Habakkuk 1:14 (DBY)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 1:12 Art thou not from everlasting, Jehovah my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. Jehovah, thou hast ordained him for judgment; and thou, O Rock, hast appointed him for correction.

Habakkuk 1:13 [Thou art] of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on mischief: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, [and] keepest silence when the wicked swalloweth up a [man] more righteous than he?

Habakkuk 1:14 And thou makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them.

Habakkuk 1:15 He taketh up all of them with the hook, he catcheth them in his net, and gathereth them into his drag; therefore he rejoiceth and is glad:

Habakkuk 1:16 therefore he sacrificeth unto his net, and burneth incense unto his drag; for by them his portion is become fat, and his meat dainty.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "makest", "fishes", "creeping", "things", "ruler", and "over". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "makest", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Thou art of purer eyes than to..." into verse 15's "He taketh up all of them with...", so "thou" and "makest" 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 "thou" and "makest" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.