Habakkuk 2:6 (WEB)

Passage

Won’t all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases that which is not his, and who enriches himself by extortion! How long?’

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith.

Habakkuk 2:5 Yes, moreover, wine is treacherous. A haughty man who doesn’t stay at home, who enlarges his desire as Sheol, and he is like death, and can’t be satisfied, but gathers to himself all nations, and heaps to himself all peoples.

Habakkuk 2:6 Won’t all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases that which is not his, and who enriches himself by extortion! How long?’

Habakkuk 2:7 Won’t your debtors rise up suddenly, and wake up those who make you tremble, and you will be their victim?

Habakkuk 2:8 Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples will plunder you, because of men’s blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city and to all who dwell in it.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "take", "parable", "against", "taunting", "proverb", "increases", and "enriches". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "take" and "parable", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "Yes moreover wine is treacherous A haughty..." into verse 7's "Won t your debtors rise up suddenly...", so "take" and "parable" 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 "take" and "parable" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.