Habakkuk 2:9

BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

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

What this verse means

A short, plain-language explanation of Habakkuk 2:9 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.

Compare translations
BSBPD

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

Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)
KJVPD

“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!”

King James Version · Public Domain
ASVPD

“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!”

American Standard Version · Public Domain
YLTPD

“Woe <FI>to<Fi> him who is gaining evil gain for his house, To set on high his nest, To be delivered from the hand of evil,”

Young's Literal Translation · Public Domain
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Cross references

Other passages that echo Habakkuk 2:9 — 23 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  1. Genesis 13:10And 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. Genesis 19:26But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
  3. Deuteronomy 7:25You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it is detestable to the LORD your God.
  4. Joshua 7:21When 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.”
  5. 1 Kings 21:2So 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.”
  6. 1 Kings 21:19Tell 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!’”
  7. 2 Kings 5:20Gehazi, 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.”
  8. Job 20:19For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build.
  9. Psalms 10:3For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
  10. Psalms 49:11Their graves are their eternal homes— their dwellings for endless generations— even though their lands were their namesakes.
  11. Psalms 52:7“Look at the man who did not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his wealth and strengthened himself by destruction.”
  12. Proverbs 18:11A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city; it is like a high wall in his imagination.
  13. Isaiah 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.”
  14. Isaiah 47:7You said, ‘I will be queen forever.’ You did not take these things to heart or consider their outcome.
  15. Jeremiah 17:11Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay is the man who makes a fortune unjustly. In the middle of his days his riches will desert him, and in the end he will be the fool.”
  16. 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,
  17. Jeremiah 22:23O inhabitant of Lebanon, nestled in the cedars, how you will groan when pangs of anguish come upon you, agony like a woman in labor.”
  18. Jeremiah 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.
  19. Jeremiah 51:53Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens and fortifies her lofty stronghold, the destroyers I send will come against her,” declares the LORD.
  20. Obadiah 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.
  21. Zechariah 5:1Again I lifted up my eyes and saw before me a flying scroll.
  22. Acts 1:17He was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”
  23. Jude 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.

Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

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