English Standard Version
Habakkuk 2:20
20But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him."
Habakkuk 2:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
- New International Version (NIV)The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)But the Lord is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him.”
Context of Habakkuk 2:20
18"What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! 19Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him."
Read all of Habakkuk 2Habakkuk 2:20 word by word
וַֽיהוָ֖ה בְּהֵיכַ֣ל קָדְשׁ֑וֹ הַ֥ס מִפָּנָ֖יו כָּל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Habakkuk 2:20
- Psalms 11:4The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
- Psalms 115:3Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
- Psalms 132:13For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place:
- Isaiah 6:1In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
- Isaiah 66:1Thus says the Lord: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?
- Jonah 2:4Then I said, 'I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.'
- Ephesians 2:21in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
- Psalms 46:10"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"
- Psalms 76:8From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still,
- Zephaniah 1:7Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests.
- Zechariah 2:13Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.
Commentaries on Habakkuk 2:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20The Lord is in his holy temple - Jehovah has his temple, the place where he is to be worshipped; but there there is no image. Oracles, however, are given forth; and every word of them is truth, and is fulfilled in its season. And this temple and its worship are holy; no abomination can be practiced there, and every thing in it leads to holiness of heart and life. Let all the earth keep silence before him - Let all be dumb. Let none of them dare to open…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20And now having declared the nothingness of all which is not God, the power of man or his gods, he answers again his own question, by summoning all before the presence of the majesty of God. But the Lord - He had, in condemning them, pictured the tumult of the world, the oppressions, the violence, bloodsheddings, covetousness, insolence, self-aggrandizement of the then world-empire, and had denounced woe upon it; we see man framing his idols, praying to…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-20Verses 15-20 A severe woe is pronounced against drunkenness; it is very fearful against all who are guilty of drunkenness at any time, and in any place, from the stately palace to the paltry ale-house. To give one drink who is in want, who is thirsty and poor, or a weary traveller, or ready to perish, is charity; but to give a neighbour drink, that he may expose himself, may disclose secret concerns, or be drawn into a bad bargain, or for any such…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20The taunt songs end with a statement: The ruler of all nations is not a Babylonian idol but God who is holy (Habakkuk 2:18–20). Unlike the lifeless Babylonian idols, the living God resides in his holy temple. God's presence fills his heavenly sanctuary (Isaiah 6:1–5). During Habakkuk's time, God's presence filled the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:10–11). God controls all the earth and expects people to worship him in humble submission (Psalm 63:1–4…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. But the Lord--Jehovah; in striking contrast with the idols. in his holy temple--"His place" (Is 26:21); heaven (Psa 11:4; Jon 2:7; Mi 1:2). The temple at Jerusalem is a type of it, and there God is to be worshipped. He does not lie hid under gold and silver, as the idols of Babylon, but reigns in heaven and fills heaven, and thence succors His people. keep silence--in token of reverent submission and subjection to His judgments (Job 40:4; Psa 76:8…Read the comment
Topics related to Habakkuk 2:20
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries