Habakkuk 2:9 (ASV)

Passage

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!

Nearby Context

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!

Habakkuk 2:10 Thou hast devised shame to thy house, by cutting off many peoples, and hast sinned against thy soul.

Habakkuk 2:11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "getteth", "evil", "gain", "house", "nest", "high", "delivered", and "hand". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "getteth" and "evil", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Because thou hast plundered many nations all..." into verse 10's "Thou hast devised shame to thy house...", so "getteth" and "evil" 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 "getteth" and "evil" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.