Habakkuk 1:11 (YLT)

Passage

Then passed on hath the spirit, Yea, he doth transgress, And doth ascribe this his power to his god.

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 1:9 Wholly for violence it doth come in, Their faces swallowing up the east wind, And it doth gather as the sand a captivity.

Habakkuk 1:10 And at kings it doth scoff, And princes <FI>are<Fi> a laughter to it, At every fenced place it doth laugh, And it heapeth up dust, and captureth it.

Habakkuk 1:11 Then passed on hath the spirit, Yea, he doth transgress, And doth ascribe this his power to his god.

Habakkuk 1:12 Art not Thou of old, O Jehovah, my God, my Holy One? We do not die, O Jehovah, For judgment Thou hast appointed it, And, O Rock, for reproof Thou hast founded it.

Habakkuk 1:13 Purer of eyes than to behold evil, To look on perverseness Thou art not able, Why dost Thou behold the treacherous? Thou keepest silent when the wicked Doth swallow the more righteous than he,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "passed", "hath", "doth", "transgress", "ascribe", and "power". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "passed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "And at kings it doth scoff And..." into verse 12's "Art not Thou of old O Jehovah...", so "Spirit" and "passed" 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 "Spirit" and "passed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.