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

7The people that have lent their riches to you will suddenly attack. They will come to take back their things and you will be very afraid. Now they will come to rob you! 8You have robbed many nations. You have murdered people in many lands. You have destroyed towns and the people who live in them. Now the people who remain will come to rob you. It will be very bad for anyone who cheats other people so that he can make his family rich. He thinks that his riches will make him safe. He thinks that he is too high up for any trouble to reach him. 10But the cruel things that you have done will bring shame to your family. You decided to destroy people from many countries. Because of that, you will pay with your own life. 11The stones in the walls of your houses will cry out against you. The beams in your roof will also shout aloud.

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 up and he saw the flat land of Jordan, as far as Zoar. He saw that it had lots of water, like the garden of the Lord. It was good land, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed the cities there called Sodom and Gomorrah.)
• Genesis 19:26But as they ran away, Lot's wife looked back at the city. When she did that, she became a large piece of salt, like a pillar.
• Deuteronomy 7:25You must burn the images of their gods with fire. Do not try to keep the silver or gold from those idols. The Lord your God hates those things. If you take it for yourselves, it will catch you like a trap.
• Joshua 7:21I found a beautiful coat from Babylon, and I found 200 silver coins, and a piece of gold that weighed half a kilogram. I wanted them so much that I took them for myself. I hid them in the ground in my tent. The silver coins are under the other things.’
• 1 Kings 21:2King Ahab said to Naboth, ‘Give me your vineyard. I want to grow vegetables in it, because it is near to my palace. I will give you a better vineyard instead of that one. Or, if you want, I will pay you its value in money.’
• 2 Kings 5:20Elisha's servant, Gehazi, thought, ‘My master did not accept the gifts that Naaman offered to him. He made it too easy for that Syrian man. As surely as the Lord lives, I will run after him. I will accept a gift from him.’
• Job 20:19This will happen because he has been cruel to poor people. He has refused to help them. He has taken houses for himself that do not belong to him.
• Jeremiah 22:13The Lord says, ‘Terrible trouble will happen to this man! He cheats people so that he can build a beautiful palace for himself. He does not do what is right and fair. He does not pay the people who work for him. His own men have to work for nothing.
• Zechariah 5:1Again, I looked and I saw a large paper. It was moving through the air. There were many words on the paper.
• Acts 1:17Judas belonged to our group of disciples. Jesus chose him to work together with us.’
• Jude 1:11It will be terrible for them! They have lived in the way that Cain lived. They have made the same mistake that Balaam made, because they wanted to get money for themselves. Like Korah, they have refused to obey God. So God will destroy them.
• Psalms 10:3Not only do wicked people boast because they get the things that they want. They also praise robbers, and they curse the Lord.
• Psalms 49:11Their graves will be their homes for ever. They had their own land, which was called by their name,
• Psalms 52:7‘Look! This man did not trust God to keep him safe. Instead, he trusted in his riches. He thought that he could be cruel, and that would keep him safe.’
• Proverbs 18:11Rich people think that their money makes them safe, like high, strong walls round a city.
• Isaiah 28:15You boast, ‘We have made a covenant with death. Yes, we have made an agreement with Sheol. When trouble comes to our city like a deep flood of water, we will be safe. We trust in our lies to keep us safe.’

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