Habakkuk 2:12 (DRB)

Passage

Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and prepareth a city by iniquity.

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 2:10 Thou hast devised confusion to thy house, thou hast cut off many people, and thy soul hath sinned.

Habakkuk 2:11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall: and the timber that is between the joints of the building, shall answer.

Habakkuk 2:12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and prepareth a city by iniquity.

Habakkuk 2:13 Are not these things from the Lord of hosts? for the people shall labour in a great fire: and the nations in vain, and they shall faint.

Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth shall be filled, that men may know the glory of the Lord, as waters covering the sea.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "buildeth", "town", "blood", "prepareth", "city", and "iniquity". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "buildeth" and "town", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "For the stone shall cry out of..." into verse 13's "Are not these things from the Lord...", so "buildeth" and "town" 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 "buildeth" and "town" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.