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英文原文
In this chapter, I. The prophet complains to God of the violence done by the abuse of the sword of justice among his own people and the hardships thereby put upon many good people, Hab 1:1-4. II. God by him foretels the punishment of that abuse of power by the sword of war, and the desolations which the army of the Chaldeans should make upon them, Hab 1:5-11. III. Then the prophet complains of that too, and is grieved that the Chaldeans prevail so far (Hab 1:12-17), so that he scarcely knows which is more to be lamented, the sin or the punishment of it, for in both many harmless good people are very great sufferers. It is well that there is a day of judgment, and a future state, before us, in which it shall be eternally well with all the righteous, and with them only, and ill with all the wicked, and them only; so the present seeming disorders of Providence shall be set to rights, and there will remain no matter of complaint whatsoever.
1-4
The Sins of the People (600 BC)
百姓的罪（公元前600年）
¹ 先知哈巴谷所得的默示。
² 他说：耶和华啊，我呼求你，你不应允，要到几时呢？我因强暴哀求你，你还不拯救。
³ 你为何使我看见罪孽？你为何看着奸恶而不理呢？毁灭和强暴在我面前，又起了争端和相斗的事。
⁴ 因此律法放松，公理也不显明；恶人围困义人，所以公理显然颠倒。
本书的题记（即哈1:1）只告诉我们：执笔者是一位先知，一个蒙神默示并受神差遣的人，这便够了（若果真如此，我们就不必追问他属哪支派、哪家族，或他生于何地），又告诉我们这书本身乃是他所得的默示；他对其真确性深信不疑，仿佛已亲眼看见它应验。在这几节里，先知痛切哀叹时代的罪恶，深切感到宗教与公义可悲衰败的伤痛。他在此向神所发的，乃是极为忧伤的申诉。一、无人能称自己所有的为己有；人无视最神圣的产权与公平律法，凡有权势在手的，纵无理在己，仍可随心所欲夺取所要的。这地满了强暴，正如上古之世（创6:11）。先知因强暴哀求（哈1:2），哀诉罪孽与奸恶、毁灭与强暴。在家庭中、亲属间，在邻里间、朋友中，在交易中、在公堂上，事事都以强硬手段办理，无人在亏负邻舍之事上有丝毫顾忌，只要自己能从中得益便罢。先知本人似乎并未受过什么大亏负（在丧乱的时代，一无所有的人反倒最得平安），但他见别人受冤屈便忧伤，不能不与受欺压者一同流泪。要注意，亏负无辜之人，本身既是罪孽，对一切顾念神之耶路撒冷的人，更是极大的伤痛，他们为这等可憎之事叹息哀哭。他申诉（哈1:4）说恶人围困义人。一个正直人、一桩正直的事，竟有仇敌四面环攻；许多恶人彼此勾结，将它压倒；甚至一个恶人（原文是单数）也以种种作恶的诡计攻击义人，将他重重围困。二、国度分裂成党派纷争，彼此相咬相吞，连绵不绝。这对一切爱和睦的人都是可哀叹的：又起了争端和相斗的事（哈1:3），有人煽动分裂、扩大裂痕、激动众人彼此相争、在弟兄中布散纷争，行那控告弟兄者的工作。那些已经平息、开始被人遗忘的争端纷争，他们又唤醒，刻意重新挑起，把埋在余烬下的火星又吹旺起来。倘若使人和睦的人有福了，那么破坏和睦的人就当受咒诅，他们结党营私，所酿成的祸患蔓延之广、持续之久，超乎他们所能想象。眼见恶人在那吞噬一国一切美善之物的火焰旁烤火取暖，还添柴煽火，实在可悲。三、强暴与纷争的洪流势头如此凶猛，竟蔑视律法的约束规范与公义的执行（哈1:4）。因为神不出来对付他们，便无人肯出来；因此律法放松，缄默不言；它不再呼吸；它的脉搏不再跳动（据说原文有此意）；它时断时续，公理也不显明，无人理会这些罪行，无人惩治这些罪犯；甚至公理显然颠倒；倘若上诉到公义的法庭，义人反被定罪，恶人反得开脱，以致补救之法竟成了最坏的病症。立法之权毫不留意补足律法的缺漏，以遏止那日益增长、咄咄逼人的祸患；执行之权毫不留意成全所立律法的良善本意；公义的江河被强暴所壅塞，不得畅流。四、这一切都是公开的、明目张胆的，且厚颜无耻地自夸炫耀；它是毫不掩饰的。先知申诉说这罪孽显在他面前；他无论转眼向何处都看见它，无法移开视线：毁灭和强暴在我面前。要注意，一国之中罪恶横行，对敬虔人是极扎眼的事，他们若非亲眼看见，必不信竟坏到如此地步。所罗门屡次申诉他在日光之下所见这等令人烦扰的事；先知因此巴不得作隐士，好叫自己不再看见（耶9:2）。然而若如此，我们就必须离开世界了，因此我们倒当切慕离世，迁往那圣洁与爱永远掌权的世界，在那里再无毁灭和强暴摆在我们面前。五、他将这事向神申诉，却不得纾解这些苦情："主啊，"他说，"你为何使我看见罪孽？你为何使我生于这样的时代地方，叫我身在其中、亲眼得见，又为何叫我继续寄居在米设和基达？我向你哀求这强暴；我大声哀求；我哀求已久；你却不应允，你还不拯救；你不向欺压者施行报应，也不为受欺压者伸冤，仿佛你的膀臂缩短了，你的耳朵发沉了。"当神似乎容忍恶人的恶行，甚至任凭他们在恶中亨通，仿佛认可这恶时，便动摇善人的信心，成为他们的一大试探，叫他们说我们洁净己心实在徒然（诗73:13），又使那些说神已离弃世界的人在不敬虔中更加刚硬。我们不必以为奇怪，倘若罪恶得以蔓延甚广、亨通甚久。神有他的理由，我们确信都是美好的理由，无论是宽容恶人，还是责打善人；因此，我们虽向他申诉，谦卑地辩论他的审判，却仍当说："他在一切事上都是有智慧的、公义的、良善的"，并当相信那日子终必来到，纵或迟延许久——那时行不义者所招的罪之控诉必蒙垂听，受欺压者为之所发的祷告之呼求也必蒙应允。
英文原文
The Sins of the People (600 BC)
¹ The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
² O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
³ Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
⁴ Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
We are told no more in the title of this book (which we have, Hab 1:1) than that the penman was a prophet, a man divinely inspired and commissioned, which is enough (if that be so, we need not ask concerning his tribe or family, or the place of his birth), and that the book itself is the burden which he saw; he was as sure of the truth of it as if he had seen it with his bodily eyes already accomplished. Here, in these verses, the prophet sadly laments the iniquity of the times, as one sensibly touched with grief for the lamentable decay of religion and righteousness. It is a very melancholy complaint which he here makes to God, 1. That no man could call what he had his own; but, in defiance of the most sacred laws of property and equity, he that had power on his side had what he had a mind to, though he had no right on his side: The land was full of violence, as the old world was, Ge 6:11. The prophet cries out of violence (Hab 1:2), iniquity and grievance, spoil and violence. In