness, Wo, Woe, Wrath
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Habakkuk 2:15

     4436   drinking, abstention
     5169   nakedness
     5312   feasting
     6253   temptation, avoiding causing

Habakkuk 2:6-20

     9250   woe

Habakkuk 2:15-16

     4434   drinking
     4548   wineskin

Library
September 15. "Though it Tarry, Wait for It, for it Will Surely Come, and Will not Tarry" (Hab. Ii. 3).
"Though it tarry, wait for it, for it will surely come, and will not tarry" (Hab. ii. 3). Some things have their cycle in an hour and some in a century; but His plans shall complete their cycle whether long or short. The tender annual which blossoms for a season and dies, and the Columbian aloe, which develops in a century, each is true to its normal principle. Many of us desire to pluck our fruit in June rather than wait until October, and so, of course, it is sour and immature; but God's purposes
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Crowned Christ Reigning
(Revelation, Chapters xx: 4-xxii.) "On this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits." "A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot! Rose plot, Fringed pool, Ferned grot-- The veriest school Of peace; and yet the fool Contends that God is not-- Not God! in gardens! when the eve is cool? Nay, but I have a sign; 'Tis very sure God walks in mine." Day Is Coming. It's a long lane that has no turning. Every valley leads up a hillside to a hilltop. Every storm ends in sunshine
by S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on the Crowned Christ of Revelation

Of Inward Silence
Of Inward Silence "The Lord is in His Holy Temple, let all the earth keep silence before him" (Hab. ii. 20). Inward silence is absolutely indispensable, because the Word is essential and eternal, and necessarily requires dispositions in the soul in some degree correspondent to His nature, as a capacity for the reception of Himself. Hearing is a sense formed to receive sounds, and is rather passive than active, admitting, but not communicating sensation; and if we would hear, we must lend the ear
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

Of Rest in the Presence of God --Its Fruits --Inward Silence --God Commands it --Outward Silence.
The soul, being brought to this place, needs no other preparation than that of repose: for the presence of God during the day, which is the great result of prayer, or rather prayer itself, begins to be intuitive and almost continual. The soul is conscious of a deep inward happiness, and feels that God is in it more truly than it is in itself. It has only one thing to do in order to find God, which is to retire within itself. As soon as the eyes are closed, it finds itself in prayer. It is astonished
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

A Sermon on a Text not Found in the Bible.
MR. JUSTICE GROVES.--"Men go into the Public-house respectable, and come out felons." My text, as you see, my dear readers, is not taken from the Bible. It does not, however, contradict the Scriptures, but is in harmony with some, such as "WOE UNTO HIM THAT GIVETH HIS NEIGHBOUR DRINK." Habakkuk ii. 15; "WOE UNTO THEM THAT RISE UP EARLY IN THE MORNING, THAT THEY MAY FOLLOW STRONG DRINK."--Isaiah v. 11. "TAKE HEED TO YOURSELVES LEST AT ANY TIME YOUR HEARTS BE OVERCHARGED WITH SURFEITING AND
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

The Season of Epiphany.
"This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory; and His disciples believed on Him."--John ii. 11. The Epiphany is a season especially set apart for adoring the glory of Christ. The word may be taken to mean the manifestation of His glory, and leads us to the contemplation of Him as a King upon His throne in the midst of His court, with His servants around Him, and His guards in attendance. At Christmas we commemorate His grace; and in Lent His temptation;
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

The Sum and Substance of all Theology
Note: On Tuesday, June 25th, 1861, the beloved C. H. Spurgeon visited Swansea. The day was wet, so the services could not be held in the open-air; and, as no building in the town was large enough to hold the vast concourses of people who had come from all parts to hear the renowned preacher, he consented to deliver two discourses in the morning; first at Bethesda, and then at Trinity Chapel. At each place he preached for an hour and a quarter. The weather cleared up during the day; so, in the evening,
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 62: 1916

Habakkuk-On his Watch-Tower
"Lord, teach us to pray."--Luke xi. i. "I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower."--Hab. ii. i. HABAKKUK'S tower was not built of stone and lime. Hiram's Tyrian workmen, with all their skill in hewn stone, and in timber, and in iron, and in brass, had no hand in building Habakkuk's tower. "The Name of the Lord" was Habakkuk's high tower. The truth and the faithfulness and the power of God--these things were the deep and broad foundations of Habakkuk's high tower, into which he continually
Alexander Whyte—Lord Teach Us To Pray

