New International Version
Habakkuk 2:19
19Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’ Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’ Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it.”
Habakkuk 2:19 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Woe 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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ To silent stone, ‘Arise! It shall teach!’ Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, Yet in it there is no breath at all.
- New Living Translation (NLT)What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols, ‘Wake up and save us!’ To speechless stone images you say, ‘Rise up and teach us!’ Can an idol tell you what to do? They may be overlaid with gold and silver, but they are lifeless inside.
Context of Habakkuk 2:19
17The violence you have done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and your destruction of animals will terrify you. For you have shed human blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them. 18“Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman? Or an image that teaches lies? For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’ Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’ Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it.” 20The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.
Read all of Habakkuk 2Habakkuk 2:19 word by word
ה֣וֹי אֹמֵ֤ר לָעֵץ֙ הָקִ֔יצָה ע֖וּרִי לְאֶ֣בֶן דּוּמָ֑ם ה֣וּא יוֹרֶ֔ה הִנֵּה־ה֗וּא תָּפוּשׂ֙ זָהָ֣ב וָכֶ֔סֶף וְכָל־ר֖וּחַ אֵ֥ין בְּקִרְבּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Woeהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
- unto him that saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- to the woodעֵץ‛êts · tree: woodH6086
- Awakeקִיץqûts · to awakeH6974
- to the dumbדּוּמָםdûmâm · silenceH1748
- stoneאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
- Ariseעוּר‛ûr · to rouseH5782
- it shall teachיָרָהyârâh yârâ' · to showH3384
- laidתָּפַשׂtâphaώ · to captureH8610
- over with goldזָהָבzâhâb · goldH2091
- and silverכֶּ֫סֶףkeseph · silver: moneyH3701
- no breathרוּחַrûach · spirit: breathH7307
- at all in the midstקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
Cross-references for Habakkuk 2:19
- 1 Kings 18:26So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
- Psalms 97:7All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols— worship him, all you gods!
- Isaiah 44:17From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, “Save me! You are my god!”
- Jeremiah 51:47For the time will surely come when I will punish the idols of Babylon; her whole land will be disgraced and her slain will all lie fallen within her.
- Daniel 3:7Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
- Daniel 5:23Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.
- Jonah 1:5All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
- Isaiah 40:19As for an idol, a metalworker casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it.
- Isaiah 46:6Some pour out gold from their bags and weigh out silver on the scales; they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god, and they bow down and worship it.
- Jeremiah 10:4They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter.
- Daniel 3:1King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
- Acts 17:29“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.
- Revelation 17:4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.
- Psalms 135:17They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths.
Commentaries on Habakkuk 2:19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19Wo unto him - How foolish and contemptible to worship a thing formed by the hand of man out of wood, stone, gold, or silver! The meanest brute is superior to them all; it breathes and lives, but they have no breath in them. However, they are said above to be teachers of lies; that is, they appeared to give out oracles: but these were lies; and were not given by the statue, but by the priest.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19But then the greater is the “Woe” to him who deceiveth by them. The prophet passes away from the idols as “nothings” and pronounces “woe” on those who deceive by them. He. first expostulates with them on their folly, and would awaken them. “What hath it profited?” (As in Psalm 115:5; 1 Corinthians 12:2) Then on the obstinate he denounces “woe.” “Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise.” Self-made blindness alone could, in the…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. 18-20In the fifth taunt song, the Babylonians face criticism for worshiping idols. Whether people carve or cast idols, they cannot save or teach their worshipers (Isaiah 42:17). Only the Lord truly deserves worship (Habakkuk 2:20; Exodus 20:2–6; compare Ecclesiastes 5:1–2).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1919. Awake--Arise to my help. it shall teach!--rather, An exclamation of the prophet, implying an ironical question to which a negative answer must be given. What! "It teach?" Certainly not [Maurer]. Or, "It (the idol itself) shall (that is, ought to) teach you that it is deaf, and therefore no God" [Calvin]. Compare "they are their own witnesses" (Is 44:9). Behold--The Hebrew is nominative, "There it is" [Henderson]. it is laid over with gold ... no…Read the comment
Topics related to Habakkuk 2:19
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
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