Translation & Sermon by
Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church of Manhattan, KS, 18 May
2025
Greyed-out text should bring verbal
delivery down to about 40 minutes.
As we come in at the end of chapter two of Habakkuk, remember that this is God’s answer to the concerns Habakkuk raised to God in chapter one about the injustices going on in his home country of Judea as well as the atrocities that would be committed against his people when the Chaldean army will invade. God has answered by declaring His justice – that He will indeed punish the wrongdoing of the Jews – and also of the Chaldeans, but God also declared His mercy through promising life to those who have faith in Him and through five warnings to those who aren’t living by faith in Him.
In the last sermons, we studied the first four woes against Greed, Theft, Violence, and Immorality; now we come to the fifth (and last) woe against Idolatry.
But first, some context: God expressly forbade the making of idols in His law:
In the 2nd Commandment: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image1, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…” (Exodus 20:4-5, NKJV)
The golden calf was the most notorious of these “molten images” (Ex. 32) that Israel made, so God commanded in Leviticus 19:4 “Don't y'all pay attention to the idols, and don't make gods out of cast-metal for yourselves. I am Yahweh your God.” (NAW. cf. Ex. 34)
Leviticus 26:1 “Y'all may not make for yourselves idols, and y'all may not erect for yourselves a carved-image or a monument, and y'all may not put an engraved stone in your land to worship before it, because I am Yahweh y'all's God.” (NAW)
Deut. 27:15 “Cursed is the one who makes a carved or molded image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman [חרש], and sets it up in secret…” (NKJV)
But these covenant people, including those of Habakkuk’s day, flagrantly violated God’s command:
According to 2 Chronicles 28, King Ahaz, who lived during Isaiah’s time, was known for making cast metal idols of Baal, so it’s no wonder Isaiah got worked up about it.
Isaiah 44:8-22 “...Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock either – definitely not; I know. Idol-shapers – all of them – are empty, and their delights never profit, and they are their own witnesses; they never saw and never knew, to the end that they will be shamed. Who has formed a god or cast an idol? It profits nothing. Look, all its followers shall be shamed, and as for craftsmen, they are from man. Let them all assemble; let them stand; let them tremble; let them be shamed together. One crafts iron with the chisel and works with the coals. Then he forms it with the hammers and works it with his strong arm. He also becomes hungry and has no strength. If he doesn't drink water, he will faint. One crafts wood: He stretched a chalk-line; he marks it with the stylus; he makes it with the planes and outlines it with the compass. Then he makes it like a man's figure - like human beauty - to sit in a house. To cut for himself cedars then he took a cypress or an oak and chose for himself among the trees of the forest. He planted an Oren-tree and rain will grow it. Then it will become for a fire for mankind; then he will take from them and he will warm himself. He will even heat and bake bread. Additionally, he will work up a god and bow down to it. – He made it an idol and worshipped towards it! Half of it he burned in the fire, eating meat upon half of it. He roasts a roast and gets full, and even warming himself he says, ‘Ahh, I am warm, I have seen the heat.’ Then the remainder of it he made into a god - into his idol. He will worship toward it and bow down to it. – He prayed to it and said, ‘Deliver me, for you are my god!’ They do not know, and they do not understand, for He has covered their eyes from seeing, their hearts from considering. He does not turn unto his heart, and there is no knowledge and no understanding to say, ‘Half of it I burned in the fire, and I even baked bread over its coals; I will roast meat and eat. And I shall make its remainder into an abomination; I will worship toward a wooden product!’ Grazing on ashes his heart is deceived, it strings him out, and he will not deliver his soul or say, ‘Is there not a lie in my right hand?’ Remember these, Jacob and Israel, for my servant is you: I formed you; you are a servant who belongs to me. You will not be forgotten of me, Israel. I have obliterated like the fog your transgressions, and like a cloud your sins. Turn to me for I have redeemed you.” (NAW2)
“Manasseh [who was probably king when Habakkuk was a boy]... set a carved image, the idol [סמל] which he had made, in the house of God…” (2 Chronicles 33:7, NKJV)
Later on, during Habakkuk’s and Jeremiah’s lifetime, King Josiah destroyed many of the “carved images” and “cast images” that his predecessors had set up (2 Chron. 34), but idolatry was still a problem: Jeremiah 10:3-8 “For the customs of the peoples are futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple… 8 But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; A wooden idol is a worthless [הבל] doctrine… 10 But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation. Thus you shall say to them: "The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens." … 14 Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge; Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image; For his molded image [נסך] is falsehood, And there is no breath in them.” (NKJV || 51:17)
And, as I have been observing, the problems Habakkuk identified were not unique to the Jews, they applied all-the-more to the Babylonians who are also in the purview of God’s judgment in this book:
Jeremiah 50:38 described Babylon as “...the land of carved images ... insane with their idols [אימים].” (NKJV)
Daniel 3:1 “Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.” (NKJV) Hananiah, Mischael and Azariah (better known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) called him down for it.
