Habakkuk 2:19

Faith

¹⁷ For your violence against Lebanon will overwhelm you, and the destruction of animals will terrify you, because of your bloodshed against men and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers.

¹⁸ What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it— or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.

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.”

²⁰ But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.

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 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.”
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.
WEB: Woe to him who says to the wood, ‘Awake!’ or to the mute stone, ‘Arise!’ Shall this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all within it.
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.
DARBY: Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake! to the dumb stone, Arise! Shall it teach? Behold it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
BLB: Woe [to] the one saying to the wood, ‘Awake!’ Or to a stone of silence, ‘Arise!’ Can it give instruction? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and not any breath [is] within it.”

ÅB: Ve den som sier til en stokk: Våkn opp! - til en målløs stein: Stå opp! Skulle den være lærer? Den er jo overtrukket med gull og sølv, og det finnes ikke ånd i den.
OTB: Ve ham som sier til et stykke tre, ‘Våkn opp!’
Til en stum stein, ‘Reis deg!’
Kan det være din lærer?
Se, det er overtrukket med gull og sølv,
Men det er ingen ånd i det i det hele tatt.
B1930: Ve den som sier til en stokk: Våkn op! - til en målløs sten: Stå op! Skulde den være lærer? Den er jo overtrukket med gull og sølv, og det finnes ikke ånd i den.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Psalms 135:17
they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouths.
Read in context
Jeremiah 10:4
They adorn it with silver and gold and fasten it with hammer and nails, so that it will not totter.
Read in context
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.
Read in context
1 Kings 18:26–29
And 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.
Read in context
Psalms 97:7
All worshipers of images are put to shame— those who boast in idols. Worship Him, all you gods!
Read in context
Daniel 3:7
Therefore, as soon as all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and all kinds of music, the people of every nation and language would fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Read in context
Isaiah 44:17
From 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.”
Read in context
Daniel 3:1
King 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.
Read in context