Habakkuk 2:7 (ASV)

Passage

Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booty unto them?

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 2:5 Yea, moreover, wine is treacherous, a haughty man, that keepeth not at home; who enlargeth his desire as Sheol, and he is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all peoples.

Habakkuk 2:6 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and that ladeth himself with pledges!

Habakkuk 2:7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booty unto them?

Habakkuk 2:8 Because thou hast plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder thee, because of men`s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all that dwell therein.

Habakkuk 2:9 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!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "rise", "suddenly", "bite", "thee", and "awake". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "rise", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "Shall not all these take up a..." into verse 8's "Because thou hast plundered many nations all...", so "shall" and "rise" belong inside that flow. In Habakkuk context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "rise" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.