properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
said
וַיֹּ֔אמֶרvai.Yo.mer
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Write
כְּת֣וֹבke.Tov
H3789
to grave · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
vision
חָז֔וֹןcha.Zon
H2377
a sight (mentally) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
plain
וּבָאֵ֖רu.va.'Er
H874
to dig · conjunction + verb, piel imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
tables
הַלֻּח֑וֹתha.lu.Chot
H3871
probably meaning to glisten · definite article + noun, common feminine plural absolute
run
יָר֖וּץya.Rutz
H7323
to run (for whatever reason · verb, qal jussive, 3rd person masculine singular
readeth
ק֥וֹרֵאKo.re'
H7121
to call out to (i.e. properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Isaiah 30:8 Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, th…
Revelation 1:18-19 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Deuteronomy 31:22 Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.
Revelation 21:5-8 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Daniel 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be inc…
Deuteronomy 27:8 And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.
Isaiah 8:1 Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Habakkuk 2:1-4
Here, I. The prophet humbly gives his attendance upon God (Hab 2:1): "I will stand upon my watch, as a sentinel on the walls of a besieged city, or on the borders of an invaded country, that is very solicitous to gain intelligence. I will look up, will look round, will look within, and watch to see what he will say unto me, will listen attentively to the words of his mouth and carefully observe the steps of his providence, that I may not lose the least hint of instruction or direction. I will watch to see what he will say in me" (so it may be read), "what the Spirit of prophecy in me will dictate to me, by way of answer to my complaints." Even in a ordinary way, God not only speaks to us by…
Write the vision--which I am about to reveal to thee.
make it plain-- (Deu 27:8). In large legible characters.
upon tables--boxwood tables covered with wax, on which national affairs were engraved with an iron pen, and then hung up in public, at the prophets own houses, or at the temple, that those who passed might read them. Compare Luk 1:63, "writing table," that is, tablet.
that he may run that readeth it--commonly explained, "so intelligible as to be easily read by any one running past"; but then it would be, that he that runneth may read it. The true sense is, "so legible that whoever readeth it, may run to tell all whom he can the good news of the foe's coming doom, and Judah's d…
Write the vision - Carefully take down all that I shall say.
Make it plain upon tables - Write it in a full plain, legible hand.
That he may run that readeth it - That he who attentively peruses it may speed to save his life from the irruption of the Chaldeans, by which so many shall be cut off. The prophet does not mean that the words are to be made so plain, that a man running by may easily read them, and catch their meaning. This interpretation has been frequently given; and it has been incautiously applied to the whole of the Bible: "God's book is so plain, that he that runs may read;" but it is very foolish: God never intends that his words shall be understood by the careless. He that r…
The Church Fathers
Of what else than the advent of Christ, who was to come, is Habakkuk understood to say, "And the Lord answered me, and said, 'Write the vision openly on a tablet of boxwood so that the one who reads these things may understand.' " For the vision is yet for a time appointed, and it will arise in the end, and it will not become void. If it delays, wait for it, because it will surely come and will not be delayed.
You are perhaps distressed that you are driven outside the walls, but you shall dwell under the protection of the God of heaven. The angel who watches over the church has gone out with you. So they lie down in empty places day by day, bringing upon themselves heavy judgment as seen in the dispersion of the people. And, if in all this there is sorrow to be borne, I trust in the Lord that it will not be without its use to you. Therefore, the more have been your trials, look for a more perfect reward from your last judge. Do not take your present troubles ill. Do not lose hope. Yet a little while and your helper will come to you and will not tarry.
"[The Lord] who keeps the truth forever." If we are crushed by falsehood and deceit, let us not grieve over it. The Lord is the guardian of truth for all eternity. Someone has lied against us, and the liar is given more credence than we who are telling the truth. We must not despair. The Lord keeps faith forever. Aptly said, "keeps." He keeps truth and keeps it in his own treasury; he pays back to us what he has stored away for us. "Who keeps truth forever." Christ is truth; let us speak truth, and truth will safeguard truth for us. "[The Lord] secures justice for the oppressed." Even if justice delays its coming, do not give up hope; "it will surely come," and bring salvation, securing justice for the oppressed. May our conscience testify only that we are not suffering on account of our sins and that we are not guilty of the charge brought against us.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Prophets · Predictions of: Written on tables and fixed up in some public place — Predictions of: Written on tables and fixed up in some public place
Table · 4. A slab upon which inscriptions were ma — 4. A slab upon which inscriptions were ma
Vision · 89:19; — 89:19;
Visions · Often recorded for the benefit of the people — Often recorded for the benefit of the people
Zeal, Religious · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
And the Lord answered me,.... As he does his ministers and people sooner or later, in one way or another, when they call upon him with humility and reverence, with faith and fervency:
and said, Write the vision; which the prophet now had from him, concerning the coming of the Messiah, and the destruction of the enemies of the church and people of God: and this he has orders to "write"; not only to tell it to the people then present, for their particular information and satisfaction; but to write it, that it may be read over and over, and that it may remain, and be of use in times to come:
and make it plain upon tables, engrave it in plain legible letters on tables of wood; on box tree, as…
Habakkuk 2:2, 3
2. And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
2. Et respondit mihi Jehova et dixit, Scribe visionem, et explana super tabulas, ut currat legens in ea:
3. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
3. Quia adhue visio ad tempus statutum, et loquetur ad finem, et non mentietur; si moram fecerit, expecta eam; quia veniendo veniet, et non tardabit.
The Prophet now shows by his own example that there is no fear but that God will give help in time, provided we bring our minds to a…
Hab 2:1-3 form the introduction to the word of God, which the prophet receives in reply to his cry of lamentation addressed to the Lord in Hab 1:12-17. Hab 2:1. "I will stand upon my watchtower, and station myself upon the fortress, and will watch to see what He will say in me, and what I answer to my complaint. Hab 2:2. Then Jehovah answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon the tables, that he may run who reads it. Hab 2:3. For the vision is yet fore the appointed end, and strives after the end, and does not lie: if it tarry, wait for it; for it will come, it does not fail." Hab 2:1 contains the prophet's conversation with himself. After he has poured out his trouble a…
God responds to Habakkuk’s second complaint (1:12–2:1) without explaining why he chose to use the Babylonians. Rather, he assures Habakkuk that all violence and injustice will be punished.
2:2-5 Habakkuk’s mission was to make it clear to people that even if God’s justice seems slow in coming, it will come.
2:2 God instructs the prophet to write the message (literally vision) plainly so that it will be understood, preserved, and shared with others.
Rashi on Habakkuk 2:2
And the Lord answered me and said: Write for yourself the vision that will be revealed to you, and explain it well on the tablets so that one may read it swiftly. And this is the vision that you shall write.
