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.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The one who shamed others will be filled with shame instead of glory, made to drink the cup of the LORD's judgment.
What Does Habakkuk 2:16 Mean?
The fourth woe completes its reversal. The conqueror who exposed others will himself be filled with shame in place of glory; now he must drink and be exposed. The cup he forced on his neighbors comes back as "the cup of the LORD's right hand" — the cup of divine judgment — bringing disgrace upon his own splendor.
The image of God's cup is a recurring biblical picture of the wrath the wicked must drink down to the dregs. The principle is exact: the shame Babylon dealt out returns upon Babylon. What it sought as glory becomes humiliation. This is the justice of God working with perfect fittingness. The one who built himself up by tearing others down is brought low by the very measure he used, made to swallow the bitter cup he so freely poured for others.
In the Original Language
kos (כוֹס), 'cup' — a recurring picture of the portion of judgment God gives the wicked to drink to the full.