families and among relations, in neighbour-hoods and among friends, in commerce and in courts of law, every thing was carried with a high hand, and no man made any scruple of doing wrong to his neighbour, so that he could but make a good hand of it for himself. It does not appear that the prophet himself had any great wrong done him (in losing times it fared best with those that had nothing to lose), but it grieved him to see other people wronged, and he could not but mingle his tears with those of the oppressed. Note, Doing wrong to harmless people, as it is an iniquity in itself, so it is a great grievance to all that are concerned for God's Jerusalem, who sigh and cry for abominations of this kind. He complains (Hab 1:4) that the wicked doth compass about the righteous. One honest man, one honest cause, shall have enemies besetting it on every side; many wicked men, in confederacy against it, run it down; nay, one wicked man (for it is singular) with so many various arts of mischief sets upon a righteous man, that he perfectly besets him. 2. That the kingdom was broken into parties and factions that were continually biting and devouring one another. This is a lamentation to all the sons of peace: There are that raise up strife and contention (Hab 1:3), that foment divisions, widen breaches, incense men against one another, and sow discord among brethren, by doing the work of him that is the accuser of the brethren. Strifes and contentions that have been laid asleep, and begun to be forgotten, they awake, and industriously raise up again, and blow up the sparks that were hidden under the embers. And, if blessed are the peace-makers, cursed are such peace-breakers, that make parties, and so make mischief that spreads further, and lasts longer, than they can imagine. It is sad to see bad men warming their hands at those flames which are devouring all that is good in a nation, and stirring up the fire too. 3. That the torrent of violence and strife ran so strongly as to bid defiance to the restraints and regulations of laws and the administration of justice, Hab 1:4. Because God did not appear against them, nobody else would; therefore the law is slacked, is silent; it breathes not; its pulse beats not (so, it is said, the word signifies); it intermits, and judgment does not go forth as it should; no cognizance is taken of those crimes, no justice done upon the criminals; nay, wrong judgment proceeds; if appeals be made to the courts of equity, the righteous shall be condemned and the wicked justified, so that the remedy proves the worst disease. The legislative power takes no care to supply the deficiencies of the law for the obviating of those growing threatening mischiefs; the executive power takes no care to answer the good intentions of the laws that are made; the stream of justice is dried up by violence, and has not its free course. 4. That all this was open and public, and impudently avowed; it was barefaced. The prophet complains that this iniquity was shown him; he beheld it which way soever he turned his eyes, nor could he look off it: Spoiling and violence are before me. Note, The abounding of wickedness in a nation is a very great eye-sore to good people, and, if they did not see it, they could not believe it to be so bad as it is. Solomon often complains of the vexation of this kind which he saw under the sun; and the prophet would therefore gladly turn hermit, that he might not see it, Jer 9:2. But then we must needs go out of the world, which there-fore we should long to do, that we may remove to that world where holiness and love reign eternally, and no spoiling and violence shall be before us. 5. That he complained of this to God, but could not obtain a redress of those grievances: "Lord," says he, "why dost thou show me iniquity? Why hast thou cast my lot in a time and place when and where it is to be seen, and why do I continue to sojourn in Mesech and Kedar? I cry to thee of this violence; I cry aloud; I have cried long; but thou wilt not hear, thou wilt not save; thou dost not take vengeance on the oppressors, nor do justice to the oppressed, as