Habakkuk 2:7 (DRB)

Passage

Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee: and they be stirred up that shall tear thee, and thou shalt be a spoil to them?

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 2:5 And as wine deceiveth him that drinketh it: so shall the proud man be, and he shall not be honoured: who hath enlarged his desire like hell: and is himself like death, and he is never satisfied: but will gather together unto him all nations, and heap together unto him all people.

Habakkuk 2:6 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a dark speech concerning him: and it shall be said: Woe to him that heapeth together that which is not his own? how long also doth he load himself with thick clay?

Habakkuk 2:7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee: and they be stirred up that shall tear thee, and thou shalt be a spoil to them?

Habakkuk 2:8 Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all that shall be left of the people shall spoil thee: because of men's blood, and for the iniquity of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.

Habakkuk 2:9 Woe to him that gathereth together an evil covetousness to his house, that his nest may be on high, and thinketh he may be delivered out of the hand of evil.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "rise", "suddenly", "bite", "thee", and "stirred". 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 spoiled 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.