Meditations Before Dinner and Supper.
Meditate that hunger is like the sickness called a wolf; which, if thou dost not feed, will devour thee, and eat thee up; and that meat and drink are but as physic, or means which God hath ordained, to relieve and cure this natural infirmity and necessity of man. Use, therefore, to eat and to drink, rather to sustain and refresh the weakness of nature, than to satisfy the sensuality and delights of the flesh. Eat, therefore, to live, but live not to eat. There is no service so base, as for a man
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

"Hear the Word of the Lord, Ye Rulers of Sodom, Give Ear unto the Law of Our God, Ye People of Gomorrah,"
Isaiah i. 10, 11, &c.--"Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom, give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah," &c. It is strange to think what mercy is mixed with the most wrath like strokes and threatenings. There is no prophet whose office and commission is only for judgment, nay, to speak the truth, it is mercy that premises threatenings. The entering of the law, both in the commands and curses, is to make sin abound, that grace may superabound, so that both rods and threatenings
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Letter vi (Circa A. D. 1127) to the Same
To the Same He protests against the reputation for holiness which is attributed to him, and promises to communicate the treatises which he has written. I. Even if I should give myself to you entirely that would be too little a thing still in my eyes, to have recompensed towards you even the half of the kindly feeling which you express towards my humility. I congratulate myself, indeed, on the honour which you have done me; but my joy, I confess, is tempered by the thought that it is not anything
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Faith
What does God require of us, that we may escape his wrath and curse due to us for our sin? Faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life, with the diligent use of all the outward means, whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption. I begin with the first, faith in Jesus Christ. Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood.' Rom 3: 25. The great privilege in the text is, to have Christ for a propitiation; which is not only to free us from God's wrath, but to
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

How to be Admonished are those who Give Away what is their Own, and those who Seize what Belongs to Others.
(Admonition 21.) Differently to be admonished are those who already give compassionately of their own, and those who still would fain seize even what belongs to others. For those who already give compassionately of their own are to be admonished not to lift themselves up in swelling thought above those to whom they impart earthly things; not to esteem themselves better than others because they see others to be supported by them. For the Lord of an earthly household, in distributing the ranks and
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Humility is the Root of Charity, and Meekness the Fruit of Both. ...
Humility is the root of charity, and meekness the fruit of both. There is no solid and pure ground of love to others, except the rubbish of self-love be first cast out of the soul; and when that superfluity of naughtiness is cast out, then charity hath a solid and deep foundation: "The end of the command is charity out of a pure heart," 1 Tim. i. 5. It is only such a purified heart, cleansed from that poison and contagion of pride and self-estimation, that can send out such a sweet and wholesome
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Question of the Contemplative Life
I. Is the Contemplative Life wholly confined to the Intellect, or does the Will enter into it? S. Thomas, On the Beatific Vision, I., xii. 7 ad 3m II. Do the Moral Virtues pertain to the Contemplative Life? S. Augustine, Of the City of God, xix. 19 III. Does the Contemplative Life comprise many Acts? S. Augustine, Of the Perfection of Human Righteousness, viii. 18 " Ep., cxxx. ad probam IV. Does the Contemplative Life consist solely in the Contemplation of God, or in the Consideration
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

The Second Commandment
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am o jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of then that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.' Exod 20: 4-6. I. Thou shalt not
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

The Right Understanding of the Law
Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.' Exod 20: 3. Before I come to the commandments, I shall answer questions, and lay down rules respecting the moral law. What is the difference between the moral laud and the gospel? (1) The law requires that we worship God as our Creator; the gospel, that we worship him in and through Christ. God in Christ is propitious; out of him we may see God's power, justice, and holiness: in him we see his mercy displayed. (2) The moral law requires obedience, but gives
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Habakkuk
The precise interpretation of the book of Habakkuk presents unusual difficulties; but, brief and difficult as it is, it is clear that Habakkuk was a great prophet, of earnest, candid soul, and he has left us one of the noblest and most penetrating words in the history of religion, ii. 4b. The prophecy may be placed about the year 600 B.C. The Assyrian empire had fallen, and by the battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C., Babylonian supremacy was practically established over Western Asia. Josiah's reformation,
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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