Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Habakkuk 2:18 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 18. 18What 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?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse asks what benefit a carved or molten image and lying teacher can give its trusting maker.
A maker trusts a breathless teacher
This verse is one part of that explanation in Habakkuk 2:18-20. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Habakkuk 2:18-20
Read Habakkuk 2:18 with 2:18-20. This verse asks what benefit a carved or molten image and lying teacher can give its trusting maker. The full unit establishes this movement: Manufactured, decorated idols cannot speak, breathe, teach, or awaken; the living LORD is in his holy temple, so the whole earth is summoned to silence rather than trusting human-made power.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The woes end by contrasting powerless crafted gods with the living LORD, moving the book from taunt into reverent prayer. Within that movement, this verse asks what benefit a carved or molten image and lying teacher can give its trusting maker.
What Remains True
A product cannot become an infallible source merely because its maker trusts it.
How It Can Shape Life
- Keep human-made systems open to correction.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Habakkuk 2:18-20 — Fifth Woe: Breathless Idols and the Living LORDSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The exact syntax connecting maker, teacher, and trust permits different arrangements.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed Scripture, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and canonical verse coverage.
Exact location: Habakkuk 2:18-20, repository-pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Habakkuk
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, repeated terms, clause relationships, and base forms behind translation discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Hab.xml, 2:18-20
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Habakkuk with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, Hebrew, text-critical, literary, historical, and uncertainty notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Habakkuk PDF, printed pp. 1774, translation and notes on 2:18-20
Open source ↗