Habakkuk 1:16 (LSB)

Passage

Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net And burn incense to their fishing net Because through these things their portion is rich And their food is fat.

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 1:14 And You have made men like the fish of the sea, Like creeping things without a ruler over them.

Habakkuk 1:15 The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, Drag them away with their net, And gather them together in their fishing net. Therefore they are glad and rejoice.

Habakkuk 1:16 Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net And burn incense to their fishing net Because through these things their portion is rich And their food is fat.

Habakkuk 1:17 Will they therefore empty their net And continually kill nations without sparing?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "offer", "sacrifice", "burn", "incense", "fishing", "through", and "things". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "offer", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "The Chaldeans bring all of them up..." into verse 17's "Will they therefore empty their net And...", so "therefore" and "offer" 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 "therefore" and "offer" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.