Habakkuk 1:12
in Habakkuk 1Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. O LORD, You have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, You have established them for correction.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Art not thou from everlasting, O Jehovah my God, my Holy One? we shall not die. O Jehovah, thou hast ordained him for judgment; and thou, O Rock, hast established him for correction.
KJV
Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.
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This verse in Habakkuk 1
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 12.) Surely you are from the beginning, O Lord my God, my holy one? And shall we not die? O Lord, you have appointed him for judgment; you have established him as a strong one to correct him. LXX: Are you not from the beginning, O Lord my God, my holy one? And shall we not die? O Lord, you have appointed him for judgment: and he has formed me, so that I may chastise in his discipline.
This site's exposition
Art thou not from everlasting
on Habakkuk 1:12-13
Habakkuk answers the vision with worship rather than collapse, invoking the Lord as from everlasting, mine Holy One, we shall not die, holding to the eternity and holiness of God even while naming the Chaldean as the Lord's own chosen rod for correction. The second half turns the complaint back on God himself, thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, asking how a holy God can watch a wicked nation devour one more righteous than itself. Calvin and Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown read the question as reverent argument, the same faith that calls God eternal now pressing him for consistency with his own character.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. 4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Ordained - Set up, and designed. Them - The Chaldean kingdom. For judgment - To execute this judgment, which is tempered with mercy.
Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine holy One? ....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Art thou not frown everlasting - The idols change, and their worshippers change and fail: but thou, Jehovah, art eternal; thou canst not change, and they who trust in thee are safe. Thou art infinite in thy mercy; therefore, “we shall not die,” shall not be totally exterminated. Thou hast ordained them for judgment - Thou hast raised up the Chaldeans to correct and punish us; but thou hast not given them a commission to destroy us totally.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But not that they may deify their own power (Hab 1:11, for their power is from Thee, and but for a time); nor that they may destroy utterly Thy people. The Hebrew for "mighty God" is Rock (De 32:4). However the world is shaken, or man's faith wavers, God remains unshaken as the Rock of Ages (Isa 26:4, Margin).
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The prophet, having summed up the deeds of the enemy of God in this his end, sets forth his questions anew. He had appealed against the evil of the wicked of his people; he had been told of the vengeance by the Chaldaeans (Heading of Hab. 1). But the vengeance is executed by them who are far worse. How then? The answer is: “Wait to the end, and thou shalt see.” What remains are the triumphs of faith; the second chapter closes with the entire prostration of the whole world before God, and the whole prophecy with joyous trust in God amid the entire failure of all outward signs of hope. Here, like the Psalmists (Asaph, Ps. 73 Ethan Psa 76:1-12) and Jeremiah Jer 12:1, he sets down at the very beginning his entire trust in God, and so, in the name of all who at any time shall be perplexed about the order of God’s judgments, asks how it shall be, teaching us that the only safe way of enquiring into God’s ways is by setting out with a living conviction that they, Psa 25:10, are “mercy and truth.” And so the address to God is full of awe and confidence and inward love. For “God placeth the oil of mercy in the vessel of trustfulness.” Art Thou not - (the word has always an emphasis) “Thou” and not whatsoever or whosoever it be that is opposed to Thee (be it Nebuchadnezzar or Satan). From everlasting - literally, from before? See the note at Mic 5:2. Go back as far as man can in thought - God was still before; and so, much more before any of His creatures, such as those who rebel against Him. O Lord - it is the proper name of God, Rev 1:8, “Which is and Which was and Which is to come” - I am, the Unchangeable; my God, i. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Then a spirit goes further Then, when they see their way prospering, a spirit of guilt goes further and passes over them. Now what is the spirit?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲל֧וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אַתָּ֣ה | ʾatah | [are] you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| מִקֶּ֗דֶם | mikedem | from antiquity | H6924 → | |
| יְהוָ֧ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהַ֛י | ʾelohai | God my | H430 → | |
| קְדֹשִׁ֖י | kedoshi | holy [one] my | H6918 → | |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נָמ֑וּת | namut | we will die | H4191 → | |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לְמִשְׁפָּ֣ט | lemishpat | to judgment | H4941 → | 422 times |
| שַׂמְתּ֔וֹ | samto | you have appointed it | H7760 → | 584 times |
| וְצ֖וּר | vetzur | and O rock | H6697 → | |
| לְהוֹכִ֥יחַ | lehokhiach | to reprove | H3198 → | |
| יְסַדְתּֽוֹ׃ | yesadto | you have established it | H3245 → |
הֲל֧וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
אַתָּ֣ה[are] you
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
מִקֶּ֗דֶםfrom antiquity
mikedemH6924 →
יְהוָ֧הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהַ֛יGod my
ʾelohaiH430 →
קְדֹשִׁ֖יholy [one] my
kedoshiH6918 →
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נָמ֑וּתwe will die
namutH4191 →
יְהוָה֙O Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לְמִשְׁפָּ֣טto judgment
lemishpatH4941 →422 times
שַׂמְתּ֔וֹyou have appointed it
samtoH7760 →584 times
וְצ֖וּרand O rock
vetzurH6697 →
לְהוֹכִ֥יחַto reprove
lehokhiachH3198 →
יְסַדְתּֽוֹ׃you have established it
yesadtoH3245 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 33:27The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you, giving the command, ‘Destroy him!’
it leads to
- Psalms 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 90:1–2
Lord, You have been our dwelling place through all generations.
- Isaiah 25:4
For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like…
- Psalms 18:2
Through
Psalms 90:2Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
- Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
- Hebrews 13:8
Through
Deuteronomy 32:4He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.
it leads to
- Psalms 18:30–31
As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
- Psalms 92:15
to proclaim, “The LORD is upright; He is my Rock, and in Him there is no unrighteousness.”
- Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
- Psalms 18:30–31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Habakkuk
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Habakkuk; John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.