Habakkuk 1:10 (GNV)

Passage

And they shall mocke the Kings, and the princes shalbe a skorne vnto them: they shall deride euery strong holde: for they shall gather dust, and take it.

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 1:8 Their horses also are swifter then the leopards, and are more fierce then the wolues in the euening: and their horsemen are many: and their horsemen shall come from farre: they shall flie as the eagle hasting to meate.

Habakkuk 1:9 They come all to spoyle: before their faces shalbe an Eastwinde, and they shall gather the captiuitie, as the sand.

Habakkuk 1:10 And they shall mocke the Kings, and the princes shalbe a skorne vnto them: they shall deride euery strong holde: for they shall gather dust, and take it.

Habakkuk 1:11 Then shall they take a courage, and transgresse and doe wickedly, imputing this their power vnto their god.

Habakkuk 1:12 Art thou not of olde, O Lord my God, mine holy one? we shall not die: O Lord, thou hast ordeined them for iudgement, and O God, thou hast established them for correction.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "mocke", "kings", "princes", "shalbe", "skorne", and "vnto". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "mocke", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "They come all to spoyle before their..." into verse 11's "Then shall they take a courage and...", so "shall" and "mocke" 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 "mocke" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.