Habakkuk 2:13

Habakkuk 2:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?
• New International Version (NIV)Has not the Lord Almighty determined that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts That the peoples labor to feed the fire, And nations weary themselves in vain?

Context of Habakkuk 2:13

11For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. 12Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity! Behold, is it not of Yhwh of Armies that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? 14For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Yhwh, as the waters cover the sea. 15Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

Habakkuk 2:13 word by word

הֲל֣וֹא הִנֵּ֔ה מֵאֵ֖ת יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֑וֹת וְיִֽיגְע֤וּ עַמִּים֙ בְּדֵי־אֵ֔שׁ וּלְאֻמִּ֖ים בְּדֵי־רִ֥יק יִעָֽפוּ׃Read the interlinear

• not of Yhwhיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• of Armiesצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
• that the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• shall labourיָגֵעַyâga‛ · be weary/toilH3021
• in the veryדַּיday · sufficiencyH1767
• fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• and the peopleלְאֹםle'ôm le'ôm · peopleH3816
• shall wearyיָעֵףyâ‛aph · to faintH3286
• vanityרִיקrîyq · vainH7385

Cross-references for Habakkuk 2:13

• Genesis 11:6And Yhwh said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
• 2 Samuel 15:31And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O Yhwh, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.
• Job 5:13He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the perverse is carried headlong.
• Psalms 39:6Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
• Psalms 127:1Except Yhwh build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except Yhwh keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
• Proverbs 21:30There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against Yhwh.
• Isaiah 41:5The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.
• Isaiah 50:11Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.
• Isaiah 55:2Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
• Jeremiah 51:58Thus saith Yhwh of Armies; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.
• Malachi 1:4Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith Yhwh of Armies, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom Yhwh hath indignation for ever.

Commentaries on Habakkuk 2:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13The people shall labor in the very fire - All these superb buildings shall be burnt down. See the parallel passage, Jeremiah 51:58; (note), and the note there. Shall weary themselves for very vanity? - For the gratification of the wishes of ambition, and in buildings which shall be brought to naught.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that (the) people (nations) shall labor - o In (for) the very fire - literally, to suffice the fire? By God‘s appointment, the end of all their labor is for the fire, what may suffice it to consume. This is the whole result of their labor; and so it is as if they had toiled for this; they built ceiled palaces and gorgeous buildings, only for the fire to consume them. And the peoples shall weary themselves for very…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. 12-14In the third taunt song, the Babylonians face condemnation for their murder and corruption, which they used to gain wealth and build their cities. God will turn their apparent gain into a total loss. Earth will be filled: Unlike violence and stolen wealth, the awareness of the Lord's glory will spread as widely as water in the ocean (Isaiah 11:9).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. is it not of the Lord of hosts--Jehovah, who has at His command all the hosts of heaven and earth, is the righteous author of Babylon's destruction. "Shall not God have His turn, when cruel rapacious men have triumphed so long, though He seem now to be still?" [Calvin]. people ... labour in the ... fire ... weary themselves for ... vanity--The Chaldeans labor at what is to be food for the fire, namely, their city and fortresses which shall be burnt…Read the comment

Topics related to Habakkuk 2:13

• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Lord of Hosts
• Blood
• Consult
• Put
• Teach
• Weary
• Wood
• Faint
• 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