“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.”
My Notes
What Does Habakkuk 2:16 Mean?
Habakkuk pronounces reversal on the oppressor: you're filled with shame instead of glory. Now YOU drink from the cup. The LORD's right hand is turning toward you. And shameful vomiting will cover your glory. Everything the oppressor dished out is served back — intensified.
The cup of the LORD's right hand is the cup of judgment — the same image that appears in Jeremiah 25:15 ("the wine cup of this fury") and Revelation 14:10 ("the cup of his indignation"). The cup is filled by God. The drinker has no choice. And what's in the cup produces public humiliation.
"Shameful spewing" (qiqalon qiy'on — disgrace of vomit) means the judgment produces an involuntary, uncontrollable, humiliating physical response. The oppressor who filled others with shame is now vomiting in public. The glory that defined them is covered in their own disgrace. The reversal is as visceral as the original exploitation.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Does the visceral reversal (glory → shame, cup turned on the oppressor) describe a justice you've witnessed?
- 2.How does the 'cup of the LORD's right hand' (personally held, deliberately aimed) make the judgment feel purposeful?
- 3.Where have you seen someone's carefully constructed 'glory' covered by their own 'shameful spewing'?
- 4.Does the reversal principle (what you dished out is served back, intensified) operate in situations you can identify?
Devotional
You wanted glory. You got shame. Now drink the cup. And the vomiting will cover everything you were proud of.
Habakkuk's reversal is stomach-churning by design: the oppressor who forced others to drink the cup of humiliation now drinks from the LORD's cup. And the cup's contents produce the most undignified physical response: public vomiting. The glory the oppressor accumulated is covered in their own shame-vomit.
"Filled with shame for glory" — the exchange rate. You pursued glory. You received shame. The currency you invested in (reputation, power, dominance) has been devalued to zero. What fills you now isn't glory. It's disgrace. The filling is as comprehensive as the aspiration was ambitious.
The cup of the LORD's right hand — God's personal judgment instrument. Held in His right hand (the hand of power and authority). Filled with what the oppressor earned. And now turned — directed, aimed, pressed to the oppressor's lips. Drink. The same way you made others drink.
"Shameful spewing on thy glory" — the final image. The oppressor's glory — the reputation, the facade, the impressive exterior — is covered in vomit. Not someone else's. Their own. The shame they produced in others has been internalized and now erupts publicly. The spewing is involuntary. The covering is total. The glory that was painstakingly constructed is destroyed by a bodily function you can't control.
This is what happens when God reverses the oppressor: the glory becomes the canvas. The shame becomes the paint. And the vomiting ensures everyone sees the transformation. What was impressive is now repulsive. What was powerful is now pathetic.
The cup is in God's right hand. And it's turning toward the one who made others drink.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee,.... Lebanon was a mountain on the borders of the land of Israel, from…
Thou art filled with shame for glory - Oppressors think to make themselves great by bringing others down, to fill…
The cup of the Lord's right hand - Among the ancients, all drank out of the same cup; was passed from hand to hand, and…
The three foregoing articles, upon which the woes here are grounded, are very near akin to each other. The criminals…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture