Habakkuk 2:9
New International Version
“Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, setting his nest on high to escape the clutches of ruin!

New Living Translation
“What sorrow awaits you who build big houses with money gained dishonestly! You believe your wealth will buy security, putting your family’s nest beyond the reach of danger.

English Standard Version
“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm!

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

King James Bible
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!

New King James Version
“Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house, That he may set his nest on high, That he may be delivered from the power of disaster!

New American Standard Bible
“Woe to him who makes evil profit for his household, To put his nest on high, To be saved from the hand of catastrophe!

NASB 1995
“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house To put his nest on high, To be delivered from the hand of calamity!

NASB 1977
“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house To put his nest on high To be delivered from the hand of calamity!

Legacy Standard Bible
“Woe to him who is greedy for evil gain for his house To put his nest on high, To be delivered from the hand of evil!

Amplified Bible
“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who obtains wicked gain for his house [and thinks by so doing] To set his nest on high, That he may be rescued from the hand of evil.

Christian Standard Bible
Woe to him who dishonestly makes wealth for his house to place his nest on high, to escape the grasp of disaster!

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Woe to him who dishonestly makes wealth for his house to place his nest on high, to escape from the reach of disaster!

American Standard Version
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!

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Woe to him who commits fraud and collects evil to his soul and sets his nest in a high place that he may be saved from evil

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Woe to him that covets an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evils.

Contemporary English Version
You're doomed! You made your family rich at the expense of others. You even said to yourself, "I'm above the law."

Douay-Rheims Bible
Woe to him that gathereth together an evil covetousness to his house, that his nest may be on high, and thinketh he may be delivered out of the hand of evil.

English Revised Version
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!

GOD'S WORD® Translation
" 'How horrible it will be for the one who uses violence to get things for his own household in order to set his nest up high and save himself from disaster.'

Good News Translation
You are doomed! You have made your family rich with what you took by violence, and have tried to make your own home safe from harm and danger!

International Standard Version
"Woe to the one who amasses profit upon unjust profit in order to establish his household, so he can establish a secure place on the heights and escape from the power of evil.

JPS Tanakh 1917
Woe to him that gaineth evil gains for his house, That he may set his nest on high, That he may be delivered from the power of evil!

Literal Standard Version
Woe [to] him who is gaining evil gain for his house, | To set his nest on high, | To be delivered from the hand of evil,

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

New American Bible
Ah! you who pursue evil gain for your household, setting your nest on high to escape the reach of misfortune!

NET Bible
The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. He does this so he can build his nest way up high and escape the clutches of disaster.

New Revised Standard Version
“Alas for you who get evil gain for your house, setting your nest on high to be safe from the reach of harm!”

New Heart English Bible
Woe to him who gets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil.

Webster's Bible Translation
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!

World English Bible
Woe to him who gets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!

Young's Literal Translation
Woe to him who is gaining evil gain for his house, To set on high his nest, To be delivered from the hand of evil,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Woe to the Chaldeans
8Because you have plundered many nations, the remnant of the people will plunder you—because of your bloodshed against man and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers. 9Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, to place his nest on high and escape the hand of disaster! 10You have plotted shame for your house by cutting off many peoples and forfeiting your life.…

Cross References
Isaiah 5:8
Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field until no place is left and you live alone in the land.

Jeremiah 22:13
"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,

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 eagle, even from there I will bring you down," declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 51:13
You who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut.

Ezekiel 22:27
Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.

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.


Treasury of Scripture

Woe to him that covets an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!

that coveteth an evil covetousness.

Genesis 13:10-13
And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar…

Genesis 19:26-38
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt…

Deuteronomy 7:25,26
The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God…

set.

Psalm 10:3-6
For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth…

Psalm 49:11
Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.

Psalm 52:7
Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.

power of evil.