And later on, when Nebuchadnezzar’s son was king of Babylon, Daniel called him down for idolatry in Daniel 5:23 “And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven... And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.” (NKJV)
The Apostle Paul noted several times in the New Testament that idolatry was still a problem during the time of the Roman empire:
He told the philosophers in Athens, Greece, in Acts 17:29 “Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped3 by art and man's devising.” (NKJV)
And he warned the Romans in Italy over how they had “changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image4 made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.” (Romans 1:23, NKJV)
And from modern-day Turkey, he wrote to the Macedonians in Corinth: “Y'all have known that when you were pagans, whenever you were being led, you were being led away toward the voiceless5 idols.” (1 Corinthians 12:2, NAW)
Later on, the Apostle John would write in the book of Revelation of the days to come when people would “worship the beast and its image6” in rebellion against God.
And what about today?
Enter almost any Asian restaurant and you will see an idol on a shelf or decorating a menu.
Enter any Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox church building and you will see images and statues being reverenced7.
But the more-pervasive idols of Western Civilization blend in everywhere, to the point that we lose the sense of our own idolatry:
In the back pocket of almost every man and women is a tablet made from rocks, on which is inscribed an ever-changing set of images. It chimes at you all day long, demanding that you worship it with your attention. You ask questions of it and look to it for direction before you ever think to pray. You use it to control your environment around you and it is your go-to for getting things done. And with the merging of Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things, there is not much that it won’t be able to do. Although this tool can be taken dominion of to serve God’s purpose of filling the earth with those who know His glory, for many people, it is an idol to replace God.
Meanwhile, all around us are a myriad graphic images (and audio prompts) designed to make us covet what we don’t have – more things, more status, more likes, more security – never enough, and we come to accept these idols as simply the price of free entertainment – and even as a form of amusement in themselves.
Even on our clothing is emblazoned brand names which declare our social status, or advertisements concerning our favorite musician, favorite social cause, favorite food, or favorite health and beauty products.
And then there is the worship of political leaders, often symbolized by party logos, national flags, and photographic portraits.
The power of media to capture a possess-able image of a person or a scene – or even of a sound or an event – is extremely dangerous because it allows us to look or listen to that one thing over and over again and let that one created thing preoccupy our minds.
John Calvin commented on Habakkuk 2:19 that “images are only the juggleries of Satan.” I might take issue with his word “only,” but I have no doubt that Satan and demons make use of images in their diabolical work.
There is debate among Christians as to whether the 2nd Commandment is against the making of images or whether it is merely against the worship of images. I side with those who believe we can make images but must not worship them, but at the same time, I see how easy it is, once they have been made, to give idolatrous attention to images, videos, and sound recordings, and for them to distract us from giving our full attention to the worship of our Lord Jesus.
So,
with that context, let’s read Habakkuk 2:18-20:
“How
can a carved-image bring benefit when its craftsman has carved it?
[The same goes for] a molten image and a teacher of falsehood. For
the craftsman trusts upon his own craftsmanship to make mute idols!
Woe to the one who says to wood, “Please become active!” – to
silent stone, “Stir yourself up!” As for that, is it going to be
instructive? Look at it! It is bound up with gold and silver, and
there isn’t any breath within it! But Yahweh is in the temple of
His holiness; let all the earth hush before Him.”
Verse 18 approaches the problem of idolatry from the manufacturing side, making the observation that anything that you make with your hands cannot possibly be greater than you are, and thus cannot possibly serve well as a god.
When it comes down to it, idolatry is really just another form of secular humanism, because it is worshiping things that humans create. It is, as Habakkuk put it: “trusting in [your] own craftsmanship/handiwork.”
What kinds of things do you make that you trust in?
We make money and expect it to provide for our needs and keep us safe.
We make love or we make food and expect it to make us happy and feel satisfied.
We make good grades and great achievements and expect people to show honor and give us fulfilling vocations.
But, as good as these things are, none of these things makes for a good god.
A good god can distinguish accurately between truth and falsehood, reality and fantasy.
A good god can make you (rather than you making it) – can explain where you came from and give you a meaning and purpose for your life, based on a larger purpose and plan.