if thy arm were shortened or thy ear heavy." When God seems to connive at the wickedness of the wicked, nay, and to countenance it, by suffering them to prosper in their wickedness, it shocks the faith of good men, and proves a sore temptation to them to say, We have cleansed our hearts in vain (Ps 73:13), and hardens those in their impiety who say, God has forsaken the earth. We must not think it strange if wickedness be suffered to prevail far and prosper long. God has reasons, and we are sure they are good reasons, both for the reprieves of bad men and the rebukes of good men; and therefore, though we plead with him, and humbly expostulate concerning his judgments, yet we must say, "He is wise, and righteous, and good, in all," and must believe the day will come, though it may be long deferred, when the cry of sin will be heard against those that do wrong and the cry of prayer for those that suffer it.
5-11
Judgment Predicted (600 BC)
预言的审判（主前600年）
⁵ 耶和华说：你们要向列国中观看，大大惊奇；因为在你们的日子，我行一件事，虽有人告诉你们，你们总是不信。
⁶ 我必兴起迦勒底人，就是那残忍暴躁之民，通行遍地，占据那不属自己的住处。
⁷ 他威武可畏，判断和势力都任意发出。
⁸ 他的马比豹更快，比晚上的豺狼更猛。马兵踊跃争先，都从远方而来；他们飞跑如鹰抓食。
⁹ 都为行强暴而来，定住脸面向前，将掳掠的人聚集，多如尘沙。
¹⁰ 他们讥诮君王，笑话首领，嗤笑一切保障，筑垒攻取。
¹¹ 他以自己的势力归功于他的神，于是心意更改，越界行事，就有了罪。
我们在此得着神对先知怨诉的回答，使他确知：神虽然长久容忍，却不会永远容忍这惹他发怒的百姓；因为报应的日子已在他心中，他必将此告诉他们，好叫他们藉着悔改与归正，转离所受威吓的审判。
一、这判语的引言极其可畏（哈1:5）：*你们要向列国中观看，要留意。*既然他们不肯因神的恒久忍耐而被引向悔改，他便要以另一法对待他们。没有什么怨愤比被滥用的忍耐所生的怨愤更尖锐、更深沉。主必将这些事加在他们身上：1、一种公开的刑罚，必被列国所观看、所留意，必使邻邦诧异惊骇；参申29:24,25。这必加重以色列的荒凉，因他们将藉此成为世人的笑柄。2、一种令人惊骇的刑罚，如此希奇骇异，如此超乎护理常道之外，以致在列国中无可比拟，比神平素加于不认识他之列国的刑罚更重、更剧；不但如此，连那些事先从神得着预言、或从亲眼目睹之人得着报告的人，也难以置信：*虽有人告诉你们，你们总是不信；*人会觉得这难以置信——竟有如此多的审判汇于一处，每一情节又如此奇异地交织，加增并加重其刑罚，竟使一个如此强盛的民族这样衰败破碎，神竟这样严厉对待一个曾被纳入圣约之中、又蒙他如此眷顾的百姓。神向自称属他之民所施的刑罚，岂不令一切旁观者惊骇？3、一种迅速的刑罚："我在你们的日子行一件事，就在如今、转眼之间；这世代还没有过去，所威吓的审判就必应验。从前各世代的罪，必在你们的日子追讨，因如今罪孽的量器已满"（太23:36）。4、这必是一种大显神手作为的刑罚；这必是他亲手所行的工，以致凡看见的都要说，*这是耶和华所行的；*落在他手里实在是可怕的，他所追讨之人有祸了！5、这必是一种预表的刑罚，预表那临到藐视基督及其福音之人的毁灭，因这些话被应用于此（徒13:41）：*你们这轻慢的人要观看，要惊奇，要灭亡。*迦勒底人因犹大的偶像崇拜而毁灭耶路撒冷，乃是罗马人因他们弃绝基督及其福音而毁灭他们的预表，这事极其希奇，几乎令人难以置信。岂不有奇异的刑罚为作孽的人预备么？
二、这判语本身极其可怕且具体（哈1:6）：我必兴起迦勒底人。从前有人在他们中间挑起大量纷争与争竞，这是他们的罪；如今神要兴起迦勒底人攻击他们，与他们争竞，这便是他们的刑罚。要注意，当神自称属他之民彼此争闹、相咬相吞时，神便公义地任凭那共同的仇敌临到他们，藉普遍的毁灭来强行止息纷争。耶路撒冷城中各党派彼此积怨甚深之时，罗马人就来夺了他们的地土和国民。迦勒底人将作所威吓之毁灭的器皿；他们自身虽行不义，却要施行耶和华的公义，刑罚以色列的不义。如今，我们在此看见，
1、对那将被兴起来攻击以色列、作他们鞭挞的民族的描述。（1）他们是残忍暴躁之民，凶残狂猛，所行的都带着强暴与凶怒；他们计谋鲁莽，性情暴烈，行事顽固而进；他们毫不施怜悯，也不辞辛劳。被交在这些残忍者手中之人，其景况实在凄惨。（2）他们强盛，因此可畏，无人能在他们面前站立，却又无处可逃（哈1:7）：他威武可畏，以所率领上阵的精锐之师著称（哈1:8）；他的马比豹更快，能冲锋追击，比晚上的豺狼更猛；豺狼到了晚上最为贪食，因被饿了一整天，正等候那黑暗的庇护，林中一切走兽便在此时爬出（诗104:20）。他们的骑兵队必极其众多："马兵必踊跃争先，蔓延甚广，因他们从远方而来，从本国各处而来，又分散到所侵之地各处，掳掠那地，以那地的掠物使自己富足。他们急速掳掠，必迅速扑向猎物（如赛8:1旁注所言），因他们飞跑如鹰，当鹰急于抓食、扑向所盯之物时，便急速扑向地面。"（3）他们以自己的意愿为律法，在凶猛追逐中，绝不受任何仁慈、公平或荣誉之律的约束：他威武可畏，判断和势力都任意发出（哈1:7）。掌管他们的是私欲与情欲，而非理性或良心。他们的原则是，*我所喜爱的便是合法的——我的意愿就是我的律法。*又是，我如此愿意，如此命令；我的意志足作理由——因我喜欢，事就必成。对这样的仇敌还能指望什么恩待呢？要注意，那些行不义、不施怜悯之人，就是那律法放松、公理不得伸张之人，必公义地以其人之道还治其人之身，落在那些必以不义、不施怜悯待他们之人的手中。
2、对这可畏民族必行之可怕杀戮的预言：他们必通行遍地（也可如此读）；因不多时迦勒底的军队便制伏了那一带一切邦国，以致他们似乎征服了世界；他们横扫亚洲并非洲的一部分。或读为通行以色列地的全境，那地被他们完全荒废。此处预言：（1）他们必将所能下手夺取的一切据为己有。他们必来占据那不属自己的住处，对那些地方他们毫无权利，惟有刀剑赋予他们的而已。（2）他们必竭尽全力推进战事：都为行强暴而来（哈1:9），不是要以刀剑裁断争议之权，而是不分对错地以掳物使自己富足。他们定住脸面向前，如同东风；他们的脸面如此凶猛骇人，一看便足以使他们成为一切所欲之物的主；以致他们将一切吞吃殆尽，如同东风吹枯并摧残初发的嫩芽花朵。他们的脸面向着东方（有人如此读）；他们仍注目本国，那国在犹太之东，他们将所掠夺的一切都遣回那里。（3）他们必掳掠众多，将俘虏送往巴比伦：他们将掳掠的人聚集，多如尘沙，只要还有人可掳，便永不知足。（4）他们必视一切抵抗如无物（哈1:10）。受苦的犹太人是否指望他们的权贵来抵挡，凭智谋与勇气阻挡迦勒底人得胜的兵锋呢？唉！他们必视之如无物。他必讥诮（原文是"他"，指尼布甲尼撒，他因得胜而自高自大，必讥诮）君王，并那些想要抵挡他的将领；首领也被他笑话，他们显得如此不堪一击。他们是否指望他们的营垒与坚城呢？他必嗤笑一切保障，因在他看来都是脆弱的；他必筑垒攻取，只须堆起一点土筑成壁垒，便足以使他得着所欲的一切优势；他必以攻取这些为笑谈、为游戏。（5）藉着这一切，他必自高自大，骄傲到无可容忍的地步，这骄傲便是他的灭亡（哈1:11）：于是他的心意更改，更趋于恶。这民和这王的心都越发狂傲蛮横。那些不以己有之权利为足之人，到了作了别人权利之主时，也仍不知足；境况越升高，心也越发膨胀。这位得胜的王必越过一切理性、公平与谦逊的界限，破除一切的束缚，藉此越界行事，就有了罪，使神成为他的仇敌，如此便为自己预备了灭亡，因他将自己的势力归功于他的神，而其实这势力是从以色列的神得来的。彼勒和尼波是迦勒底人的神，他们将得胜的荣耀归给这些神；他们硬着心拜偶像，亵渎地辩称：既然他们征服了以色列，他们的神便胜过了以色列的神。要注意，将惟独归于又真又活之神的荣耀，取归己有，或归给我们自己手所造的神，乃是极大的冒犯（也是骄傲之人常犯的冒犯）。这判语的结尾这几句话，向神受苦的子民透出一线安慰；可指望他们必心意改变，渐渐变好，渐渐成熟以致得拯救；他们后来果然如此。然而他们的仇敌却必心意改变，渐渐变恶，渐渐成熟以致灭亡，这灭亡在神所定的时候必无可避免地临到；因为向神高傲的骄横之灵，必在败坏以先。
英文原文
Judgment Predicted (600 BC)
⁵ Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
⁶ For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling-places that are not theirs.
