Habakkuk 2:12 (WEB)

Passage

Woe to him who builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity!

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 2:10 You have devised shame to your house, by cutting off many peoples, and have sinned against your soul.

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

Habakkuk 2:12 Woe to him who builds a town with blood, and establishes a city by iniquity!

Habakkuk 2:13 Behold, isn’t it of Yahweh of Armies that the peoples labor for the fire, and the nations weary themselves for vanity?

Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Yahweh’s glory, as the waters cover the sea.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "builds", "town", "blood", "establishes", "city", and "iniquity". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "builds" and "town", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "For the stone will cry out of..." into verse 13's "Behold isn t it of Yahweh of...", so "builds" and "town" 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 "builds" and "town" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.