A good god can tell you what is truly right and what is absolutely wrong, and can give you the power to do what is right and not do what is wrong.
And a good God can actually save you from all that is wrong in this world – and fix all the world’s problems as well.
Nothing you have ever made – and nothing that has ever come out of a factory – can do any of these things. That’s why Habakkuk says that idols can’t “bring benefit/profit/value.”
The “molten/metal/cast image” is feminine in Hebrew, therefore it is not the same as the masculine “teacher of falsehood” (contrary to the NIV’s translation8). Rather, it is in parallel with the “carved-wooden-image” in the first phrase of the verse. And the “teacher of lies” in the second phrase is in parallel to the “maker who crafts it” in the first phrase9. So I think all the rest of the words in the first phrase are intended to be repeated by ellipsis in the second phrase: “How can a carved-image bring benefit when its craftsman has carved it? [How can] a molten image also [bring benefit to] a teacher of falsehood?”
The only other place in the Bible where this “teacher of falsehood” shows up is in Isaiah 9:15, where he is called a “prophet.” I believe the “teacher of lies” refers to the false prophets who encourage people to worship other gods and not to worry about their accountability to the true God.
Later on, the prophet Zechariah commented, “For the idols [תּרפים] speak delusion; The diviners envision lies, And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain.” (Zech. 10:2, NKJV)
Verse 19 approaches the problem of idolatry from a utilitarian side, pointing out the absurdity of expecting idols – made of stuff like wood and metal – actually to be able to do anything!
The reason why idols were called upon to “arouse themselves” and “become active” was because somebody wanted help with something that was beyond their control.
Perhaps they were having problems with infertility and wanted children,
Perhaps they were in a drought and wanted their garden to grow better,
Or perhaps a powerful enemy was at war with them and they wanted to beat them,
So they called on a power outside of themselves for help.
Nowadays, we know better than to call upon sticks and stones to do that for us; modern, secular man calls upon the government to do all those things for us. But that is just another form of idolatry. Christians will instead call upon “our Father in heaven” first.
The description of asking an idol to wake up is reminiscent of Elijah’s jeering at the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18:25-29 “...[T]hey called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, ‘O Baal, hear us!’ But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, ‘Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.’ So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. And when midday was past, they [carried on] until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.” (NKJV)
The Bible is full of similar declarations:
Psalm 135:15-17 “The idols [עצב] of the nations are silver and gold, The work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; They have ears, but they do not hear; Nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them.” (NKJV ||115:4-8)
Isaiah 46:5-9 “To whom will you compare me and cause to be equal, and liken to me, that we will compare? Those who pour out gold from a bag and silver in weight will weigh it and hire one who refines, and he will make it a god, and then they will bow down; indeed they will worship it! They will lift it over a shoulder, carry it, and they will set it down and it will stand. It will not leave its place. Also, he will call out to his god, but it will not make a sound nor will it cause him to be saved from his distress. Remember this and be a man. Turn [it] over [in your] heart, sinners. Remember the first things from the ancient times, for I am God and there is no other God and none besides me...” (NAW)
Jeremiah 2:27-28 “Saying to a tree, `You are my father, And to a stone, `You gave birth to me. For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble They will say, `Arise and save us.’ But where are your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, If they can save you in the time of your trouble; For according to the number of your cities Are your gods, O Judah.” (NKJV)
The Psalmists used the same Hebrew words Habakkuk did to teach us that we should instead say, “Awake...Arise” to the One True God:
Psalm 7:6 “Arise10, Yahweh, in Your anger! Be lifted up by [the] excesses of my adversaries, and stir up for me [the] judgment You decreed.” (NAW)
Psalm 35:23 “Please mobilize justice for me, my God and my Master, and make Yourself active for arguing my [case]!”
Psalm 44:23 “Please stir Yourself up! Why should You be dormant, Master? Please become active; stop putting off indefinitely!” (NAW)
Psalm 59:4-5 “... Awake to help me, and behold! You therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations…” (NKJV)
Psalm 80:2 “... Stir up Your strength, And come and save us!” (NKJV)
Isaiah 51:9 “Awake! Awake, arm of Yahweh! Put on strength! Awake like the days of old – the eternal generations. Were you not the one that cut Rahab to pieces, piercing the dragon?” (NAW, cf. Isaiah 42:13, Zech. 2:13)
Likewise, it is the LORD who “instructs/teaches” – not “dumb stone[s]:”
Psalm 25:8 “Goodness and righteousness characterize Yahweh, therefore He instructs sinners in His way… 12 Who is the man who respects Yahweh? He will teach this [man] in a way He will choose.” (NAW, cf. 32:8, 119:102)
Micah 4:2 “...Come and let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh - even to the house of the God of Jacob, so He may teach us from His ways and we may walk in His paths.” (NAW)
and what our Lord Jesus “teaches” (John 13:13-14) is not “lies/falsehoods” like the false prophets in Habakkuk 2:18; He teaches “good news” (Matt. 4:23), “truth” (Matt. 22:16), and the way of “eternal life” (Mark 10:17).
