The Meaning of Habakkuk 1:9 Explained

Habakkuk 1:9

KJV: They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.

YLT: Wholly for violence it doth come in, Their faces swallowing up the east wind, And it doth gather as the sand a captivity.

Darby: They come all of them for violence: the crowd of their faces is forwards, and they gather captives as the sand.

ASV: They come all of them for violence; the set of their faces is forwards; and they gather captives as the sand.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

They shall come  all for violence:  their faces  shall sup up  [as] the east wind,  and they shall gather  the captivity  as the sand. 

What does Habakkuk 1:9 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Babylonians loved violence. The faces of their warriors showed their love for battle as they moved irresistibly forward in conquest. They were as effective at collecting captives from other countries as the sirocco winds from the East were at driving dust before them (cf. Jeremiah 18:17; Ezekiel 17:10; Ezekiel 19:12; Jonah 4:8). This enemy was advancing like a whirlwind and gathering captives as innumerable as the sand.

Context Summary

Habakkuk 1:1-17 - The Apparent Prosperity Of The Wicked
Habakkuk probably lived toward the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, when the Chaldeans were preparing to invade the land. Jerusalem was filled with wickedness. Crimes of violence and lawlessness had become so numerous that the prophet was appalled at the sight. He could only point to the fate of other nations, which must also befall Judah unless the people repented. Paul quotes Habakkuk 1:5 in Acts 13:41. The Chaldeans are compared to the leopard, the evening wolf, and the east wind. The prophet turns to Jehovah in an agony of expostulation and entreaty. Was He not from everlasting? Was He not Israel's Rock? The prophet's solace is the reflection, "We shall not die." An ancient reading is, "Thou canst not die." We are reminded of Revelation 1:18. O thou undying, unchanging, life-giving Savior, we cling to thee amid the storms that sweep the world, as limpets to the rock. [source]

Chapter Summary: Habakkuk 1

1  Unto Habakkuk, complaining of the iniquity of the land,
5  is shown the fearful vengeance by the Chaldeans
12  He complains that vengeance should be executed by them who are far worse

What do the individual words in Habakkuk 1:9 mean?

They all for violence Come are set their faces [like] the east [wind] and they gather like sand captives
כֻּלֹּה֙ לְחָמָ֣ס יָב֔וֹא מְגַמַּ֥ת פְּנֵיהֶ֖ם קָדִ֑ימָה וַיֶּאֱסֹ֥ף כַּח֖וֹל שֶֽׁבִי

כֻּלֹּה֙  They  all 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
לְחָמָ֣ס  for  violence 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חָמָס  
Sense: violence, wrong, cruelty, injustice.
יָב֔וֹא  Come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
מְגַמַּ֥ת  are  set 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: מְגַמָּה  
Sense: meaning uncertain; perhaps hordes, accumulation, assembling, eagerness (of Babylonians).
פְּנֵיהֶ֖ם  their  faces 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
קָדִ֑ימָה  [like]  the  east  [wind] 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: קָדִים  
Sense: east, east wind.
וַיֶּאֱסֹ֥ף  and  they  gather 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָסַף 
Sense: to gather, receive, remove, gather in.
כַּח֖וֹל  like  sand 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹול 
Sense: sand.
שֶֽׁבִי  captives 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שְׁבִי 
Sense: captivity, captives.