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 not your creditors suddenly arise and those who disturb you awaken? Then you will become their prey. 8Because you have plundered many nations, the remnant of the people will plunder you— because of your bloodshed against man and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers. Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, to place his nest on high and escape the hand of disaster! 10You have plotted shame for your house by cutting off many peoples and forfeiting your life. 11For the stones will cry out from the wall, and the rafters will echo it from the woodwork.

Habakkuk 2:9 word by word

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

• Woeהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
• to him who buildsבָּצַעbâtsa‛ · to cut off: to gainH1214
• his houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
• by unjustרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
• gainבֶּ֫צַעbetsa‛ · unjust-gainH1215
• to placeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
• his nestקֵןqên · nestH7064
• on highמָרוֹםmârôm · heightH4791
• escapeנָצַלnâtsal · to rescueH5337
• the handכַּףkaph · palmH3709
• of disasterרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451

Cross-references for Habakkuk 2:9

• Genesis 13:10And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
• Genesis 19:26But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
• Deuteronomy 7:25You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it is detestable to the LORD your God.
• Joshua 7:21When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
• 1 Kings 21:2So Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard to use as a vegetable garden, since it is next to my palace. I will give you a better vineyard in its place—or if you prefer, I will give you its value in silver.”
• 2 Kings 5:20Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared this Aramean, Naaman, by not accepting what he brought. As surely as the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”
• Job 20:19For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build.
• Jeremiah 22:13“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages,
• Zechariah 5:1Again I lifted up my eyes and saw before me a flying scroll.
• Acts 1:17He was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”
• Jude 1:11Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed for profit into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
• Psalms 10:3For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
• Psalms 49:11Their graves are their eternal homes— their dwellings for endless generations— even though their lands were their namesakes.
• Psalms 52:7“Look at the man who did not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his wealth and strengthened himself by destruction.”
• Proverbs 18:11A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city; it is like a high wall in his imagination.
• Isaiah 28:15For you said, “We have made a covenant with death; we have fashioned an agreement with Sheol. When the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not touch us, because we have made lies our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.”

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