Although many English versions translate the verbal relationship between the stone and the gold and silver as “covered/overlaid,” this is not the Hebrew word usually used for gold- or silver-plating; instead Habakkuk uses the word for “seized/captured/caught11.” Habakkuk, instead of portraying the idol as a beautiful or valuable thing, portrays the idol as helplessly “trapped” within its own gold plating!
But it is not enough to get rid of idols. We must also worship the true and living God. Habakkuk begins in v.20 by confessing the existence of Yahweh, His holiness, the extent of His authority, and what we should do to worship Him.
Concerning God’s Existence: Unlike the idols – which are manmade, worthless, speechless, lifeless, and trapped within their own gold plating, verse 20 tells us that Yahweh is a real person with real existence.
Yahweh has the ability to make a plan to hold the world accountable to justice,
to come down from His temple and enact that plan,
to speak judgment against idolaters,
and to give eternal life to all who silence themselves in reverence toward Him.
Concerning God’s Holiness: Habakkuk says that this God is “in His holy temple” - literally “in the temple of His holiness.”
There are only seven other places in the Hebrew Old Testament where this “temple of God’s holiness” is mentioned, and they are pretty evenly split between references to the earthly tabernacle/temple in Jerusalem and the heavenly abode of God12.
But God’s “holy temple” in heaven came first and is the ultimate referent.
The book of Hebrews (8:5) tells us that the earthly temple was just a “shadow and type” of the original “heavenly” one.
And even Solomon recognized this when he dedicated the earthly temple he built for God. In 1 Kings 8:30 He prayed for God to “hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place [that is the earthly temple in Jerusalem, but, get this next phrase:]. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.” (NKJV, cf. Ps. 11:4)13
Here, Habakkuk contrasts the true God with idols. Idols all had their earthly temples, but God is set apart by having His temple in heaven.
So ultimately “the temple of God’s holiness” points us to heaven, where, as Matthew Henry put it, “God... has a temple above that is out of the reach of the... rage and malice [of the wicked], but [always] within the reach of his people's faith and prayers.”
“Holiness” means exclusivity in a personal relationship. It means perfection where all is right in relationship with God. Unlike idols which cannot speak, God offers personal relationship with mankind through His everlasting covenant of lovingkindness and justification through the substitutionary atonement of Christ.
That, incidentally, is why God now makes Christians His earthly “temple of holiness.”
Ephesians 2:18-22 “For through… Christ... you are... growing into a holy temple in the Lord… being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” (NKJV)
1 Cor. 3:17 “...the temple of God is holy, which is what you yourselves are.” (NAW)
Concerning the Extent of God’s authority: Habakkuk says in v.20 it is for “all the earth!”
Once again, in contrast to manmade gods that have limitations (like the craftsmen who made them), our LORD’s authority is unlimited. The god of Syria in 1 Kings 20:28 supposedly had power in valleys but not on hills, the modern Marvel heroes have only one superpower each, but Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and upon earth was given to me, therefore, go, disciple all the nations [in the world]” (Matt. 28:18-19, NAW)
Every man, woman, and child that has ever lived is accountable to God. So what must they do?
Keep silence before Him. Habakkuk uses 3 rare Hebrew words for “silence” in these 3 verses:
The first is in v.18 אִלְּמִים – describing “dumb/speechless/mute idols”
Every other use of this word describes human beings who are physically unable to talk.
The next is in v.19 דּוּמָם – describing “silent stone” idols:
Every other use of this word describes the silence of grief after a great loss
These first two words describe idols. They cannot speak; all they can do is bring shame.
And finally in v.20 הַס - “keep silence” – much like our English word “Hush/Shhh!”
This describes what people should do.
And not that the command is not merely to be quiet. You will not suddenly get right with God if you simply stop talking. We are to “hush before Him;” being in the presence of God is just as important as being “silent.”
It implies that people have been going about normal life and conversation, but they need to stop talking and pay attention to God instead because He is about to do or say something important.
