Chapter 2
God's second answer. vs 1, though, says Hab expected to be reproved for his question. This verse:
4 "Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. [Hab 2:4 ESV] Per MSB, this is contrasted with the "greed" of the haughty and the proud. In vs 5, God "sums up" the Chaldeans, who are proud and look only to themselves.
MSB says five woes are pronounced on them, as a way of telling Hab that though they will conquer, they will not last. vs 6b has that first woe, because of the accumulation of what others worked for. The "woe" is that the oppressed will eventually rise up and strike back at Babylon. Babylon "heaps up what is not his own" by conquest and taxation. They leverage what others build, and yet they build nothing at all of their own. They are spoilers, not producers. In vss 7, 8, those conquered by Babylon are called her debtors. This probably refers to the tribute Babylon required of them. Perhaps the required tribute was overly oppressive, leading to charges of greed beyond reason - referring back to vs 4 where the soul of Babylon is "not upright". They were greedy for wealth beyond reason, beyond need. Because of this national character flaw about wealth, Babylon will eventually provoke rebellion against herself.
If you look at the first part of vs 5, allowing for the translation notes in the TCR footnote:
5 "Moreover, wine (translation says wealth) is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples." [Hab 2:5 ESV] Translating wine as wealth seems to make a lot more sense. Wealth is never dependable, never stable, never enough. Like a traitor who can turn against you, or fly away in an instant. Yet Babylon is consumed with acquiring wealth. She is colonial like no nation before or since. She is irrationally afraid of betrayal by what she has accumulated. Goes on to say some will rise in the end and fight back. In ESV it says the "debtors" will arise. In NKJV, it says "creditors". Debtors seems right, those they've overrun, as discussed above.
vs 9 is the second woe. This woe is against those who make themselves "safe" by evil means. The Chaldean's feel confident in doing these things, because they feel their own "nest" is secure, their cities unassailable. Like a bully with many "minions". This could be a reference to the atrocities that Babylon committed in their conquests. They put thousands to the sword in Jerusalem, they killed everyone who was anyone, and left only the wretched poor in Judah. They didn't just conquer, they annihilated many nations, going far beyond "winning".
vs 12, third woe (5x3 vss each for the woes...). They build their nation, enrich themselves, by violence - by taking what they did not sow, by building with the labor of others - who's labor will not benefit them. True slaver? Ungrateful, unmerciful, users of other men's labor. An aristocracy of despots (MSB's word).
vs 15, fourth woe. They shame and demoralize the conquered. They don't just "win", they humiliate the conquered. They will reap what they've sown. There is also a indictment of idolatry here, saying idols won't be able to help them in the face of the cup in the Lord's right hand. vs 17 indicates that Babylon had no respect for man or beast (nature). they laid things waste, killed everything.
vs 19, 5th woe. The are blatant idolators, worshiping the inanimate that has no power over anything, no breath, no voice. But the Lord...
I am currently (2020) reading "On Killing", a book about war and how it is carried out. It talks about nations that force their soldiers to commit atrocities as a way of "bonding" their forces to each other with mutual guilt, and as a way of preventing desertion. They are so guilty that the enemy will execute them if they leave. The atrocities bring the soldiers right in under the covers with their leadership. They cannot leave. Perhaps that's what this fourth woe is about. Or perhaps it just means Babylon "shames" those it conquers. They leave no honor for the vanquished.
2025 - This verse:
18 "What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! [Hab 2:18 ESV]. This is the sin of idolatry. We make something ourselves, and then we trust what we have made to keep us safe. Indirectly, our faith is only in ourselves. In Habakkuk's day, they made little figurines of silver or gold to "trust". Today, we buy expensive cars or trucks, houses in gated communities, piles of stocks and bonds. Anything at all to which we turn for help before turning to God is our idol.