⁷ They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
⁸ Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.
⁹ They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
¹⁰ And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.
¹¹ Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.
We have here an answer to the prophet's complaint, giving him assurance that, though God bore long, he would not bear always with this provoking people; for the day of vengeance was in his heart, and he must tell them so, that they might by repentance and reformation turn away the judgment they were threatened with.
I. The preamble to the sentence is very awful (Hab 1:5): Behold, you among the heathen, and regard. Since they will not be brought to repentance by the long-suffering of God, he will take another course with them. No resentments are so keen, so deep, as those of abused patience. The Lord will inflict upon them, 1. A public punishment, which shall be beheld and regarded among the heathen, which the neighbouring nations shall take notice of and stand amazed at; see De 29:25,25. This will aggravate the desolations of Israel, that they will thereby be made a spectacle to the world. 2. An amazing punishment, so strange and surprising, and so much out of the common road of Providence, that it shall not be paralleled among the heathen, shall be sorer and heavier than what God has usually inflicted upon the nations that know him not; nay, it shall not be credited even by those that had the prediction of it from God before it comes, or the report of it from those that were eye-witnesses of it when it comes: You will not believe it, though it be told you; it will be thought incredible that so many judgments should combine in one, and every circumstance so strangely concur to enforce and aggravate it, that so great and potent a nation should be so reduced and broken, and that God should deal so severely with a people that had been taken into the bond of the covenant and that he had done so much for. The punishment of God's professing people cannot but be the astonishment of all about them. 3. A speedy punishment: "I will work a work in your days, now quickly; this generation shall not pass till the judgment threatened be accomplished. The sins of former days shall be reckoned for in your days; for now the measure of the iniquity is full," Mt 23:36. 4. It shall be a punishment in which much of the hand of God shall appear; it shall be a work of his own working, so that all who see it shall say, This is the Lord's doing; and it will be found a fearful thing to fall into his hands; woe to those whom he takes to task! 5. It shall be such a punishment as will typify the destruction to be brought upon the despisers of Christ and his gospel, for to that these words are applied Ac 13:41, Behold, you despisers, and wonder, and perish. The ruin of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans for their idolatry was a figure of their ruin by the Romans for rejecting Christ and his gospel, and it is a very marvellous thing, and almost incredible. Is there not a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?
II. The sentence itself is very dreadful and particular (Hab 1:6): Lo, I raise up the Chaldeans. There were those that raised up a great deal of strife and contention among them, which was their sin; and now God will raise up the Chaldeans against them, who shall strive and contend with them, which shall be their punishment. Note, When God's professing people quarrel among themselves, snarl at, and devour one another, it is just with God to bring the common enemy upon them, that shall make peace by making a universal devastation. The contending parties in Jerusalem were inveterate one against another, when the Romans came and took away their place and nation. The Chaldeans shall be the instruments of the destruction threatened, and, though themselves acting unrighteously, they shall execute the righteousness of the Lord and punish the unrighteousness of Israel. Now, here we have,
1. A description of the people that shall be raised up against Israel, to be a scourge to them. (1.) They are a bitter and hasty nation, cruel and fierce, and what they do is done with violence and fury; they are precipitate in their counsels, vehement in their passions, and push on with resolution in their enterprises; they show no mercy and they spare no pains. Miserable is the case of those that are given up into the hand of these cruel ones. (2.) They are strong, and therefore formidable, and such as there is no standing before, and yet no fleeing from (Hab 1:7): They are terrible and dreadful, famed for the gallant troops they bring into the field (Hab 1:8); their horses are swifter than leopards to charge and pursue, and more fierce than the evening wolves; and wolves are observed to be the most ravenous towards the evening, after they have been kept hungry all day, waiting for that darkness under the protection of which all the beasts of the forest creep forth, Ps 104:20. Their squadrons of horse shall be very numerous: "Their horse-men shall spread themselves a great way, for they shall come from far, from all parts of their own country, and shall be dispersed into all parts of the country they invade, to plunder it, and enrich themselves with the spoil of it. And, in making speed to spoil, they shall hasten to the prey (as those, Isa 8:1, margin), for they shall fly as the eagle towards the earth when she hastens to eat and strikes at the prey she has an eye upon." (3.) Their own will is a law to them, and, in the fierceness of their pursuits, they will not be governed by any laws of humanity, equity, or honour: Their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves, Hab 1:7. Appetite and passion rule them, and not reason nor conscience. Their principle is, Quicquid libet, licet—My will is my law. And, Sic volo, sic jubeo; stat pro ratione voluntas—This is my wish, this is my command; it shall be done because I choose it. What favour can be hoped for from such an enemy? Note, Those who have been unjust and unmerciful, among whom the law is slacked, and judgment doth not go forth, will justly be paid in their own coin and fall into the hands of those who will deal unjustly and unmercifully with them.
2. A prophecy of the terrible execution that shall be made by this terrible nation: They shall march through the breadth of the earth (so it may be read); for in a little time the Chaldean forces subdued all the nations in those parts, so that they seemed to have conquered the world; they overran Asia and part of Africa. Or, through the breadth of the land of Israel, which was wholly laid waste by them. It is here foretold, (1.) That they shall seize all as their own that they can lay their hands on. They shall come to possess the dwelling-places that are not theirs, which they have no right to, but that which their sword gives them. (2.) That they shall push on the war with all possible vigour: They shall all come for violence (Hab 1:9), not to determine any disputed right by the sword, but, right or wrong, to enrich themselves with the spoil. Their faces shall sup up as the east wind; their very countenances shall be so fierce and frightful that a look will serve to make them masters of all they have a mind to; so that they shall swallow up all, as the east wind nips and blasts the buds and flowers. Their faces shall look towards the east (so some read it); they shall still have an eye to their own country, which lay eastward from Judea, and all the spoil they seize they shall remit thither. (3.) That they shall take a vast number of prisoners, and send them into Babylon: They shall gather the captivity as the sand for multitude, and shall never know when they have enough, as long as there are any more to be had. (4.) That they shall make nothing of the opposition that is given to them, Hab 1:10. Do the distressed Jews depend upon their great men to make a stand, and with their wisdom and courage to give check to the victorious arms of the Chaldeans? Alas! they will make nothing of them. They shall scoff (he shall, so it is in the original, meaning Nebuchadnezzar, who being puffed up with his successes, shall scoff) at the kings and commanders of the forces that think to make head against him; and the princes shall be a scorn to them, so unequal a match shall they appear to be. Do they depend upon their garrisons and fortified towns? He shall deride every stronghold, for to him it shall be weak, and he shall heap dust, and take it; a little soil, thrown up for ramparts, shall serve to give him all the advantage against them that he can desire; he shall make but a jest of them, and a sport of taking them. (5.) By all this he shall be puffed up with an intolerable pride, which shall be his destruction (Hab 1:11): Then shall his mind change for the worse. The spirit both of the people and of the king shall grow more haughty and insolent. Those that will not be content with their own rights will not be content when they have made themselves masters of other people's rights too; but as the condition rises the mind rises too. This victorious king shall pass over all the bounds of reason, equity, and modesty, and break through all their bonds, and thereby he shall offend, shall make God his enemy, and so prepare ruin for himself by imputing this his power to his god, whereas he had it from the God of Israel. Bel and Nebo were the gods of the Chaldeans, and to them they gave the glory of their successes; they were hardened in their idolatry, and blasphemously argued that because they had conquered Israel their gods were too strong for the God of Israel. Note, It is a great offence (and the common offence of proud people) to take that glory to ourselves, or to give it to gods of our own making, which is due to the living and true God only. These closing words of the sentence give a glimpse of comfort to the afflicted people of God; it is to be hoped that they will change their minds, and grow better, and ripen for deliverance; and they did so. However, their enemies will change their minds, and grow worse, and ripen for destruction, which will inevitably come in God's due time; for a haughty spirit, lifted up against God, goes before a fall.