In the case of Zephaniah, who lived at the same time as Habakkuk, the important thing that was about to happen was that God was about to come in judgment: Zephaniah 1:4-8 “I will stretch out My hand against Judah, And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, The names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests--Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the LORD, But who also swear by Milcom; Those who have turned back from following the LORD, And have not sought the LORD, nor inquired of Him. Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD; For the day of the LORD is at hand, For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests. And it shall be, In the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, That I will punish the princes…” (NKJV)
In the case of Zechariah, who lived later on after the Babylonian exile was over, the important thing that was about to happen was that God was about to end the punishment and bring blessing: Zechariah 2:10-13 “‘Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,’ says the LORD. ‘Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem. Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for He is aroused from His holy habitation!’”
Silence in the presence of God is a kind of “voluntary submission” to Him14: “[W]e submit to God, when we bring not our own inventions and imaginations, but suffer ourselves to be taught by his word. We also submit to him, when we murmur not against his power or his judgements, when we humble ourselves under his powerful hand, and do not fiercely resist him, as those do who indulge their own lusts.” ~J. Calvin, 1559 AD
This is what we must do!
Remember that Habakkuk was preaching to the Jews shortly before they were taken captive into the idolatrous city of Babylon. His messages may have warned them to repent of their own idolatry,
but over the next 70 years, Habakkuk’s prophecy also fortified faithful people to resist the pressures of idolatry in the Chaldean culture in which they had to be immersed during their exile, knowing the worthlessness of those idols and also knowing the judgment of God which would come upon those idol-worshipers.
We too live in a culture which has become oriented around idolatry, so we too can hold on to Habakkuk’s words and resist the pressures to conform to the world, knowing the worthlessness of idols and also knowing the judgment of God which is coming upon all who “worship the beast and its image” (Rev. )
Are you paying attention to what God is doing? Psalm 46:10 uses a synonymous command: “Be still [רפה] and know that it is I who am God. I will be exalted throughout the nations; I will be exalted throughout the earth!” (NAW)
Are you “in His presence” listening to His word? Do you seek to be in His presence through prayer, Bible study, worship, Christian fellowship, and day-to-day obedience?
Are you trusting in Jesus Christ to make you holy and part of His holy temple?
Will
you be part of his plan to “fill the earth” with those who know
His glory?
Psalm 96:3-5 “Declare His glory among the
nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the LORD is great and
greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all
the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the
heavens.” (NKJV)
Prayer by J. Calvin in his commentary on Hab. 2:19 “Grant, Almighty God, that as there is in us so little of right judgement, and as our minds are blind even at mid-day,—O grant, that thy Spirit may always shine in us, and that being attentive to the light of thy word, we may also keep to the right way through the whole course of our pilgrimage, and subject to thee both ourselves and every action of our life, so that we may not be led by any allurements into the same ruin with the ungodly, who would deceive and entrap us, and who lie in wait on every side; but that being ruled by the counsel of thy Spirit, we may beware of all their intrigues: and may we, especially as to our spiritual life, be so given up to thee alone, as ever to keep ourselves far away from the defilements of all people, and so remain in the pure worship of thy majesty, that the ungodly may never draw us away into the same delusions with themselves, by which Satan so mightily deceives them; but may we follow Him as our leader whom thou wouldst have to be our ruler, even Christ thy Son, until he at length gathers us all into that celestial kingdom which he has purchased for us by his own blood. Amen.”
