Habakkuk 2:19 (KJV)

Passage

Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 2:17 For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.

Habakkuk 2:18 What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?

Habakkuk 2:19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

Habakkuk 2:20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "saith", "wood", "awake", "dumb", "stone", "arise", "shall", and "teach". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "saith" and "wood", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "What profiteth the graven image that the..." into verse 20's "But the LORD is in his holy...", so "saith" and "wood" 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 "saith" and "wood" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.