Habakkuk 2:2-20

The Righteous Shall Live by His Faith

2 And the LORD answered me:¹"Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.

3 For still ²the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end--it will not lie. If it seems slow, ³wait for it; ⁴it will surely come; it will not delay.

4 "Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but ⁵the righteous shall live by his faith.^[a]

5 "Moreover, wine^[b] is ⁶a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest.^[c] His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death ⁷he has never enough. ⁸He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples."

Woe to the Chaldeans

6 Shall not all these ⁹take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say, ¹⁰"Woe to him ¹¹who heaps up what is not his own-- for ¹²how long?-- and ¹³loads himself with pledges!"

7 ¹⁴Will not your debtors suddenly arise, and those awake who will make you tremble? Then you will be spoil for them.

8 ¹⁵Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you, ¹⁶for the blood of man and ¹⁷violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.

9 ¹⁸"Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, ¹⁹to ²⁰set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm!

10 You have devised shame for your house ²¹by cutting off many peoples; you have forfeited your life.

11 For ²²the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond.

12 ²³"Woe to him ²⁴who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity!

13 Behold, is it not from the LORD of hosts that ²⁵peoples labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing?

14 ²⁶For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of ²⁷the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

15 ²⁸"Woe to him ²⁹who makes his neighbors drink-- you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze ³⁰at their nakedness!

16 You will have your fill ³¹of shame instead of glory. ³²Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision! ³³The cup in the LORD's right hand will come around to you, and ³⁴utter shame will come upon your glory!

17 ³⁵The violence ³⁶done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them, ³⁷for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.

18 ³⁸"What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, ³⁹a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes ⁴⁰speechless idols!

19 ⁴¹Woe to him ⁴²who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and ⁴³there is no breath at all in it.

20 But ⁴⁴the LORD is in his holy temple; ⁴⁵let all the earth keep silence before him."

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Habakkuk 2:2-20 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO HABAKKUK 2

This chapter contains an answer from the Lord to the expostulations, pleadings, and reasonings of the prophet, in the name of the people. The preparation of the prophet to receive this answer is described, Hab 2:1 then follows the answer itself, in which he is bid to write and make plain the vision he had, that it might be easily read, Hab 2:2 and a promise is made, that vision should still be continued to the appointed time, at which time the Messiah would come; and this the righteous man, in opposition to the vain and proud man, is encouraged to live in the faith of, Hab 2:3,4 and then the destruction of the enemies of the people of God is threatened for their pride, ambition, covetousness, oppression, and murder, Hab 2:5-12 which would be unavoidable, Hab 2:13 and issue in the spread of the knowledge of the glory of God in the world, Hab 2:14 and also the ruin of other enemies is threatened, for drawing men into apostasy, and for their violence and idolatry, Hab 2:15-19 upon which would follow an universal silence in the earth, Hab 2:20.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 45

1. Isaiah 8:1; Isaiah 30:8; [Revelation 1:19]
2. [Daniel 10:14]; See Ezekiel 7:5-7
3. Zephaniah 3:8; See Isaiah 8:17
4. Cited Hebrews 10:37; [2 Peter 3:9]
5. Cited Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38; [John 3:36]
6. Habakkuk 1:13; Isaiah 21:2
7. [Proverbs 27:20]
8. Jeremiah 27:7; [Habakkuk 1:6; Daniel 2:37, 38]
9. Micah 2:4; See Numbers 23:7
10. ver. 19; Isaiah 5:8
11. [Habakkuk 1:6]
12. See Zechariah 1:12
13. [Ezekiel 18:7]
14. See Isaiah 21:5-9
15. [Isaiah 33:1]
16. ver. 17
17. [Isaiah 33:1]
18. [See ver. 6 above]
19. [Isaiah 14:13]
20. Jeremiah 49:16; [Numbers 24:21]
21. [Habakkuk 1:17]
22. [Luke 19:40]
23. [See ver. 6 above]
24. See Micah 3:10
25. Jeremiah 51:58
26. Isaiah 11:9
27. Psalms 72:19
28. [See ver. 6 above]
29. [ver. 5; Jeremiah 51:7]
30. Lamentations 4:21; [Genesis 9:22]
31. Nahum 3:5
32. Jeremiah 25:15, 26
33. Jeremiah 25:15, 26
34. [Nahum 3:6]
35. ver. 8
36. [Isaiah 14:8; Jeremiah 22:23]
37. ver. 8
38. Isaiah 44:10
39. Jeremiah 10:8, 14; Zechariah 10:2
40. Psalms 115:5; 1 Corinthians 12:2
41. ver. 6, 9, 12, 15
42. See 1 Kings 18:26, 27
43. Psalms 135:17; Jeremiah 10:14
44. Psalms 11:4; Micah 1:2
45. [Zephaniah 1:7; Zechariah 2:13]

Footnotes 3

[a]. Or faithfulness
[b]. Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll wealth
[c]. The meaning of the Hebrew of these two lines is uncertain

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.