Habakkuk 2:9

Habakkuk 2:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!
• New International Version (NIV)“Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, setting his nest on high to escape the clutches of ruin!
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm!
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house, That he may set his nest on high, That he may be delivered from the power of disaster!

Context of Habakkuk 2:9

7Will your creditors not rise up suddenly, And those who collect from you awaken? Then you will become plunder for them. 8Because you [king of Babylon] have looted many nations, All peoples who are left will loot you— Because of human bloodshed and for the violence done to the land, To the city and all its inhabitants. “Woe (judgment is coming) to him who obtains wicked gain for his house [and thinks by so doing] To set his nest on high, That he may be rescued from the hand of evil. 10You have devised a shameful thing for your house By cutting off and putting an end to many peoples; So you are sinning against your own life and forfeiting it. 11For the stone will cry out from the wall [to accuse you—built in sin!] And the rafter will answer it out of the woodwork.

Habakkuk 2:9 word by word

ה֗וֹי בֹּצֵ֛עַ בֶּ֥צַע רָ֖ע לְבֵית֑וֹ לָשׂ֤וּם בַּמָּרוֹם֙ קִנּ֔וֹ לְהִנָּצֵ֖ל מִכַּף־רָֽע׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Woeהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
• to him that covetethבָּצַעbâtsa‛ · to cut off: to gainH1214
• an evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
• covetousnessבֶּ֫צַעbetsa‛ · unjust-gainH1215
• to his houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
• that he may setשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
• his nestקֵןqên · nestH7064
• on highמָרוֹםmârôm · heightH4791
• that he may be deliveredנָצַלnâtsal · to rescueH5337
• from the powerכַּףkaph · palmH3709
• of evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451

Cross-references for Habakkuk 2:9

• Genesis 13:10So Lot looked and saw that the valley of the Jordan was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; [it was all] like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar [at the south end of the Dead Sea].
• Genesis 19:26But Lot’s wife, from behind him, [foolishly, longingly] looked [back toward Sodom in an act of disobedience], and she became a pillar of salt.
• Deuteronomy 7:25You shall burn the carved and sculpted images of their gods in the fire. You shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, so that you will not be ensnared by it [in a deadly trap], for it is an abomination (repulsive) to the Lord your God.
• Joshua 7:21when I saw among the spoils [in Jericho] a beautiful robe from Shinar (southern Babylon) and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I wanted them and took them. Behold, they are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
• 1 Kings 21:2Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it for a garden of vegetables and herbs, because it is near my house. I will give you a better vineyard for it, or, if you prefer, I will give you what it is worth in money.”
• 2 Kings 5:20when Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “My master has spared this Naaman the Aramean (Syrian), by not accepting from him what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”
• Job 20:19For he has oppressed and neglected the poor; He has violently taken away houses which he did not build.
• Jeremiah 22:13“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who builds his house by [acts of] unrighteousness And his upper chambers by injustice, Who uses his neighbor’s service without pay And does not give him wages [for his work],
• Zechariah 5:1Again I looked up, and I saw a scroll flying in the air!
• Acts 1:17For he (Judas) was counted among us and received his share [by divine allotment] in this ministry.”
• Jude 1:11Woe to them! For they have gone the [defiant] way of Cain, and for profit they have run headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of [mutinous] Korah.
• Psalms 10:3For the wicked boasts and sings the praises of his heart’s desire, And the greedy man curses and spurns [and even despises] the Lord.
• Psalms 49:11Their inward thought is that their houses will continue forever, And their dwelling places to all generations; They have named their lands after their own names [ignoring God].
• Psalms 52:7“Look, [this is] the man who would not make God his strength [his stronghold and fortress], But trusted in the abundance of his riches, Taking refuge in his wealth.”
• Proverbs 18:11The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall [of protection] in his own imagination and conceit.
• Isaiah 28:15Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol (the place of the dead) we have made an agreement, When the overwhelming scourge passes by, it will not reach us, For we have made lies our refuge and we have concealed ourselves in deception.”

Commentaries on Habakkuk 2:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9An evil covetousness to his house - Nebuchadnezzar wished to aggrandize his family, and make his empire permanent: but both family and empire were soon cut off by the death of his son Belshazzar, and the consequent destruction of the Chaldean empire.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house - (or, with accents, “that coveteth covetousness or unjust gain, an evil to his house.”) What man coveteth seems gain, but is evil “to his house” after him, destroying both himself and his whole family or race with him. “That he may set his nest on high,” as an eagle, to which he had likened the Chaldee (Habakkuk 1:8. Compare Jeremiah 20:16). A pagan called “strongholds, the nests of tyrants.” The…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-14Verses 5-14 The prophet reads the doom of all proud and oppressive powers that bear hard upon God's people. The lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, are the entangling snares of men; and we find him that led Israel captive, himself led captive by each of these. No more of what we have is to be reckoned ours, than what we come honestly by. Riches are but clay, thick clay; what are gold and silver but white and yellow earth? Those…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-11In the second taunt song, the Babylonians face condemnation for their dishonest actions. They used deceit to gain resources for building large houses, which cost them their lives.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. coveteth an evil covetousness--that is, a covetousness so surpassingly evil as to be fatal to himself. to his house--greedily seizing enormous wealth, not merely for himself, but for his family, to which it is destined to be fatal. The very same "evil covetousness" that was the cause of Jehoiakim's being given up to the Chaldean oppressor (Jr 22:13) shall be the cause of the Chaldean's own destruction. set his nest on high--(Nu 24:21; Jr 49:16; Ob 4)…Read the comment

Topics related to Habakkuk 2:9

• Ambition
• Covetousness
• Oppression
• Pride
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Blood
• Consult
• Put
• Teach
• Weary
• Wood
• Get; Getting
• Habakkuk

Commentaries on Habakkuk 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings