New International Version (©1984)
"Woe to him who builds his realm by unjust gain to set his nest on high, to escape the clutches of ruin!New Living Translation (©2007)
"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.
English Standard Version (©2001)
“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 American Standard Bible (©1995)
"Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house To put his nest on high, To be delivered from the hand of calamity!
Holman Christian Standard Bible (©2009)
Woe to him who dishonestly makes wealth for his house to place his nest on high, to escape from the reach of disaster!
International Standard Version (©2012)
"Woe
to the one who amasses profit upon unjust profit in order to establish
his household, so he can establish a secure place on the heights and
escape from the power of evil.
King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
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!
GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
"
'How horrible it will be for the one who uses violence to get things
for his own household in order to set his nest up high and save himself
from disaster.'
King James 2000 Bible (©2003)
Woe
to him that covets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest
on high, that he may be delivered from the power of ruin!
American King James Version
Woe
to him that covets an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set
his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!
American Standard Version
Woe
to him that getteth an evil gain for his house, that he may set his
nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!
Douay-Rheims Bible
Woe
to him that gathereth together an evil covetousness to his house, that
his nest may be on high, and thinketh he may be delivered out of the
hand of evil.
Darby Bible Translation
Woe
to him that getteth iniquitous gain to his house, that he may set his
nest on high, that he may be delivered from the grasp of evil!
English Revised Version
Woe
to him that getteth an evil gain for his house, that he may set his
nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!
Webster's Bible Translation
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!
World English Bible
Woe
to him who gets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on
high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!
Young's Literal Translation
Woe to him who is gaining evil gain for his house, To set on high his nest, To be delivered from the hand of evil, |
Barnes' Notes on the BibleWoe
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 nest was placed "on high" which means also "heaven," as it is said, Obadiah 1:4, "though thou set thy nest among the stars;" and the tower of Babel was to "reach unto heaven" Genesis 11:4; and the antichrist, whose symbol the King of Babylon is, Isaiah 14:13
says, "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God." Babylon lying in
a large plain, on the sides of the Euphrates, the image of its
eagle's-nest on high must be taken, not from any natural eminence, but
wholly from the works of man.
Its walls, and its hanging gardens
were among "the seven wonders of the world." Eye-witnesses speak of its
walls, encompassing at least 100 square miles , "and as large as the
land-graviat of Hesse Homberg;" those walls, 335, or 330 feet high, and
85 feet broad ; a fortified palace, nearly 7 miles in circumference;
gardens, 400 Greek feet square, supporting at an artificial height arch
upon arch, of "at least 75 feet," forest trees; a temple to its god,
said to have been at least 600 feet high.
If we, creatures of a day, had no one above us, Nebuchadnezzars boast had been true Daniel 4:30,
"Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the
Kingdom by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?" He
had built an eagle's nest, which no human arm could reach, encircled by
walls which laughed its invaders to scorn, which, at that time, no skill
could scale or shatter or mine. Even as one sees in a picture the vast
mounds which still remain , one can hardly imagine that they were, brick
upon brick, wholly the work of man.
To be delivered from the hand
(grasp) of evil - that it should not be able to reach him. Evil is
spoken of as a living power , which would seize him, whose grasp he
would defy. It was indeed a living power, since it was the will of
Almighty God, whose servant and instrument Cyrus was, to chasten
Babylon, when its sins were full. Such was the counsel, what the result?
The evil covetousness which he worked, brought upon him the evil, from
which, in that nest built by the hard toil of his captives, he thought
to deliver himself.
Clarke's Commentary on the BibleAn
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.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleWoe
to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house,.... The bishops
of Rome, being enriched by the donations of Constantine, were not
satisfied, but coveted more; these are the greedy dogs Isaiah speaks of,
that could never have enough, Isaiah 56:11
but were still seeking and gaping after more for themselves and
families, and for their own house or church; which, from the time of
their apostasy, became their own house, in distinction from, and in
opposition to, the house or true church of God; and of those covetous
bishops, or Rome Papal, are these and the following words to Habakkuk 2:9 to be understood:
that
he may set his nest on high: in allusion to birds, especially the
eagle, which builds its nest in high places, that it may be secure from
any that would otherwise disturb it, or take it away: so these covetous
and ambitious bishops, getting great wealth and riches, and large
dominions into their hands, secular power and authority, as well as
ecclesiastical, set themselves up, and advanced their see and seat, not
only above all other bishops, but even above the kings and princes of
the earth, above all that are called gods, 2 Thessalonians 2:4 and by such means endeavoured to gain their point, the main thing they had in view:
that
he may be delivered from the power of evil; that they might be safe and
secure against all worldly power, and be out of the jurisdiction of the
princes of the earth, and in no danger of being dispossessed or crushed
by them.
Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old TestamentThe
second woe is pronounced upon the wickedness of the Chaldaean, in
establishing for himself a permanent settlement through godless gain. Habakkuk 2:9. "Woe to him who getteth a godless gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to save himself from the hand of calamity. Habakkuk 2:10. Thou hast consulted shame to thy house, destruction of many nations, and involvest thy soul in guilt. Habakkuk 2:11.
For the stone out of the wall will cry, and the spar out of the wood
will answer it." To the Chaldaean's thirst for robbery and plunder there
is attached quite simply the base avarice through which he seeks to
procure strength and durability for his house. בּצע בּצע, to get gain,
has in itself the subordinate idea of unrighteous gain or sinful
covetousness, since בּצע denotes cutting or breaking something off from
another's property, though here it is still further strengthened by the
predicate רע, evil (gain). בּיתו (his house) is not the palace, but the
royal house of the Chaldaean, his dynasty, as Habakkuk 2:10
clearly shows, where בּית evidently denotes the king's family,
including the king himself. How far he makes בּצע for his family, is
more precisely defined by לשׂוּם וגו. קנּו, his (the Chaldaean's) nest,
is neither his capital nor his palace or royal castle; but the setting
up of his nest on high is a figure denoting the founding of his
government, and securing it against attacks. As the eagle builds its
nest on high, to protect it from harm (cf. Job 39:27),
so does the Chaldaean seek to elevate and strengthen his rule by
robbery and plunder, that it may never be wrested from his family again.
We might here think of the buildings erected by Nebuchadnezzar for the
fortification of Babylon, and also of the building of the royal palace
(see Berosus in Hos. c. Ap. i. 19). We must not limit the figurative
expression to this, however, but must rather refer it to all that the
Chaldaean did to establish his rule. This is called the setting on high
of his nest, to characterize it as an emanation from his pride, and the
lofty thoughts of his heart. For the figure of the nest, see Numbers 24:21; Obadiah 1:4; Jeremiah 49:16.
His intention in doing this is to save himself from the hand of
adversity. רע is not masculine, the evil man; but neuter, adversity, or
"the hostile fate, which, so far as its ultimate cause is God (Isaiah 45:7), is inevitable and irreversible" (Delitzsch). In Habakkuk 2:10
the result of his heaping up of evil gain is announced: he has
consulted shame to his house. יעץ, to form a resolution. His
determination to establish his house, and make it firm and lofty by evil
gain, will bring shame to his house, and instead of honour and lasting
glory, only shame and ruin. קצות, which has been variously rendered,
cannot be the plural of the noun קצה, "the ends of many nations," since
it is impossible to attach any intelligent meaning to this. It is rather
the infinitive of the verb קצה, the occurrence of which Hitzig can only
dispute by an arbitrary alteration of the text in four different
passages, and is equivalent to קצץ, to cut off, hew off, which occurs in
the piel in 2 Kings 10:32 and Proverbs 26:6,
but in the kal only here. The infinitive construct does not stand for
the inf. abs., or for לקצות, exscindendo, but is used substantively, and
is governed by יעצתּ, which still retains its force from the previous
clause. Thou hast consulted (resolved upon) the cutting off, or
destruction, of many nations. וחוטא, and sinnest against thy soul
thereby, i.e., bringest retribution upon thyself, throwest away thine
own life. On the use of the participle in the sense of the second person
without אתּה, see at Habakkuk 1:5. חטא, with the accusative of the person, as in Proverbs 20:2 and Proverbs 8:36,
instead of חטא בנפשׁו. The participle is used, because the reference is
to a present, which will only be completed in the future (Hitzig and
Delitzsch). The reason for this verdict, and also for the hōi which
stands at the head of this strophe, follows in Habakkuk 2:11.
The stone out of the wall and the spar out of the woodwork will cry,
sc. because of the wickedness which thou hast practised in connected
with thy buildings (Habakkuk 1:2), or for vengeance (Genesis 4:10),
because they have been stolen, or obtained from stolen property. The
apparently proverbial expression of the crying of stones is applied in a
different way in Luke 19:40.
קיר does not mean the wall of a room here, but, as distinguished from
עץ, the outside wall, and עץ, the woodwork or beams of the buildings.
The ἁπ. λεγ. כּפיס, lit., that which binds, from כפס in the Syriac and
Targum, to bind, is, according to Jerome, "the beam which is placed in
the middle of any building to hold the walls together, and is generally
called ἱμάντωσις by the Greeks." The explanations given by Suidas is,
δέσις ξύλων ἐμβαλλομένων ἐν τοῖς οἰκοδομήσασι, hence rafters or
beams. יעננּה, will answer, sc. the stone, i.e., join in its crying (cf.
Isaiah 34:14).
Geneva Study BibleWoe
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!
Wesley's Notes
2:9 To his house - His family which he would enrich, and raise high.
Delivered - Kept secure and out of danger from all below him.
King James Translators' Notescoveteth...: or, gaineth and evil gain
power...: Heb. palm of the hand
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary9. 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 (Jer 22:13) shall be the cause of the Chaldean's
own destruction.
set his nest on high-(Nu 24:21; Jer 49:16; Ob 4).
The image is from an eagle (Job 39:27). The royal citadel is meant. The
Chaldean built high towers, like the Babel founders, to "be delivered
from the power of evil" (Ge 11:4).
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary2:5-14
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 who travel through thick clay, are hindered and
dirtied in their journey; so are those who go through the world in the
midst of abundance of wealth. And what fools are those that burden
themselves with continual care about it; with a great deal of guilt in
getting, saving, and spending it, and with a heavy account which they
must give another day! They overload themselves with this thick clay,
and so sink themselves down into destruction and perdition. See what
will be the end hereof; what is gotten by violence from others, others
shall take away by violence. Covetousness brings disquiet and uneasiness
into a family; he that is greedy of gain troubles his own house; what
is worse, it brings the curse of God upon all the affairs of it. There
is a lawful gain, which, by the blessing of God, may be a comfort to a
house; but what is got by fraud and injustice, will bring poverty and
ruin upon a family. Yet that is not the worst; Thou hast sinned against
thine own soul, hast endangered it. Those who wrong their neighbours, do
much greater wrong to their own souls. If the sinner thinks he has
managed his frauds and violence with art and contrivance, the riches and
possessions he heaped together will witness against him. There are not
greater drudges in the world than those who are slaves to mere wordly
pursuits. And what comes of it? They find themselves disappointed of it,
and disappointed in it; they will own it is worse than vanity, it is
vexation of spirit. By staining and sinking earthly glory, God manifests
and magnifies his own glory, and fills the earth with the knowledge of
it, as plentifully as waters cover the sea, which are deep, and spread
far and wide. |
|
|  |
Isaiah 5:8 Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land.
Jeremiah 22:13
"Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms
by injustice, making his countrymen work for nothing, not paying them
for their labor.
Jeremiah 49:16
The terror you inspire and the pride of your heart have deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rocks, who occupy the heights of the
hill. Though you build your nest as high as the eagle's, from there I
will bring you down," declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 51:13 You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be cut off.
Ezekiel 22:27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain.
Obadiah 1:4 Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down," declares the LORD.
|
Builds Calamity Clutches Coveteth Covetousness Curse Delivered Escape Evil Family Gain Gaining Gains Gets Grasp Hand Harm High House Nest Power Profits Reach Realm Resting-Place Ruin Safe Unjust Wo Woe Wrongdoer 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!that
coveteth an evil covetousness. or, that gaineth an evil gain. Ge
13:10-13 19:26-38 De 7:25,26 Jos 7:21-26 1Ki 21:2-4,19-24 2Ki 5:20-27
Job 20:19-28 Jer 22:13-19 Zec 5:1-4 Ac 1:17-25 Jude 11
set. Ps 10:3-6 49:11 52:7 Pr 18:11,12 Isa 28:15 47:7-9 Jer 49:16 Ob 4
power of evil. Heb. palm of the hand.
Habakkuk Chapter 2 Verse 9
Alphabetical:
be builds by calamity clutches delivered escape evil for from gain gets
hand high him his house nest of on put realm ruin set the to unjust who
Woe
OT Prophets:
Habakkuk 2:9 Woe to him who gets an evil (Hab Hb) Christian Bible Study
Resources, Dictionary, Concordance and Search Tools
Habakkuk 2:8 Bible Apps
Habakkuk 2:9 Bible Apps
Habakkuk 2:10 Bible Apps
Habakkuk 2:9 Commentaries
Habakkuk 2:9 Interlinear
Habakkuk 2:9 Biblia Paralela
Habakkuk 2:9 Chinese Bible
Habakkuk 2:9 French Bible
Habakkuk 2:9 German Bible
Online Bible
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright ;© 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All Rights Reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
Holman Christian Standard Bible®,
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers.
The King James 2000 Bible, copyright © Doctor of Theology Robert A. Couric 2000, 2003
|
|
