Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Habakkuk 2:7 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 7. 7Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse asks whether those who bite or exact debts will rise suddenly and shake the oppressor.
The plundered take up the how long
This verse is one part of that explanation in Habakkuk 2:6-8. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Habakkuk 2:6-8
Read Habakkuk 2:7 with 2:6-8. This verse asks whether those who bite or exact debts will rise suddenly and shake the oppressor. The full unit establishes this movement: The peoples plundered by the insatiable conqueror taunt him: accumulated goods and oppressive debt cannot secure him, because survivors of his violence will become the agents or witnesses of reversal.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The first woe answers conquest at its economic point: taking from many does not create permanent possession but builds the case for reversal. Within that movement, this verse asks whether those who bite or exact debts will rise suddenly and shake the oppressor.
Read Habakkuk 2:6–8 together
Why these verses belong together: The first woe moves from plundered peoples' taunt to sudden reversal and its explicit reason.
Verse 6. 6 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!
Verse 7. 7 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?
Verse 8. 8 Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
What Remains True
Coercive advantage can reverse quickly.
How It Can Shape Life
- Build restitution and oversight before victims' claims are ignored.
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 2:6-8 — First Woe: Plunder Turns on the PlundererSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Creditor language may be literal, metaphorical, or deliberately double.
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 2:6-8, 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, 2:6-8
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. 1772, translation and notes on 2:6-8
Open source ↗