Habakkuk 2:12
10 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.
11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!
13 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?
14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by iniquity!
- KJV
- Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!
- WEB
- Woe to him who builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity!
- ASV
- Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by iniquity!
- DARBY
- Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and establisheth a city by unrighteousness!
- BLB
- Woe [to] the one building a city with bloodshed, and who establishes a town by injustice!
- ÅB
- Ve den som bygger en by med blod og grunnlegger en stad med urett!
- OTB
- Ve ham som bygger en by med blod,
Og grunnlegger en by med vold! - B1930
- Ve den som bygger en by med blod og grunnlegger en stad med urett!
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Micah 3:10
They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
Read in contextNahum 3:1
Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;
Read in contextDaniel 4:27–31
Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
Read in contextJeremiah 22:13–17
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;
Read in contextRevelation 17:6
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Read in contextJoshua 6:26
And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.
Read in contextGenesis 4:11–17
And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;
Read in contextEzekiel 24:9
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great.
Read in context