Habakkuk 1:15

The Babylonian tyrant ¹  pulls them all up with a fishhook; he hauls them in with his throw net. ²  When he catches ³  them in his dragnet, he is very happy. ⁴ 

The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net, he gathers them up in his drag-net; and so he rejoices and is glad.

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 rejoice and are glad.

Must we be strung up on their hooks and dragged out in their nets while they rejoice?

Then this evil Babylonian arrives and goes fishing. He pulls in a good catch. He catches his limit and fills his creel--a good day of fishing! He's happy!

He takes them all up with his hook, he takes them in his net, getting them together in his fishing-net: for which cause he is glad and full of joy.

The enemy brings all of them up with a hook; he drags them out with his net, he gathers them in his seine; so he rejoices and exults.

They take up all of them with a hook, They catch them in their net, And gather them in their dragnet. Therefore they rejoice and are glad.

The Babylonian tyrant ¹  pulls them all up with a fishhook; he hauls them in with his throw net. ²  When he catches ³  them in his dragnet, he is very happy. ⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Babylonian tyrant) has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. NASB “The Chaldeans”; NIV “The wicked foe”; NRSV “The enemy”). Babylonian imperialism is here compared to a professional fisherman who repeatedly brings in his catch and has plenty to eat.

² tn Apparently two different types of fishing nets are referred to here. The חֵרֶם (kherem, “throw net”) was used by fishermen standing on the shore (see Ezek 47:10), while the מִכְמֶרֶת (mikhmeret, “dragnet”) was used by men in a boat. See R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 165.

³ tn Heb “and he gathers.”

⁴ tn Heb “Therefore he is happy and rejoices.” Here two synonyms are joined for emphasis.