Habakkuk 2:18 (GNV)

Passage

What profiteth the image? for the maker thereof hath made it an image, and a teacher of lies, though he that made it, trust therein, when he maketh dumme idoles.

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 2:16 Thou art filled with shame for glorie: drinke thou also, and be made naked: the cup of the Lords right hand shall be turned vnto thee, and shamefull spuing shalbe for thy glory.

Habakkuk 2:17 For the crueltie of Lebanon shall couer thee: so shall the spoyle of the beastes, which made them afraide, because of mens blood, and for the wrong done in the land, in the citie, and vnto all that dwell therein.

Habakkuk 2:18 What profiteth the image? for the maker thereof hath made it an image, and a teacher of lies, though he that made it, trust therein, when he maketh dumme idoles.

Habakkuk 2:19 Wo vnto him that sayth to the wood, Awake, and to the dumme stone, Rise vp, it shall teach thee: beholde, it is layde ouer with golde and siluer, and there is no breath in it.

Habakkuk 2:20 But the Lord is in his holy Temple: let all the earth keepe silence before him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "profiteth", "image", "maker", "thereof", "hath", "teacher", and "lies". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "profiteth" and "image", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "For the crueltie of Lebanon shall couer..." into verse 19's "Wo vnto him that sayth to the...", so "profiteth" and "image" 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 "profiteth" and "image" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.