Habakkuk 2:15 (ASV)

Passage

Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, [to thee] that addest thy venom, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 2:13 Behold, is it not of Jehovah of hosts that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?

Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.

Habakkuk 2:15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, [to thee] that addest thy venom, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

Habakkuk 2:16 Thou art filled with shame, and not glory: drink thou also, and be as one uncircumcised; the cup of Jehovah`s right hand shall come round unto thee, and foul shame shall be upon thy glory.

Habakkuk 2:17 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "giveth", "neighbor", "drink", "thee", "addest", "venom", "makest", and "drunken". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "giveth" and "neighbor", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "For the earth shall be filled with..." into verse 16's "Thou art filled with shame and not...", so "giveth" and "neighbor" belong inside that flow. In Habakkuk context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "giveth" and "neighbor" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.