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Habakkuk 2:13

in Habakkuk 2

Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain?

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Behold, is it not of Jehovah of hosts that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?

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?

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This verse in Habakkuk 2

Commentary

8 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Habakkuk · Written before 420.

(Verse 12 and following) Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed, and establishes a town with injustice: are these things not from the Lord of hosts? For the peoples shall labor in vain, and the nations shall exhaust themselves: for the earth shall be filled, that they may know the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. LXX: Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed, and establishes a town with wickedness: are these things not from the Almighty Lord?

This site's exposition

buildeth a town with blood

on Habakkuk 2:12-14

The third woe, buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity, is answered by a question rather than only a curse, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire... for very vanity, empire building exposed as fuel for a fire that consumes its own builders. Against that vanity stands the chapter's brightest verse, the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea, matched almost word for word at Isaiah 11:9, a shared formula the bench names rather than one prophet borrowing from another. Keil and Pusey read the verse as the answer standing over every woe in the chapter, Babylon's violence measured against a glory that will finally cover the whole earth the way water covers its bed.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

The worst that can be said of the labourers in God's vineyards is that they have borne the burden and heat of the day ( Matt. xx. 12 ); but those that are eager in their worldly pursuits labour in the very fire, make themselves perfect slaves to their lusts. There is not a greater drudge in the world than he that is under the power of reigning covetousness.

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

Is it not of the Lord - Is it not a judgment from God? Shall labour - That men go thro' the most painful labour. For very vanity - For nothing; without any reward of their labour.
Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts?.... That which follows; the judgments of God upon the bloody city, which they that labour to prevent labour in vain.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

"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.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The people shall labor in the very fire - All these superb buildings shall be burnt down. See the parallel passage, Jer 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.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Behold, 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 vanity - They wearied themselves, and what was their reward?

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

Behold, is it not from the Lord that the retribution has been requited to the perpetrators of wickedness?
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Habakkuk 2:13:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

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

13 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • הֲל֣וֹא¿ [is it] not

    halo'H3808 →5168 times

  • הִנֵּ֔הthere!

    hinehH2009 →843 times

  • מֵאֵ֖תfrom with

    meetH854 →

  • יְהוָ֣הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • צְבָא֑וֹתof hosts

    tzevaotH6635 →

  • וְיִֽיגְע֤וּso they may labor

    veyigeuH3021 →

  • עַמִּים֙peoples

    ʾamimH5971 →1873 times

  • בְּדֵי־for [the] sufficiency of

    bedei-H1767 →

  • אֵ֔שׁfire

    ʾeshH784 →

  • וּלְאֻמִּ֖יםand nations

    uleumimH3816 →

  • בְּדֵי־for [the] sufficiency of

    bedei-H1767 →

  • רִ֥יקvanity

    rikH7385 →

  • יִעָֽפוּ׃they grow weary

    yiafuH3286 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Jeremiah 51:58This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Babylon’s thick walls will be leveled, and her high gates consumed by fire. So the labor of the people will be for nothing; the nations will exhaust themselves to fuel the flames.”7 worksIsaiah 55:2Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods.7 worksProverbs 21:30There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.5 worksIsaiah 50:11Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who array yourselves with firebrands, walk in the light of your fire and of the firebrands you have lit! This is what you will receive from My hand: You will lie down in a place of torment.5 worksEcclesiastes 5:11When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes?5 worksIsaiah 41:5–8The islands see and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward.4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Malachi 1:4Though Edom may say, “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,” this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Land of Wickedness, and a people with whom the LORD is indignant forever.4 worksGenesis 11:6–9And the LORD said, “If they have begun to do this as one people speaking the same language, then nothing they devise will be beyond them.4 worksPsalms 127:1–2Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.4 worksPsalms 39:6Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away.4 worksJob 5:13–14He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.4 worksJeremiah 9:5Each one betrays his friend; no one tells the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they wear themselves out committing iniquity.4 works1 Thessalonians 2:1You yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not in vain.4 worksEcclesiastes 1:3What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?3 worksEzekiel 24:12It has frustrated every effort; its thick rust has not been removed, even by the fire.3 worksJohn 6:27Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”3 worksJeremiah 12:13They have sown wheat but harvested thorns. They have exhausted themselves to no avail. Bear the shame of your harvest because of the fierce anger of the LORD.”3 worksLeviticus 26:20and your strength will be spent in vain. For your land will not yield its produce, and the trees of the land will not bear their fruit.3 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Proverbs 21:30

    There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.

    it leads to

    • Acts 5:39

      But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”

    • Proverbs 19:21

      Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.

    • Jeremiah 9:23

      This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.

    • Isaiah 14:27

      The LORD of Hosts has purposed, and who can thwart Him? His hand is outstretched, so who can turn it back?

    • 1 Corinthians 3:19–20

      For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”

  • Through

    Isaiah 55:2

    Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the…

    it leads to

    • John 6:48–58

      I am the bread of life.

    • Jeremiah 2:13

      “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

    • Psalms 36:8

      They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from Your river of delights.

Where this verse is studied

About Habakkuk

Habakkuk: the study guide →Read Habakkuk 2 →
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); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Habakkuk; 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.

Read on in Habakkuk 2 →