12-17
The Prophet's Plea; The Prophet's Complaint (600 BC)
先知的恳求；先知的控诉（主前600年）
¹² 耶和华我的神，我的圣者啊，你不是从亘古而有吗？我们必不致死。耶和华啊，你派定他们为要施行审判；全能的神啊，你设立他们为要施行惩治。
¹³ 你眼目清洁，不看邪僻，不看奸恶；行诡诈的，你为何看着不理呢？恶人吞灭比自己公义的人，你为何静默不语呢？
¹⁴ 你为何使人如海中的鱼，又如没有管辖者的爬物呢？
¹⁵ 他用钩钩住他们，用网捕获他们，用拉网聚集他们；因此他欢喜快乐，
¹⁶ 就向网献祭，向拉网烧香，因他由此得肥美的分和富裕的食物。
¹⁷ 他岂可因此倒空他的网，仍不住地杀戮列国，并不顾惜呢？
先知既从主领受了他所要传给百姓的信息，如今便转向神，再次向他陈明，好叫自己的心在所见的默示重担之下得着舒解。他仍满怀控诉。他若环顾四周，所见无非以色列所行的强暴；他若展望前路，所见无非临到以色列的强暴；很难说哪一样是更令人忧伤的景象。他将这二者的思绪都倾倒在主面前。我们当为神的教会，并为我们所生活之时代与地方的罪孽与灾祸而忧伤；但我们必须谨慎，免得我们的怨愤变得乖戾，把它推得太过，以致对神生出任何苛刻的念头，或失去我们与他相交的安慰。世界是邪恶的，向来如此，将来也必如此；改善它非我们力所能及；但我们确知神管理着世界，必从万事中为自己得着荣耀，因此我们必须决意尽力以最好的态度去面对，必须使我们自己变得更好，并切慕那更美的世界。迦勒底人得势的前景驱使先知屈膝祷告，他便放胆为此事与神理论。在他的恳求中，我们可以留意到：
壹、他所持守的真理，他决意要坚守的，并他借以安慰自己和友人、面对迦勒底人日益增长的可畏威势的真理；这些真理在我们遇到类似处境时，也能供给我们可喜的扶持思想。
1、无论如何，耶和华仍是我们的神，我们的圣者。得胜的迦勒底人将他们的能力归于他们的偶像，但我们受教要告诉他们：以色列的神才是真神，是永生的神（耶10:10,11）。(1.) 他是耶和华，是一切存有、能力与完全的泉源。我们的磐石不像他们的磐石。(2.) 「他是我的神。」先知是奉百姓之名说话；每一个以色列人都可以说：「他是我的。我们虽然这样大受打击，这一切都临到了我们，我们却没有忘记我们神的名，也没有离弃我们与他的关系；我们没有不认他，他也没有不认我们（诗44:17）。我们是冒犯之民，他是被冒犯的神；他却仍是我们的神，纵然如此，我们也不对他或对事奉他之事生出任何苛刻的念头。」(3.) 「他是我的圣者。」这表明先知爱神，是把他当作圣洁的神而爱，是为他的圣洁之故而爱他。「他是我的，因为他是圣者；正因如此，他必作我的成圣者和我的救主，因为他是我的圣者。世人都不圣洁，惟我的神是圣洁的。」
2、我们的神是从亘古而有的。这一点他向神陈明：耶和华我的神啊，你不是从亘古而有吗？神的子民在今生的患难之下，他们的神乃是从亘古而有的，这是极大且持久的安慰。这表明：(1.) 他本性的永恒；他若是从亘古而有，他便要直到永远，所以当眼见之物（即暂时之物）令人灰心时，我们必须诉诸这首要原则——我们在那未曾看见的、永恒的神里面有着足够的盼望与帮助。「你不是从亘古而有吗？那么你岂不要施展你永远的膀臂，照你永远的旨意行事，为自己成就永远的名吗？」(2.) 他圣约的古老：「你不是从太初就有，是与你子民立约的神吗」（有人如此解释），「你不是在古时为他们行了大事，是我们亲耳听见、我们列祖告诉我们的吗；你不是仍然那同一位神，是你向来所是的吗？你是神，并不改变。」
3、只要世界长存，神在其中必有他的教会。你是从亘古而有的，那么我们必不致死。神的以色列必不被剪除，以色列之名必不被涂抹，纵然有时似乎濒临此境；正如使徒（林后6:9），受管教而不至于死；受严厉的惩治，却不至于被交于死地（诗118:18）。看先知如何从神的永恒推论出教会的永存；因为基督曾说：因为我活着，所以只要我活着，你们也要活着（约14:19）。他是教会稳固建造其上的磐石，以致阴间的权柄不能、也不会胜过它。我们必不致死。
4、教会的仇敌无论向她行什么，都是按照神的旨意，且是为着智慧而圣洁的目的所设计、所指引的：你派定了他们；你设立了他们。是神赐给迦勒底人能力，使他们成为可畏之民，并在他的旨意中决定了他们当行的事，他们若非从上头得着，便毫无能力可以攻击他的以色列。他赐给他们权柄去抢夺、去掳掠（赛10:6）。神在此显为大能的神，因为强者的能力乃是从他而出，倚赖于他，且在他的管束之下；他对那能力说，你只可到这里，不可越过。神所派定的人，所行的不能超过神所派定的，这对神受苦的子民乃是极大的安慰。人是神的手，是他手中的杖（诗17:14）。他派定他们为要施行审判，施行惩治。神的子民需要管教，也理当受管教；他们必须有此预备；他们必要受管教；当恶人被放纵来攻击他们时，并不是为要毁灭他们，叫他们败亡，乃是为要管教他们，叫他们得着改正；他们不是被当作刀剑去剪除子民，乃是被当作杖去驱除子民心中所存的愚妄，虽然他们的心并不这样想，也没有这个意念（赛10:7）。请注意，论到教会的患难与苦难，无论人对她设计什么恶事，神却设计要从其中带出善来，且我们确知他的旨意必然立定，这对我们乃是极大的安慰。
