Habakkuk Chapter 2 verse 17 Holy Bible
For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover thee, and the destruction of the beasts, which made them afraid; because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein.
read chapter 2 in ASV
For the violent acts against Lebanon will come on you, and the destruction of the cattle will be a cause of fear to you, because of men's blood and the violent acts against the land and the town and all who are living in it.
read chapter 2 in BBE
For the violence [done] to Lebanon shall cover thee, and the destruction of beasts which made them afraid; because of men's blood, and for the violence [done] to the land, to the city, and all that dwell therein.
read chapter 2 in DARBY
For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
read chapter 2 in KJV
read chapter 2 in WBT
For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and the destruction of the animals, which made them afraid; because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to every city and to those who dwell in them.
read chapter 2 in WEB
For violence `to' Lebanon doth cover thee, And spoil of beasts doth affright them, Because of man's blood, and of violence `to' the land, `To' the city, and `to' all dwelling in it.
read chapter 2 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 17. - For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee; LXX., ἀσέβεια τοῦ Λιβάνου: iniquitas Libani (Vulgate). It would be plainer if translated, "the violence against," or "practised on, Lebanon," as the sentence refers to the devastation inflicted by the Chaldeans on the forests of Lebanon (comp. Isaiah 14:8; Isaiah 37:24). Jerome confines the expression in the text to the demolition of the temple at Jerusalem in the construction of which much cedar was employed; others take Lebanon as a figure for Palestine generally, or for Jerusalem itself; but it is best understood literally. The same devastation which the Chaldeans made in Lebanon shall "cover," overwhelm, and destroy them. And the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid. The introduction of the relative is not required, and the passage may be better translated, And the destruction of beasts made them (others read "thee") afraid. Septuagint, "And the wretchedness of the beasts shall affright thee." Jerome, in his commentary, renders, "Et vastitas animalium opprimet te." The meaning is that the wholesale destruction of the wild animals of Lebanon, occasioned by the operations of the Chaldeans, shall be visited upon this people. They warred not only against men, but against the lower creatures too; and for this retributive punishment awaited them. Because of men's blood, etc. The reason rendered in ver. 8 is here repeated. Of the land, etc., means "toward" or "against" the land.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(17) For the violence of Lebanon. . . .--Better, For the violence done to Lebanon shall overwhelm thee, and the destruction of the beasts which it frightened away. The rest of the verse is a refrain taken from the first woe, that of Habakkuk 2:8. The "destruction of beasts" points, we think, to a raid on the cattle feeding on the sides of Lebanon. But more than this is probably included in the phrase the violence done to Lebanon. Habakkuk probably foresees how the invader will cut down the cedar forests in Lebanon to adorn the palaces of Babylon. (Comp. Isaiah 14:7-8.) All these outrages shall in due time be Avenged on himself. Some commentators, however, explain the expression as a bold synecdoche, Lebanon representing the Holy Land (of which it was the beauty), or even the Temple, both of which Nebuchadnezzar laid waste.
