Habakkuk 2:13 (KJV)

Passage

Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 2:11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

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

Habakkuk 2:13 Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?

Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Habakkuk 2:15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "behold", "lord", "hosts", "people", "shall", "labour", "very", and "fire". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "behold" and "lord", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "Woe to him that buildeth a town..." into verse 14's "For the earth shall be filled with...", so "behold" and "lord" 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 "behold" and "lord" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.