5、恶人的邪恶虽可亨通一时，神却是圣洁的神，他并不赞同那邪恶（哈1:13）：你眼目清洁，不看邪僻。先知留意到迦勒底人何等凶恶悖逆，攻击神的以色列却何等得胜，便从中生出一个试探，要说事奉神是枉然的，人怎样为人，于神都无关紧要。但他随即压制了这念头，靠的是诉诸他的首要原则——神不是、也不能是罪的作者或庇护者；正如他自己不能行不义，他眼目也极其清洁，不能以任何容让或嘉许的态度看罪；不，那乃是耶和华所恨恶的可憎之事。他看见世上所行的一切罪，这于他乃是冒犯，在他眼中可憎，犯罪之人便因此招致他的公义追讨。在神的本性中，对那些违背他圣洁律法的性情与行为有一种敌憎；纵然有一条门路得以使他与罪人和好，他却永不愿、也不能与罪和好。这一原则我们必须决意坚守，纵然他护理的安排在某些时候、某些事例中似乎与之相违。请注意，神对罪的容忍绝不可被曲解为对罪的纵容；因为他并不是喜悦恶事的神（诗5:4,5）。这里所说神所不看的罪孽，尤指逼迫者加在神子民身上的祸害；神虽看为合宜而容许它，却并不赞同它；这与论巴兰的话相合（民23:21），他未曾观看雅各中的罪孽，也未曾以容让之意看以色列中的奸恶；这对神的子民乃是极大的安慰，叫他们在人的暴怒所加的苦难中，不能从中推断神的恼怒；那些苦难的施加者虽恨恶他们，却不能由此推论神也如此；不，他爱他们，他管教他们正是出于爱。
贰、他所控诉的、且觉得难以与这些真理调和的种种委屈：「我们既确知你是圣洁的神，为何要让无神之人得着试探，去质疑你究竟是否如此？你为何看着那些以诡诈待你子民的迦勒底人，又使他们在攻击我们的图谋上亨通？你为何容你不共戴天、亵渎你名的仇敌，如此残忍、如此奸诈地对待你所立约、愿敬畏你名的子民？对此我们当说什么呢？」这曾是约伯的试探（伯21:7；24:1），是大卫的试探（诗73:2,3），是耶利米的试探（耶12:1,2）。1、神容许罪，且向罪人忍耐。他看着他们；他看见他们一切邪恶的行为与图谋，却不约束他们，也不惩罚他们，反容他们的计谋得逞，容他们一路前行、亨通通达，攻无不克。不但如此，他看着他们这一点似乎暗示他不仅没有制止或责备他们，反倒鼓励他们、帮助他们，仿佛他向他们微笑、施恩。当他们在邪恶之途上行进时，他静默不语，不发一言反对他们，也不下令制止他们。这些事你都行了，我还闭口不言。2、他的忍耐被滥用，并且因为对这些恶行恶人所定的罪不立刻执行，他们的心便满怀作恶的意念。(1.) 他们虚假诡诈，他们的话毫不可信，对他们也丝毫不可倚赖。他们行诡诈；在和平友好的伪装下，却推行并施行最阴险的图谋，在任何事上都不顾良心、不守诺言。(2.) 他们恨恶逼迫那些比他们良善的人，正如该隐恨恶亚伯，因为自己的行为是恶的，弟兄的行为是善的。恶人吞灭比自己公义的人，正是为这缘故，因为公义的人使他蒙羞；他们对神的形像怀着恶意，正因如此便吞灭善人，因善人带有那形像。犹太人中虽有许多与迦勒底人一样恶，甚或更恶，但他们中间仍有那些公义得多的人，却被他们吞灭。(3.) 他们杀人不当一回事，无异于捕鱼。先知控诉说，护理既将弱者交于强者为掠物，他们便实际上如同海中的鱼（哈1:14）。他们彼此之间向来如此，强者吞吃弱者，如大鱼吃小鱼（哈1:3），如今对那公敌也成了这样。他们如同爬物，或游物（因这词也用作「鱼」，创1:20），没有管辖者，既无人约束他们彼此吞吃，也无人保护他们免被仇敌吞灭。他们被交于迦勒底人，如鱼被交于渔夫。那些骄傲的欺压者杀他们毫不顾惜良心，正如人把鱼从水中拉出来一样，他们竟如此轻看人的性命。他们杀人毫不为难，轻而易举，如同捕鱼，那些鱼不能抵挡，毫无防备、毫无武装，捕捉它们与其说是费力，不如说是消遣。他们在其中不加分别，凡入网的都是鱼；凡他们能下手的，都算作自己的。他们有各样败坏毁灭的方法，正如人有各样捕鱼的方法。有的他们用钩钓上来（哈1:15），一条一条地钓；有的成群成批地用网捕获，用拉网聚集。他们竟用如此多样的方法，去毁灭那些他们指望借以发财的人。(4.) 他们以所得为荣，以所得自喜，虽然那是不义之财：他们得肥美的分和富裕的食物；他们在欺压与欺诈中亨通；他们所得甚多，且是上好的；他们的地是美好的，且为数甚丰。因此，[1.] 他们极其自满，心中欢畅；他们活得快乐（哈1:15）：因此他们欢喜快乐，因他们的财富甚多，他们增加财富的计谋又得逞（伯31:25）。灵魂哪，安逸吧（路12:19）。[2.] 他们极其自负，极其自鸣得意，自夸他们的精明与手段：他们向自己的网献祭，向自己的拉网烧香；他们自夸赚了如此多的钱，纵然手段不义。请注意，我们都有一种倾向，把我们外在亨通的荣耀归给自己，说，我的力量和我手的能力为我得了这财富（申8:17）。这就是将我们自己当作偶像，向拉网献祭，因为它是我们自己的，这与向尼普顿或大衮献祭一样荒谬的拜偶像。使他们如此敬拜自己网的缘由，是因藉着它他们得着肥美的分。那些以钱财为神的人，只要能藉拉网赚钱，就必以拉网为神。
叁、先知在结尾处谦卑地表达他的盼望，盼神不容这些残害人类之人永远如此一路亨通，并就此事与神理论（哈1:17）：「他岂可因此倒空他的网？他岂可用从邻舍强暴欺压所夺来的，使自己致富、装满自己的器皿？他岂可倒空他网中所捕的，好再撒下网去捕更多的？你岂容他们一直行这恶道？他们岂可不住地杀戮列国，并不顾惜呢？列国的人数与财富岂当尽都祭于他们的网？夺人产业既算为小事，他们岂可还夺神的荣耀？神岂不是列国的王，他岂不为他们受屈的权利伸冤？他岂不为自己的尊荣发热心，岂不维护它？」先知将此事交托在神手中，留给他处理，正如诗人所行（诗74:22）：神啊，求你兴起，为自己伸诉。
英文原文
The Prophet's Plea; The Prophet's Complaint (600 BC)
¹² Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.
