Habakkuk 1 · Verse 14

Habakkuk 1:14

And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?
Habakkuk 1:14, King James Version

Habakkuk 1:14 in other translations

BSBYou have made men like the fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler.
WEBand make men like the fish of the sea, like the creeping things that have no ruler over them?
ASVand makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?
YLTAnd Thou makest man as fishes of the sea, As a creeping thing--none ruling over him.
DARBYAnd thou makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them.
BBEHe has made men like the fishes of the sea, like the worms which have no ruler over them.
WebsterAnd makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping animals that have no ruler over them?

What does Habakkuk 1:14 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
14. And--that is, And so, by suffering oppressors to go unpunished, "Thou makest men as the fishes ... that have no ruler"; that is, no defender. All may fish in the sea with impunity; so the Chaldeans with impunity afflict Thy people, as these have no longer the God of the theocracy, their King, to defend them. Thou reducest men to such a state of anarchy, by wrong going unpunished, as if there were no God. He compares the world to the sea; men to fishes; Nebuchadnezzar to a fisherman (Ha 1:15-17).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 14 Makest men as the fishes of the sea - Easily are we taken and destroyed. We have no leader to guide us, and no power to defend ourselves. Nebuchadnezzar is here represented as a fisherman, who is constantly casting his nets into the sea, and enclosing multitudes of fishes; and, being always successful, he sacrifices to his own net - attributes all his conquests to his own power and prudence; not considering that he is only like a net that after having been used for a while, shall at last be thrown by as useless, or burnt in the fire.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Habakkuk 1:12-17

However matters may be, yet God is the Lord our God, our Holy One. We are an offending people, he is an offended God, yet we will not entertain hard thoughts of him, or of his service. It is great comfort that, whatever mischief men design, the Lord designs good, and we are sure that his counsel shall stand. Though wickedness may prosper a while, yet God is holy, and does not approve the wickedness. As he cannot do…

Read the full comment on Habakkuk 1:12-17 →

Habakkuk 1:14 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַתַּעֲשֶׂ֥הva.ta.'a.Sehand you have madeH6213
אָדָ֖ם'a.DamhumankindH120
כִּדְגֵ֣יkid.Geilike [the] fish ofH1709
הַיָּ֑םhai.Yamthe seaH3220
כְּרֶ֖מֶשׂke.Re.meslike creeping thing[s]H7431
לֹא\־lo'-[which] notH3808
מֹשֵׁ֥לmo.Shela rulerH4910
בּֽוֹ\׃bo[is] over it

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
creeping. or, moving. no.
Pr 6:7

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Habakkuk 1:13

    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?

  • Habakkuk 1:14

    And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?

  • Habakkuk 1:15

    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.

Read all of Habakkuk 1

Habakkuk 1:14 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y haces que sean los hombres como los peces de la mar, como reptiles que no tienen señor?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Tu rends aussi les hommes comme les poissons de la mer, comme la bête rampante qui n’a personne qui la gouverne.
German
Elberfelder 1871		und machst die Menschen wie die Fische des Meeres, wie das Gewürm, das keinen Herrscher hat?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et facies homines quasi pisces maris, et quasi reptile non habens principem.