DouayB (Vulgate) |
LXXC |
BrentonD (Vaticanus) |
KJVE |
NAW |
Masoretic HebrewF |
18 What doth the graven thing avail, because the maker thereof hath graven it, a molten, and a false image? because the forger thereof hath trusted in a thing of his own forging, to make dumb idols. |
18 Τί ὠφελεῖG γλυπτόν, ὅτι ἔγλυψαν αὐτό; ἔπλασανH αὐτὸ χώνευμα, XI φαντασίαν ψευδῆ, ὅτι πέποιθεν ὁ πλάσας ἐπὶ τὸ πλάσμα αὐτοῦ X XJ τοῦ ποιῆσαι εἴδωλα κωφά. |
18 What profit it the graven image, that they have graven it? one has made it a molten work, a false image; for the maker has trusted in his work, to make dumb idols. |
18 What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? |
18 How can a carved-image bring benefit when its craftsman has carved it? [The same goes for] a molten image and a teacher of falsehood. For the craftsman trusts upon his own craftsmanship to make mute idols. |
(יח) מָה הוֹעִיל פֶּסֶל כִּי פְסָלוֹK יֹצְרוֹ מַסֵּכָהL וּמוֹרֶהM שָּׁקֶר כִּי בָטַח יֹצֵרN יִצְרוֹ עָלָיו Oלַעֲשׂוֹת אֱלִילִים אִלְּמִיםP. |
19 Woe to him that saith to wood: Awake: to the dumb stone: Arise: X can it teach? Behold, X it is laid over with gold, and silver, and there is no spirit in the bowels thereof. |
19
οὐαὶ ὁ λέγων τῷ ξύλῳ
ἜκQνηψον
ἐξεγέρθητι, [καὶ
τῷ]
λίθῳ |
19
Woe to him that says to the wood, Awake,
arise; [and]
to [the]
stone, |
19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to [the] dumb stone, Arise, X it shall teach! Behold, X it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it. |
19 Woe to the one who says to wood, “Please become active!” – to silent stone, “Stir yourself up!” As for that, let it instruct! Look at it! It is bound up with gold and silver, and there isn’t any breath within it! |
(יט) הוֹי Uאֹמֵר לָעֵץ הָקִיצָהV עוּרִי לְאֶבֶן דּוּמָםW הוּא יוֹרֶהX הִנֵּה הוּאY תָּפוּשׂZ זָהָב וָכֶסֶף וְכָל רוּחַ אֵין בְּקִרְבּוֹ. |
20 But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him. |
20 ὁ δὲAA κύριοςAB ἐν ναῷ ἁγίῳ αὐτοῦ· εὐλαβείσθωAC ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ πᾶσα ἡ γῆ. |
20
But the Lord is in his holy temple: let
all the earth |
20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him. |
20 But Yahweh is in the temple of His holiness; let all the earth hush before Him. |
(כ) וַיהוָה בְּהֵיכַל קָדְשׁוֹAD AEהַס AFמִפָּנָיו כָּל הָאָרֶץ. |
1Underlining in scripture quotations indicates correspondence with a key word or phrase in the Masoretic Hebrew or Septuagint Greek text of this sermon passage.
2“Habakkuk 2:18-19 contain a concise summary of the reproaches heaped upon idolatry in Isaiah 44:9-20; but they are formed quite independently, without any evident allusions to that passage.” ~C.F. Keil See also Isa. 40:19-26, 42:17.
3χαράγματι - Compare to the synonym in the LXX of Hab. 2:18 ἔγλυψαν.
4εἰκόνος – compare to εἴδωλα in the LXX of Hab. 2:18.
5Ἄφωνα – compare with the synonym in the LXX of Hab. 2:8 κωφά.
6Εικονα (Rev. 13:14,15; 14:9,11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4) – compare with εἴδωλα in the LXX of Hab. 2:18.
7It was argued by Popes that these images are “laymen’s books,” useful in teaching Christian doctrine to the illiterate. During the Reformation, Protestant churches removed such items from their church buildings as idolatrous.
8Calvin (following Abarbanel and Kimchi and followed by Keil) also attempted to equate the “teacher of falsehood” with the “image” itself, but contradicted himself in the next sentence when he explained that “men think idols to be gods” because of “the teaching of falsehood,” which admits of human teachers. Pusey noted that “It is all one whether by teacher of lies we understand the idol or its priest.”
9Thus Ibn Ezra & Tanchum interpreted it.
10קומה, a synonym to עוּרִי in Hab. 2:19.
1113th Century Jewish lexicographer Tanchum was quoted by 19th century Oxford Regius Professor of Hebrew E. B. Pusey as commenting, “Here it means ‘surrounds,’.. as if it held it on every side.” Cf. Keil “encased”
12Earthly tabernacle: Psalm 5:7, 79:1, 138:2, Jonah 2:4 || Heaven: Psalm 11:4, Micah 1:2, Jonah 2:7 (cf. 1 Ki. 8:30)
13I am indebted to Pusey for bringing this verse up in his commentary. Cf. Keil: “[E]nthroned in His holy temple, i.e., not the earthly temple at Jerusalem, but the heavenly temple, or the temple as the throne of the divine glory (Isa. 66:1), as in Micah 1:2, whence God will appear to judge the world…”
14Calvin took the position in his commentary that Habakkuk was writing of God’s power to “easily by his hand subjugate... all the tumults made by kings and their people... by one breath of his mouth, dissipate all their attempts, however furious they may be. This, then, is the silence of which the Prophet now speaks.” But he acknowledged that Christians may apply this silence in “voluntary submission” to God, and that is the context of the quote above. Henry took a similar position, but Keil took the position I did: “[A]ll the population of the earth, is to be still before Him, i.e., to submit silently to Him, and wait for His judgment.”