¹³ Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
¹⁴ And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?
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.
¹⁶ Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.
¹⁷ Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
The prophet, having received of the Lord that which he was to deliver to the people, now turns to God, and again addresses himself to him for the ease of his own mind under the burden which he saw. And still he is full of complaints. If he look about him, he sees nothing but violence done by Israel; if he look before him, he sees nothing but violence done against Israel; and it is hard to say which is the more melancholy sight. His thoughts of both he pours out before the Lord. It is our duty to be affected both with the iniquities and with the calamities of the church of God and of the times and places wherein we live; but we must take heed lest we grow peevish in our resentments, and carry them too far, so as to entertain any hard thoughts of God, or lose the comfort of our communion with him. The world is bad, and always was so, and will be so; it is out of our power to mend it; but we are sure that God governs the world, and will bring glory to himself out of all, and therefore we must resolve to make the best of it, must be ourselves better, and long for the better world. The prospect of the prevalence of the Chaldeans drives the prophet to his knees, and he takes the liberty to plead with God concerning it. In his plea we may observe,
I. The truths which he lays down, which he resolves to abide by, and with which he endeavours to comfort himself and his friends, under the growing threatening power of the Chaldeans; and they will furnish us with pleasing considerations for our support in the like case.
1. However it be, yet God is the Lord our God, and our Holy One. The victorious Chaldeans impute their power to their idols, but we are taught to tell them that the God of Israel is the true God, the living God, Jer 10:10,11. (1.) He is Jehovah, the fountain of all being, power, and perfection. Our rock is not as theirs. (2.) "He is my God." He speaks in the people's name; every Israelite may say, "He is mine. Though we are thus sore broken, and all this has come upon us, yet have we not forgotten the name of our God, nor quitted our relation to him, yet have we not disowned him, nor hath he disowned us, Ps 44:17. We are an offending people; he is an offended God; yet he is ours, and we will not entertain any hard thoughts of him, nor of his service, for all this." (3.) "He is my Holy One." This intimates that the prophet loved God as a holy God, loved him for the sake of his holiness. "He is mine because he is a Holy One; and therefore he will be my sanctifier and my Saviour, because he is my Holy One. Men are unholy, but my God is holy."
2. Our God is from everlasting. This he pleads with him: Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God? It is matter of great and continual comfort to God's people, under the troubles of this present life, that their God is from everlasting. This intimates, (1.) The eternity of his nature; if he is from everlasting, he will be to everlasting, and we must have recourse to this first principle, when things seen, which are temporal, are discouraging, that we have hope and help sufficient in a god that is not seen, that is eternal. "Art thou not from everlasting, and then wilt thou not make bare thy everlasting arm, in pursuance of thy everlasting counsels, to make unto thyself an everlasting name?" (2.) The antiquity of his covenant: "Art thou not from of old, a God in covenant with thy people" (so some understand it), "and hast thou not done great things for them in the days of old, which we have heard with our ears, and which our fathers have told us of; and art thou not the same God still that thou ever wast? Thou art God, and changest not."
3. While the world stands God will have a church in it. Thou art from everlasting, and then we shall not die. The Israel of God shall not be extirpated, nor the name of Israel blotted out, though it may sometimes seem to be very near it; like the apostles (2Co 6:9), chastened, and not killed; chastened sorely, but not delivered over to death, Ps 118:18. See how the prophet infers the perpetuity of the church from the eternity of God; for Christ has said, Because I live, and therefore as long as I live, you shall live also, Joh 14:19. He is the rock on which the church is so firmly built that the gates of hell shall not, cannot, prevail against it. We shall not die.
4. Whatever the enemies of the church may do against her, it is according to the counsel of God, and is designed and directed for wise and holy ends: Thou hast ordained them; thou hast established them. It was God that gave the Chaldeans their power, made them a formidable people, and in his counsel determined what they should do, nor had they any power against his Israel but what was given them from above. He gave them their commission to take the spoil and to take the prey, Isa 10:6. Herein God appears a mighty God, that the power of mighty men is derived from him, depends upon him, and is under his check; he says concerning it, Hitherto shall it come, and no further. Those whom God ordains shall do no more than what God has ordained, which is a great comfort to God's suffering people. Men are God's hand, the rod in his hand, Ps 17:14. And he has ordained them for judgment, and for correction. God's people need correction, and deserve it; they must expect it; they shall have it; when wicked men are let loose against them, it is not for their destruction, that they may be ruined, but for their correction, that they may be reformed; they are not intended for a sword, to cut them off, but for a rod, to drive out the foolishness that is found in their hearts, though they mean not so, neither does their heart think so, Isa 10:7. Note, It is matter of great comfort to us, in reference to the troubles and afflictions of the church, that, whatever mischief men design to them, God designs to bring good out of them, and we are sure that his counsel shall stand.
