Habakkuk 2:17

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.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The prophet Habakkuk pronounces this oracle against Babylon, extending the judgment sequence that began in chapter 1. The declaration follows the warning that the oppressor will be filled with shame and forced to drink from the cup in the LORD’s right hand (Habakkuk 2:16).

The words — The text emphasizes חֲמַ֤ס (cha.Mas), translated as violence, and לְבָנוֹן֙ (le.va.nOn), which names Lebanon. It also features בְּהֵמ֖וֹת (be.he.Mot), literally meaning animals or wild beasts.

The thread — The pattern of violent plunder meeting violent retribution runs through Habakkuk 2:8, where bloodshed against men triggers reciprocal plunder. The judgment imagery against Lebanon parallels Zechariah 11:1, while the focus on bloodshed aligns with Psalms 55:23.

Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to accept that oppression against people and land inevitably produces reciprocal devastation. It demands a clear-eyed recognition that violent power cannot escape the consequences of its own brutality.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

כִּ֣יkifor חֲמַ֤סcha.Mas[the] violence of לְבָנוֹן֙le.va.nOnLebanon יְכַסֶּ֔ךָּye.kha.Se./kait will cover/ you וְשֹׁ֥דve./Shodand/ [the] devastation of בְּהֵמ֖וֹתbe.he.Motanimals יְחִיתַ֑ןye.chi.Ta/nit will terrify/ them מִדְּמֵ֤יmi./de.Meifrom/ [the] blood<s> of אָדָם֙'a.Damhumankind וַחֲמַס־va./cha.mas-and/ [the] violence of אֶ֔רֶץ'E.retz[the] land of קִרְיָ֖הkir.Yah[the] town וְכָל־ve./kholand/ all יֹ֥שְׁבֵיYo.she.vei[those who] dwellבָֽהּ׃ סVa/hin/ it

King James Version

For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.

Cross-references

Habakkuk 2:8 Because 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.
Psalms 55:23 But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
Zechariah 11:1 Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may consume your cedars!
Psalms 137:8 O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, blessed is he who repays you as you have done to us.
Proverbs 28:17 A man burdened by bloodguilt will flee into the Pit; let no one support him.
Jeremiah 50:28 Listen to the fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon, declaring in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance for His temple.
Jeremiah 50:33 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “The sons of Israel are oppressed, and the sons of Judah as well. All their captors hold them fast, refusing to release them.
Jeremiah 51:24 Before your very eyes I will repay Babylon and all the dwellers of Chaldea for all the evil they have done in Zion,” declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 51:34 “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me. He has set me aside like an empty vessel; he has swallowed me like a monster; he filled his belly with my delicacies and vomited me out.
Revelation 18:20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced for you His judgment against her.