Habakkuk 2:15 (KJV)

Passage

Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 2:13 Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?

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

Habakkuk 2:15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

Habakkuk 2:16 Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD’s right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.

Habakkuk 2:17 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "giveth", "neighbour", "drink", "puttest", "bottle", "makest", "drunken", and "thou". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "giveth" and "neighbour", 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 for glory...", so "giveth" and "neighbour" 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 "neighbour" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.