Habakkuk 1:16
“Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →They even worship their net and dragnet — their tools of conquest — because these bring them wealth and rich plunder.
What Does Habakkuk 1:16 Mean?
The idolatry of Babylon is laid bare. They offer sacrifice to their net and burn incense to their dragnet — they literally worship the means of their own success, because through them they grow rich and well-fed. Their power and their plunder have become their god.
This is the spiritual disease beneath the violence: crediting one's tools, one's strength, one's methods with the glory that belongs to God alone. Whatever fills our nets and fattens our portion can quietly become the thing we honor. The verse holds a searching question for every age — what do we truly worship when our efforts succeed? The faithful heart traces every good gift back to the Giver, refusing to bow to the instruments of its own prosperity.