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Habakkuk 2:19

in Habakkuk 2

Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise! Shall this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

KJV

Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

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This verse in Habakkuk 2

Commentary

7 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Habakkuk · Written before 420.

(Verse 19, 20). Woe to him who says to wood, 'Wake up!' or to silent stone (or lying stone), 'Arise!' Can it give instruction? Look, it is covered with gold and silver, but there is no breath in its midst. The Lord, however, is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him. LXX: Woe to him who says to wood, 'Wake up!' and to the stone, 'Rise!' and it is the image, the production of gold and silver, but there is no spirit in it.

This site's exposition

what profiteth the graven image

on Habakkuk 2:18-20

The fifth and last woe turns from the tyrant to his gods, what profiteth the graven image... a teacher of lies, an idol carved by the same hands that trust it, laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. Against dumb stone the chapter sets the true God's address, but the Lord is in his holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before him, the whole created order called to stand quiet before the only throne that answers. Wesley and Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown read the closing verse as the vision's true resting point, every woe against Babylon's idols settled simply by the fact that the real God is enthroned and listening, which chapter 3 turns into prayer.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

Woe to him that saith to the wood, Awake,.... That saith to a wooden image, let him go by what name he will; saint such an one, or such an one; awake, arise, exert thyself on our behalf; deliver us from present danger; save us from our enemies; or pray and intercede for us, that we may be delivered and saved, as the Papists do; addressing a block of wood as they would God himself, or as his people do, Psa 44:

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. 4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Or, "It (the idol itself) shall (that is, ought to) teach you that it is deaf, and therefore no God" [CALVIN]. Compare "they are their own witnesses" (Isa 44:9). Behold--The Hebrew is nominative, "There it is" [HENDERSON]. it is laid over with gold . . . no breath . . . in the midst--Outside it has some splendor, within none.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Wo unto him - How foolish and contemptible to worship a thing formed by the hand of man out of wood, stone, gold, or silver! The meanest brute is superior to them all; it breathes and lives, but they have no breath in them. However, they are said above to be teachers of lies; that is, they appeared to give out oracles: but these were lies; and were not given by the statue, but by the priest.
But then the greater is the “Woe” to him who deceiveth by them. The prophet passes away from the idols as “nothings” and pronounces “woe” on those who deceive by them.

The words behind it

18 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.

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.

Daniel 3:1King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.12 worksPsalms 135:17they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouths.9 worksDaniel 5:4As they drank the wine, they praised their gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.6 worksJeremiah 10:4They adorn it with silver and gold and fasten it with hammer and nails, so that it will not totter.5 worksJeremiah 10:5Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any good.”5 works1 Kings 18:26–29And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made.4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Jeremiah 10:9Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz—the work of a craftsman from the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothes are blue and purple, all fashioned by skilled workers.4 worksHosea 4:12My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray and they have played the harlot against their God.4 worksActs 17:29Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.3 worksIsaiah 44:17From the rest he makes a god, his graven image. He bows down to it and worships; he prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”3 worksDaniel 5:23Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.3 worksJeremiah 10:14Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.3 worksPsalms 97:7All worshipers of images are put to shame— those who boast in idols. Worship Him, all you gods!3 worksRevelation 17:4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.3 worksIsaiah 46:6They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship.3 worksIsaiah 40:19To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?3 worksDaniel 3:29Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be cut into pieces and their houses reduced to rubble. For there is no other god who can deliver in this way.”3 worksJeremiah 51:47Therefore, behold, the days are coming when I will punish the idols of Babylon. Her entire land will suffer shame, and all her slain will lie fallen within her.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

    Jeremiah 10:9

    Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz—the work of a craftsman from the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothes are blue and purple, all fashioned by skilled workers.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 115:4

      Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    Acts 17:29

    Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 40:25

      “To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.

    • Exodus 20:4

      You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.

    • Isaiah 46:5–6

      To whom will you liken Me or count Me equal? To whom will you compare Me, that we should be alike?

    • Psalms 115:4–8

      Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.

    • Habakkuk 2:19–20

      Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.”

  • Through

    Jeremiah 10:4

    They adorn it with silver and gold and fasten it with hammer and nails, so that it will not totter.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 46:7

      They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not…

    • Isaiah 40:19–20

      To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?

Where this verse is studied

About Habakkuk

Habakkuk: the study guide →Read Habakkuk 2 →

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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

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