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 rise up suddenly, And those who collect from you awaken? Indeed, you will become plunder for them. 8Because you have looted many nations, All the remainder of the peoples will loot you-- Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, To the town and all its inhabitants. “Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house To put his nest on high, To be delivered from the hand of calamity! 10You have devised a shameful thing for your house By cutting off many peoples; So you are sinning against yourself. 11Surely the stone will cry out from the wall, And the rafter will answer it from the framework.

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 getsבָּצַעbâtsa‛ · to cut off: to gainH1214
• evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
• gainבֶּ֫צַעbetsa‛ · unjust-gainH1215
• for his houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
• putשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
• his nestקֵןqên · nestH7064
• on highמָרוֹםmârôm · heightH4791
• To be deliveredנָצַלnâtsal · to rescueH5337
• from the handכַּףkaph · palmH3709
• of calamityרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451

Cross-references for Habakkuk 2:9

• Genesis 13:10Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere--this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah--like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar.
• Genesis 19:26But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
• Deuteronomy 7:25The graven images of their gods you are to burn with fire; you shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, or you will be snared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God.
• Joshua 7:21when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I coveted them and took them; and behold, they are concealed in the earth inside my tent with the silver underneath it.”
• 1 Kings 21:2Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden because it is close beside my house, and I will give you a better vineyard than it in its place; if you like, I will give you the price of it in money.”
• 2 Kings 5:20But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, by not receiving from his hands what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.”
• Job 20:19For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; He has seized a house which he has not built.
• Jeremiah 22:13“Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness And his upper rooms without justice, Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay And does not give him his wages,
• Zechariah 5:1Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll.
• Acts 1:17For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry.”
• Jude 1:11Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
• Psalms 10:3For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire, And the greedy man curses and spurns the Lord.
• Psalms 49:11Their inner thought is that their houses are forever And their dwelling places to all generations; They have called their lands after their own names.
• Psalms 52:7“Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge, But trusted in the abundance of his riches And was strong in his evil desire.”
• Proverbs 18:11A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own imagination.
• Isaiah 28:15Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by, For we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with 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