AMy
original chart includes the following copyrighted English versions:
NASB, NIV, ESV, Bauscher’s version of the Peshitta, and Cathcart’s
version of the Targums, but I remove these columns from my public,
non-copyrighted edition of this chart so as not to infringe on their
copyrights. NAW is my translation. When a translation adds words not
in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use
of italics or greyed-out text, I put the added words in [square
brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different
from all the other translations, I underline it. When a
version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs
too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far
from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout.
And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I
insert an X. I also place an X at the end of a word if the original
word is plural but the English translation is singular. I
occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between
the various editions and versions when there are more than two
different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea
Scrolls containing Habakkuk 2 are 4Q82 (containing part of verse 4
and dated between 30-1 BC), the Nahal Hever Greek scroll
(containing parts of vs. 1-7 & 13-20 and dated around 25BC), the
1QpHab scroll with commentary (dated between 50-100 BC), and the
Wadi Muraba’at Scroll (containing parts of verses 2-11 & 18-20
and dated around 135 AD). Where the DSS is legible and in agreement
with the MT, the MT is colored purple.
Where the DSS supports the LXX/Vulgate/Peshitta with omissions or
text not in the MT, I have highlighted
with yellow the
versions which support this departure from the MT, and where I have
accepted that into my NAW translation, I have marked it with
/forward and backward slashes\.
BDouay Old Testament first published by the English College at Douay, A.D. 1609, Revised and Diligently Compared with the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner, Published in 1582, 1609, 1752. As published on E-Sword.
C“Septuagint” Greek Old Testament, edited by Alfred Rahlfs. Published in 1935. As published on E-Sword.
DEnglish translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, 1851, “based upon the text of the Vaticanus” but not identical to the Vaticanus. As published electronically by E-Sword.
E1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain. As published electronically by E-Sword.
FFrom
the Wiki Hebrew Bible
https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%9B%D7%94_%D7%90/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%AA.
DSS text comes from https://downloads.thewaytoyahuweh.com
except 1QpHab, which comes from Matt Christian
https://www.academia.edu/37256916/1QpHab_Transcription_and_Translation
(accessed Aug 2024).
GLXX renders this verb present tense, but DSS Nahal Hever (N.H.) rendered it future tense. Either is permissible, since the Hebrew imperfect tense is used to indicate both present and future.
HLXX uses an indicative form whereas N.H. used a participle with a definite article. There is no substantial difference in meaning. MT punctuates this differently, disassociating this word with the word for “mold.”
IN.H. writes a conjunction here, matching the MT.
JN.H. does not omit the phrase “upon him” (επ αυτο) which is in the MT but not the LXX.
K1Qp and Peshitta leave off the 3ms suffix to this word, but it doesn’t change the meaning. The other two DSS (N.H. and W.M.) both have the suffix, as do the Vulgate, LXX, and Targums - “carved it.”
LCalvin asserted that this “melted” item was the next step of gold-plating after the “carving” of the carved image, but Matthew Henry and C.F. Keil asserted that they were two different kinds of idols, one of wood and one of metal. The parallelism here would support them being either the same item by two names or two different things of the same class of items.
M1Qp ends this word with a yod, but MT and W.M. DSS end it with a tav. Davidson indicates that the yod ending would have to mean a 1s pronoun (“my” – which nobody seems to think is the case), so perhaps it could be a construct spelling. Owens labeled the MT form as a construct (which seems to be the way the Targums, KJV, NASB, and ESV interpreted it), but OSHB and Westminster labeled it absolute (which seems to be the way the LXX and NIV interpreted it). It is feminine, therefore it is not the same as the masculine “teacher of falsehood” (contrary to Abarbanel, Kimchi, Calvin, Keil, and the NIV – which follow Jer. 10 rather than the wording of Hab. 2). Rather, it is in parallel to the first phrase so that the meaning should be supplied by ellipsis: “How can a carved-image bring benefit when its craftsman has carved it? [How can] a molten image also [bring benefit to] a teacher of falsehood?”
NCuriously, both the Peshitta and Targums read “heart” instead of “creation/[handi]work,” while all the other ancient manuscripts (including all three known DSS) support the MT.
O“[T]he preposition ל before an infinitive has sometimes the meaning of ‘after.’ See Exodus 19:1, ‘When he has made,’ etc., is the rendering of Grotius.” ~Owen of Thrussington
PRare word only used 5 other places (Ex. 4:11; Ps. 38:14; Prov. 31:8; Isa. 35:6; 56:10) – none of which describe idols.
QThis letter is a γ in the N.H., but it is a related letter which doesn’t change the meaning, only the sound.
