Habakkuk 2:11
in Habakkuk 2For the stones will cry out from the wall, and the rafters will echo it from the woodwork.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
KJV
For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
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This verse in Habakkuk 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it - All things have a voice, in that they are . God’s works speak that, for which He made them Psa 19:1: “The heavens declare the glory of God.” Psa 65:13: “the valleys are clad with corn, they laugh, yea, they sing;” their very look speaks gladness. Cyril: “For the creation itself proclaims the glory of the Maker, in that it is admired as well made.
This site's exposition
an evil covetousness to his house
on Habakkuk 2:9-11
The second woe indicts the house built on plunder, coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, safety sought in height and wealth rather than righteousness. Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people turns the builder's ambition into his own household's disgrace. The stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it personifies the very building materials as witnesses against the blood that funded them. Henry and Clarke read the image as the created order itself refusing to stay silent over injustice, stones crying out where men will not.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Helena adored the king, not the wood [of the cross], indeed, because this is an error of the Gentiles and a vanity of the wicked. But she adored him who hung on the tree, whose name was inscribed in the title; him, I say, as a scarab, cried out to his Father to forgive the sins of his persecutors. The woman eagerly hastened to touch the remedy of immortality, but she feared to trample under the foot the mystery of salvation. Joyful at heart, yet with anxious step, she knew not what she should do.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The stones and timber cry to heaven for vengeance, as the whole creation groans under the sin of man and waits to be delivered from that bondage of corruption. (3.) Here is a woe against him for building a town and a city by blood and extortion (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
For the stone shall cry out of the wall,....
The crime for which this woe is denounced is much the same with that in the foregoing article--an insatiable desire of wealth and honour; it is coveting an evil covetousness to his house, that is, grasping at an abundance for his family.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
stone . . . cry out--personification. The very stones of thy palace built by rapine shall testify against thee (Lu 19:40). the beam out of the timber--the crossbeam or main rafter connecting the timbers in the walls. shall answer it--namely, the stone.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it - This appears to refer to the ancient mode of building walls; two or three courses of stone. and then one course of timber. See 1Ki 6:36: thus was the palace of Solomon built. The splendid and costly buildings of Babylon have been universally celebrated. But how were these buildings erected? By the spoils of conquered nations, and the expense of the blood of multitudes; therefore the stones and the timber are represented as calling out for vengeance against this ruthless conqueror.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
For a stone For the stones that you stole shall cry from the wall.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
With this matter, you advised shame for your house For you advised to cut off many peoples, and you caused a loss for yourself.
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. 4 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
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֶ֖בֶן | ʾeven | a stone | H68 → | |
| מִקִּ֣יר | mikir | from [the] wall | H7023 → | |
| תִּזְעָ֑ק | tizak | it will cry out | H2199 → | |
| וְכָפִ֖יס | vekhafis | and a rafter | H3714 → | |
| מֵעֵ֥ץ | meetz | from [the] wood<s> | H6086 → | |
| יַעֲנֶֽנָּה׃ פ | yaanenah | it will answer it | H6030 → |
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אֶ֖בֶןa stone
ʾevenH68 →
מִקִּ֣ירfrom [the] wall
mikirH7023 →
תִּזְעָ֑קit will cry out
tizakH2199 →
וְכָפִ֖יסand a rafter
vekhafisH3714 →
מֵעֵ֥ץfrom [the] wood<s>
meetzH6086 →
יַעֲנֶֽנָּה׃ פit will answer it
yaanenahH6030 →
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
Genesis 4:10“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
it leads to
- Hebrews 12:24
to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
- Psalms 72:14
He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their blood is precious in his sight.
- Hebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he…
- Isaiah 5:7
For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but…
- Hebrews 12:24
Through
Luke 19:40“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 55:12
You will indeed go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
- Matthew 3:9
And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
- Psalms 96:11
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea resound, and all that fills it.
- Psalms 98:7–9
Let the sea resound, and all that fills it, the world, and all who dwell in it.
- Isaiah 55:12
Where this verse is studied
About Habakkuk
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, ON THE DEATH OF THEODOSIUS 46; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.