5. Though the wickedness of the wicked may prosper for a while, yet God is a holy God, and does not approve of that wickedness (Hab 1:13): Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil. The prophet, observing how very vicious and impious the Chaldeans were, and yet what great success they had against God's Israel, found a temptation arising from it to say that it was vain to serve God, and that it was indifferent to him what men were. But he soon suppresses the thought, by having recourse to his first principle, That God is not, that he cannot be, the author or patron of sin; as he cannot do iniquity himself, so he is of purer eyes than to behold it with any allowance or approbation; no, it is that abominable thing which the Lord hates. He sees all the sin that is committed in the world, and it is an offence to him, it is odious in his eyes, and those that commit it are thereby made obnoxious to his justice. There is in the nature of God an antipathy to those dispositions and practices that are contrary to his holy law; and, though an expedient is happily found out for his being reconciled to sinners, yet he never will, nor can, be reconciled to sin. And this principle we must resolve to abide by, though the dispensations of his providence may for a time, and in some instances, seem to be inconsistent with it. Note, God's connivance at sin must never be interpreted into a giving countenance to it; for he is not a God that has pleasure in wickedness, Ps 5:4,5. The iniquity which, it is here said, God does not look upon, may be meant especially of the mischief done to God's people by their persecutors; though God sees cause to permit it, yet he does not approve of it; so it agrees with that of Balaam (Nu 23:21), He has not be held iniquity against Jacob, nor seen, with allowance, perverseness against Israel, which is very comfortable to the people of God, in their afflictions by the rage of men, that they cannot infer God's anger from it; though the instruments of their trouble hate them, it does not therefore follow that God does; nay, he loves them, and it is in love that he corrects them.
II. The grievances he complains of, and finds hard to reconcile with these truths: "Since we are sure that thou art a holy God, why have atheists temptation given them to question whether thou art so or no? Wherefore lookest thou upon the Chaldeans that deal treacherously with thy people, and givest them success in their attempts upon us? Why dost thou suffer thy sworn enemies, who blaspheme thy name, to deal thus cruelly, thus perfidiously, with thy sworn subjects, who desire to fear thy name? What shall we say to this?" This was a temptation to Job (Job 21:7,24:1), to David (Ps 73:2,3), to Jeremiah, Jer 12:1,2. 1. That God permitted sin, and was patient with the sinners. He looked upon them; he saw all their wicked doings and designs, and did not restrain nor punish them, but suffered them to speed in their purposes, to go on and prosper, and to carry all before them. Nay, his looking upon them intimates that he not only gave them no check or rebuke, but that he gave them encouragement and assistance, as if he smiled upon them and favoured them. He held his tongue when they went on in their wicked courses, said nothing against them, gave no orders to stop them. These things thou hast done, and I kept silence. 2. That his patience was abused, and, because sentence against these evil works and workers was not executed speedily, therefore their hearts were the more fully set in them to do evil. (1.) They were false and deceitful, and there was no credit to be given them, nor any confidence to be put in them. They deal treacherously; under colour of peace and friendship, they prosecute and execute the most mischievous designs, and make no conscience of their word in any thing. (2.) They hated and persecuted men because they were better than themselves, as Cain hated Abel because his own works were evil and his brother's righteous. The wicked devours the man that is more righteous than he, for that very reason, because he shames him; they have an ill will to the image of God, and therefore devour good men, because they bear that image. Though many of the Jews were as bad as the Chaldeans themselves, and worse, yet there were those among them that were much more righteous, and yet were devoured by them. (3.) They made no more of killing men that of catching fish. The prophet complains that, Providence having delivered up the weaker to be prey to the stronger, they were, in effect, made as the fishes of the sea, Hab 1:14. So they had been among themselves, preying upon one another as the greater fishes do upon the less (Hab 1:3), and they were made so to the common enemy. They were as the creeping things, or swimming things (for the word is used for fish, Ge 1:20), that have no ruler over them, either to restrain them from devouring one another or to protect them from being devoured by their enemies. They are given up to the Chaldeans as fish to the fishermen. Those proud oppressors make no conscience of killing them, any more than men do of pulling fish out of the water, so small account do they make of human lives. They make no difficulty of killing them, but do it with as much ease as men catch fish, that make no resistance, but are unguarded and unarmed, and it is rather a pastime than any pains to take them. They make no distinction among them, but all is fish that comes to their net; and they reckon every thing their own that they can lay their hands on. They have various ways of spoiling and destroying, as men have of taking fish. Some they take up with the angle (Hab 1:15), one by one; others they catch in shoals, and by wholesale, in their net, and gather them in their drag, their enclosing net. Such variety of methods have they to destroy those by whom they hope to enrich themselves. (4.) They gloried in what they got, and pleased themselves with it, though it was got dishonestly: Their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous; they prosper in their oppression and fraud; they have a great deal, and it is of the best; their land is good, and they have abundance of it. And therefore, [1.] They have great complacency in themselves, and are very pleasant; they live merrily (Hab 1:15): Therefore they rejoice and are glad, because their wealth is great, and their projects succeed for the increase of it, Job 31:25. Soul, take thy ease, Lu 12:19. [2.] They have a great conceit of themselves, and are great admirers of their own ingenuity and management: They sacrifice to their own net, and burn incense to their own drag; they applaud themselves for having got so much money, though ever so dishonestly. Note, There is a proneness in us to take the glory of our outward prosperity to ourselves, and to say, My might, and the power of my hands, have gotten me this wealth, De 8:17. This is idolizing ourselves, sacrificing to the dragnet, because it is our own, which is as absurd a piece of idolatry as sacrificing to Neptune or Dagon. That which makes them adore their net thus is because by it their portion is fat. Those that make a god of their money will make a god of their drag-net, if they can but get money by it.
III. The prophet, in the close, humbly expresses his hope that God will not suffer these destroyers of mankind always to go on and prosper thus, and expostulates with God concerning it (Hab 1:17): "Shall they therefore empty their net? Shall they enrich themselves, and fill their own vessels, with that which they have by violence and oppression taken away from their neighbours? Shall they empty their net of what they have caught, that they may cast it into the sea again, to catch more? And wilt thou suffer them to proceed in this wicked course? Shall they not spare continually to slay the nations? Must the numbers and wealth of nations be sacrificed to their net? As if it were a small thing to rob men of their estates, shall they rob God of his glory? Is not God the king of nations, and will he not assert their injured rights? Is he not jealous for his own honour, and will he not maintain that?" The prophet lodges the matter in God's hand, and leaves it with him, as the psalmist does. Ps 74:22, Arise, O God! Plead thy own cause.
在本章中，一、先知向神控诉，在他本国之民中，公义之刀遭到滥用而行出的强暴，以及由此加在许多敬虔之人身上的苦难，哈 1:1-4。二、神藉着他预言，那以战争之刀滥用权势者必受刑罚，又预言迦勒底人的军队必使他们荒凉，哈 1:5-11。三、随后先知连这事也加以控诉，并为迦勒底人如此得胜而忧伤（哈 1:12-17），以致他几乎不知究竟哪一样更当哀叹，是罪呢，还是罪所招来的刑罚；因为在这两者之中，许多无辜敬虔之人都大受痛苦。所幸在我们面前还有审判之日和将来的境界，在其中众义人——惟独他们——必永远得享福乐，而众恶人——惟独他们——必遭祸患；如此，眼下护理中那些看似的紊乱必被归正，再无任何可控诉之事存留。