Jump to Previous
Builds Calamity Clutches Coveteth Covetousness Curse Delivered Escape Evil Family Gain Gaining Gains Gets Grasp Hand Harm High House Nest Power Profits Reach Realm Resting-Place Ruin Safe Unjust Wo Woe Wrongdoer
Jump to Next
Builds Calamity Clutches Coveteth Covetousness Curse Delivered Escape Evil Family Gain Gaining Gains Gets Grasp Hand Harm High House Nest Power Profits Reach Realm Resting-Place Ruin Safe Unjust Wo Woe Wrongdoer
Habakkuk 2
1. Unto Habakkuk, waiting for an answer, is shown that he must wait by faith.
5. The judgment upon the Chaldean for unsatiableness,
9. for covetousness,
12. for cruelty,
15. for drunkenness,
18. and for idolatry.














(9-11) Woe on the aggrandisement of the new dynasty by force and cunning.

(9) Woe to him that coveteth . . .--Better, Woe to him who accumulates wicked gain for his house, who sets his nest on high to save himself from the hand of evil--i.e., who gathers spoil from the nations, and stows it away in an impregnable treasure- house. The expression sets his nest on high finds more than sufficient illustration in the exaggerated accounts of Babylon given by Herodotus and Ctesias. The former gives 337� feet, the latter 300 feet, as the height of its walls. The height of the towers was, according to Ctesias, 420 feet. There were 250 of these towers, irregularly disposed, to guard the weaker parts of the wall. The space included by these colossal outworks was, according to Herodotus, about 200 square miles.

The language of this verse recalls Jeremiah's rebuke of Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 22:13 seq.). There, however, the sentence is on individual sin, here it is on that of a nation personified.

Verses 9-11. - § 9. The second woe: for their avarice, violence, and cunning. Verse 9. - That coveteth an evil covetousness to his house; better, gaineth evil gains for his house. The "house" is the royal family or dynasty, as in ver. 10; and the Chaldean is denounced for thinking to secure its stability and permanence by amassing godless gains. That he may set his nest on high. This is a figurative expression, denoting security as well as pride and self-confidence (comp. Numbers 24:21; Job 39:27, etc.; Jeremiah 49:16; Obadiah 1:4), and denotes the various means which the Chaldeans employed to establish and secure their power (comp. Isaiah 14:14). Some see in the words an allusion to the formidable fortifications raised by Nebuchadnezzar for the protection of Babylon, and the wonderful palace erected by him as a royal residence (see Rawlinson, 'Ant. Men.,' 3:340, etc., edit. 1865). It is certain that Nebuchadnezzar and other monarchs, after successful expeditions, turned their attention to building and enriching towns, temples, and palaces (see Josephus, 'Cont. Ap.,' 1:19, 7, etc.). From the power of evil; from the hand of evil; i.e. from all calamity.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Woe
ה֗וֹי (hō·w)
Interjection
Strong's 1945: Ah! alas! ha!

to him who builds
בֹּצֵ֛עַ (bō·ṣê·a‘)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 1214: To cut off, break off, gain by violence

his house
לְבֵית֑וֹ (lə·ḇê·ṯōw)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1004: A house

by unjust
רָ֖ע (rā‘)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7451: Bad, evil

gain,
בֶּ֥צַע (be·ṣa‘)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1215: Gain made by violence, unjust gain, profit

to place
לָשׂ֤וּם (lā·śūm)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 7760: Put -- to put, place, set

his nest
קִנּ֔וֹ (qin·nōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7064: A nest, the nestlings, a chamber, dwelling

on high
בַּמָּרוֹם֙ (bam·mā·rō·wm)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4791: Altitude

[and] escape
לְהִנָּצֵ֖ל (lə·hin·nā·ṣêl)
Preposition-l | Verb - Nifal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 5337: To strip, plunder, deliver oneself, be delivered, snatch away, deliver

the hand
מִכַּף־ (mik·kap̄-)
Preposition-m | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 3709: Hollow or flat of the hand, palm, sole (of the foot), a pan

of disaster!
רָֽע׃ (rā‘)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7451: Bad, evil


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OT Prophets: Habakkuk 2:9 Woe to him who gets an evil (Hab Hb)
Habakkuk 2:8
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