Habakkuk 2:8 (DBY)

Passage

Because thou hast plundered many nations, all the rest of the peoples shall plunder thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence [done] to the land, to the city, and all that dwell therein.

Nearby Context

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

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

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

Habakkuk 2:9 Woe to him that getteth iniquitous gain to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the grasp of evil!

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "hast", "plundered", "nations", "rest", "peoples", and "shall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "hast", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "Shall they not rise up suddenly that..." into verse 9's "Woe to him that getteth iniquitous gain...", so "thou" and "hast" 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 "thou" and "hast" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.