New Living Translation
Habakkuk 2:9
9“What sorrow awaits you who build big houses with money gained dishonestly! You believe your wealth will buy security, putting your family’s nest beyond the reach of danger.
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
7Suddenly, your debtors will take action. They will turn on you and take all you have, while you stand trembling and helpless. 8Because you have plundered many nations, now all the survivors will plunder you. You committed murder throughout the countryside and filled the towns with violence. “What sorrow awaits you who build big houses with money gained dishonestly! You believe your wealth will buy security, putting your family’s nest beyond the reach of danger. 10But by the murders you committed, you have shamed your name and forfeited your lives. 11The very stones in the walls cry out against you, and the beams in the ceilings echo the complaint.
Read all of Habakkuk 2Habakkuk 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 took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
- Genesis 19:26But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
- Deuteronomy 7:25“You must burn their idols in fire, and you must not covet the silver or gold that covers them. You must not take it or it will become a trap to you, for it is detestable to the Lord your God.
- Joshua 7:21Among the plunder I saw a beautiful robe from Babylon, 200 silver coins, and a bar of gold weighing more than a pound. I wanted them so much that I took them. They are hidden in the ground beneath my tent, with the silver buried deeper than the rest.”
- 1 Kings 21:2One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Since your vineyard is so convenient to my palace, I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it.”
- 2 Kings 5:20But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said to himself, “My master should not have let this Aramean get away without accepting any of his gifts. As surely as the Lord lives, I will chase after him and get something from him.”
- Job 20:19For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute. They foreclosed on their homes.
- Jeremiah 22:13And the Lord says, “What sorrow awaits Jehoiakim, who builds his palace with forced labor. He builds injustice into its walls, for he makes his neighbors work for nothing. He does not pay them for their labor.
- Zechariah 5:1I looked up again and saw a scroll flying through the air.
- Acts 1:17Judas was one of us and shared in the ministry with us.”
- Jude 1:11What sorrow awaits them! For they follow in the footsteps of Cain, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they deceive people for money. And like Korah, they perish in their rebellion.
- Psalms 10:3For they brag about their evil desires; they praise the greedy and curse the Lord.
- Psalms 49:11The grave is their eternal home, where they will stay forever. They may name their estates after themselves,
- Psalms 52:7“Look what happens to mighty warriors who do not trust in God. They trust their wealth instead and grow more and more bold in their wickedness.”
- Proverbs 18:11The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety.
- Isaiah 28:15You boast, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death and have made a deal to dodge the grave. The coming destruction can never touch us, for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and 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
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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