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Habakkuk 2:9

in Habakkuk 2

Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, to place his nest on high and escape the hand of disaster!

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

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!

KJV

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!

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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 9.) Woe to him who gathers evil greed to his house, that his nest may be on high and he may escape from the power of evil. You have devised ruin to your house, you have destroyed many peoples, and your soul has sinned. For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork will answer. LXX: O you who multiply evil greed to your house, that you may set your nest on high and be delivered from the hand of evil.

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

A commentator

Apostolic Constitutions

CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 7:4 · Written before 380.

proposed

You shall not speak evil; for he says, "Love not to speak evil, lest you be taken away." You shall not be mindful of injuries, for "the ways of those that remember injuries are unto death."? You shall not be double-minded or double-tongued, for "a man's own lips are a strong snare to him," and "a talkative person shall not be prospered upon the earth." Your words shall not be vain, for "you shall give an account of every idle word." You shall not tell lies, for he says, "You shall destroy all those that speak lies." You shall not be covetous or rapacious, for he says, "Woe to him that is covetous toward his neighbor with an evil covetousness."

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

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 Century2 voices

Woe 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 (Hab 1:8. Compare Jer 20:16).

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

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; The image is from an eagle (Job 39:27). The royal citadel is meant.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

An 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.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

With this matter, you advised shame for your house For you advised to cut off many peoples, and you caused a loss for yourself.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Habakkuk 2:10:1, 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

11 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.

Luke 12:15And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”10 worksObadiah 1:4Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.8 worksJeremiah 49:16The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the eagle, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.5 worksLuke 12:21This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”5 worksExodus 20:17You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”5 worksJeremiah 22:13–19“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages,4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Proverbs 1:19Such is the fate of all who are greedy, whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.4 worksIsaiah 10:1Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees,3 worksProverbs 18:11–12A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city; it is like a high wall in his imagination.2 worksActs 1:17–25He was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”2 worksGenesis 13:10–13And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)2 worksIsaiah 28:15For you said, “We have made a covenant with death; we have fashioned an agreement with Sheol. When the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not touch us, because we have made lies our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.”2 works1 Kings 21:19–24Tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’ Then tell him that this is also what the LORD says: ‘In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, there also the dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”2 worksIsaiah 47:7–9You said, ‘I will be queen forever.’ You did not take these things to heart or consider their outcome.2 worksJoshua 7:21–26When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”2 works1 Kings 21:2–4So Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard to use as a vegetable garden, since it is next to my palace. I will give you a better vineyard in its place—or if you prefer, I will give you its value in silver.”2 worksJude 1:11Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.2 works2 Kings 5:20–27Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared this Aramean, Naaman, while not accepting what he brought. As surely as the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”2 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

    Obadiah 1:4

    Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.

    it leads to

    • Amos 9:2

      Though they dig down to Sheol, from there My hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, from there I will pull them down.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Isaiah 14:12–15

      How you have fallen from heaven, O day star, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations.

    • Job 20:6–7

      Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, and his head touches the clouds,

    • Jeremiah 51:53

      Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens and fortifies her lofty stronghold, the destroyers I send will come against her,” declares the LORD.

    • Jeremiah 49:16

      The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the…

  • Through

    Jeremiah 49:16

    The terror you cause and the pride of your heart have deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks, O occupiers of the mountain summit. Though you elevate your nest like the…

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 49:25

      Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved; I will contend with those who contend with…

    • Job 39:27

      Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high?

    • Isaiah 14:13–15

      You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of…

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); Apostolic Constitutions, CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 7:4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Habakkuk; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

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