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

7Won’t your creditors suddenly arise, and those who disturb you wake up? Then you will become spoil for them. 8Since you have plundered many nations, all the peoples who remain will plunder you — because of human bloodshed and violence against lands, cities, and all who live in them. Woe to him who dishonestly makes wealth for his house to place his nest on high, to escape the grasp of disaster! 10You have planned shame for your house by wiping out many peoples and sinning against your own self. 11For the stones will cry out from the wall, and the rafters will answer them from 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 13:10Lot looked out and saw that the entire plain of the Jordan as far as Zoar was well watered everywhere like the Lord’s garden and the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
• Genesis 19:26But Lot’s wife looked back and became a pillar of salt.
• Deuteronomy 7:25Burn up the carved images of their gods. Don’t covet the silver and gold on the images and take it for yourself, or else 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 Babylon, five pounds of silver, and a bar of gold weighing a pound and a quarter, I coveted them and took them. You can see for yourself. They are concealed in the ground inside my tent, with the silver under the cloak.”
• 1 Kings 21:2So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard so I can have it for a vegetable garden, since it is right 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 attendant of Elisha the man of God, thought, “My master has let this Aramean Naaman off lightly 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 oppressed and abandoned the poor; he seized a house he did not build.
• Jeremiah 22:13Woe for the one who builds his palace through unrighteousness, his upstairs rooms through injustice, who makes his neighbor serve without pay and will not give him his wages,
• Zechariah 5:1I looked up again and saw a flying scroll.
• Acts 1:17For he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”
• Jude 1:11Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, have plunged into Balaam’s error for profit, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
• Psalms 10:3For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings; the one who is greedy curses and despises the Lord.
• Psalms 49:11Their graves are their permanent homes, their dwellings from generation to generation, though they have named estates after themselves.
• Psalms 52:7“Here is the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, taking refuge in his destructive behavior.”
• Proverbs 18:11The wealth of the rich is his fortified city; in his imagination it is like a high wall.
• Isaiah 28:15For you said, “We have made a covenant with Death, and we have an agreement with Sheol; when the overwhelming catastrophe passes through, it will not touch us, because we have made falsehood our refuge and have hidden behind treachery.”

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