RN.H. reads σιωπων “quiet,” like the MT. It also does not insert a conjunction afterwards like the LXX does.
SN.H. uses the synonym σεσαγμενον (“having dragged?”)
TN.H. includes the word μεζω “midst” (cf. Aquila εγκαστοις) in a more word-for-word translation of the MT, but the meaning is not essentially different.
U1Qp appears to have added a definite article to this participle (“the one who says”), but that addition is also in the Nahal Hever (the W.M. is obliterated at this point), and the Vulgate could be construed to be in support as well (the Aramaic versions not so much). It doesn’t make any difference in the meaning, though.
VPsalms 35:23, 44:23, and 59:5 teach us that we should instead say “Awake” to the One True God! Masoretic cantillation places disjunctive punctuation here, associating the next word “Arouse yourself” with the “stone” rather than with the “wood.” The Latin and Aramaic and English versions followed this punctuation, but the LXX did not.
WThe last letter of this word is unclear in 1Qp. Some think it is a he, but it could just as well be a final mem, the latter of which would match the MT and not be a variant. It is a rare word for “silence,” only found in two other places in the HOT (Isa. 47:5; Lam. 3:26), both connoting grief and loss.
XThe ancient Aramaic versions, Calvin, Henderson, Grotius, Henry, Pusey, and the Geneva and KJV Bibles did not translate this as a question because the Hebrew contains no interrogative. (“[W]ere there no one to instruct you, yet the wood and the stone would be sufficient teachers to you... the god that is made of wood or of stone, sufficiently declares by his silence that he is no god... they are teachers sufficient for you, provided ye be apt scholars.” ~Calvin) All the modern English versions followed the Vulgate (and Newcome and Keil) by making it a question of ridicule: “Can such a thing even teach?” Owen of Thrussington and the NLT, however, followed the LXX by interpreting this phrase as what idolaters say to their rock (“It will teach.”), but the third person pronoun and verb would have to be said to another person, not “to” the rock, so most versions have followed the Masoretic punctuation instead which makes this clause separate from what was said to the rock.
YThis pronoun is emphatic, like the one in the previous phrase. They seem to connote disdain: “...This? This teaches? This? It is seized up in gold and silver!” (cf. Henderson)
ZAlthough many English versions translate this word as “covered/overlaid,” this is not the word usually used for gold- or silver-plating. (That would be צפה, found in Exodus 25:11-28; 26:29,37; 30:3-5.) This is the word normally used for “handled/seized/caught.”
AAN.H. uses the synonymous conjunction και instead. The Hebrew conjunction is the all-purpose one, not the specifically disjunctive one, so it is merely a matter of interpretation and another evidence that the Nahal Hever is a distinct translation and not a copy of the LXX.
ABN.H. spells this word with paleo-Hebrew letters YHWH instead of with Greek letters for LORD.
ACN.H. uses the synonym σιωπησον (“be silent”). The LXX interprets this silence as “respect/keeping proper decorum.”
ADThis “temple” of God’s “holiness” only occurs here and in Psalm 5:7 (“But as for me, through an abundance of your lovingkindness I will go to Your house; I will bow down toward the temple of Your holiness in awe of You.”), Psalm 138:2 (“I will worship toward the temple of Your holiness and respond to Your name concerning Your lovingkindness and concerning Your truth…”), Psalm 11:4 (“Yahweh is in the temple of His holiness. As for Yahweh, His throne is in the heavens. His eyes see; His gazes will test Adam's descendants.”), Micah 1:2 (“Listen, all you peoples, and be attentive, O earth and all that fills it, for Yahweh the Master will become a witness among y'all from the temple of His holiness.”), Jonah 2:4&7 (“...I have been driven away from before Your eyes, but I will again look to the temple of Your holiness… While my life was fading out over me, I remembered Yahweh; so my prayer came to You – to the temple of Your holiness.”), and Psalm 79:1 (“<A Psalm of Asaph.> O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance; Your holy temple they have defiled; They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.”).
AEThis interjection only occurs in 6 other places in the HOT (Jdg. 3:19; Neh. 8:11; Amos 6:10; 8:3; Zeph. 1:7; Zech. 2:17), the latter two of which are similar to Habakkuk’s use. Cf. Lehrman in the Soncino Books of the Bible, “The silence of hushed expectancy of God’s intervention… link[ing] with the next chapter.”
AF1Qp inserts an extra lamed preposition in this word (lit. “from before his face”), but it isn’t in the other two DSS, and besides, it doesn’t change the meaning, since it already has the abbreviated form of the word for “before.”