Habakkuk 2:4

Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
soul	נַפְשׁ֖וֹ naf.Sho	H5315	properly · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
up	עֻפְּלָ֔ה 'u.pe.Lah	H6075	to swell · verb, pual perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
upright	יָשְׁרָ֥ה ya.she.Rah	H3474	to be straight or even · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
just	וְצַדִּ֖יק ve.tza.Dik	H6662	just · conjunction + adjective, masculine singular absolute
live	יִחְיֶֽה yich.Yeh	H2421	to live · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
faith	בֶּאֱמוּנָת֥וֹ be.'e.mu.na.To	H530	literally firmness · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

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

Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Galatians 3:11-12 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that w…
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on hi…
1 John 5:10-12 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not th…
Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he tha…
Daniel 4:37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk i…

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…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Habakkuk 2:4

his soul which is lifted up--the Chaldean's [MAURER]. The unbelieving Jew's [HENDERSON]. is not upright in him--that is, is not accounted upright in God's sight; in antithesis to "shall live." So Heb 10:38, which with inspired authority applies the general sense to the particular case which Paul had in view, "If any man draw back (one result of being 'lifted up' with overweening arrogancy), my soul shall have no pleasure in him." the just shall live by his faith--the Jewish nation, as opposed to the unbelieving Chaldean (compare Hab 2:5, &c.; Hab 1:6, &c.; Hab 1:13) [MAURER]. HENDERSON'S view is that the believing Jew is meant, as opposed to the unbelieving Jew (compare Rom 1:17; Gal 3:1…

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Adam Clarke on Habakkuk 2:4

Behold, his soul which is lifted up - He that presumes on his safety without any special warrant from God, is a proud man; and whatever he may profess, or think of himself, his mind is not upright in him. But he that is just by faith shall live - he that believes what God hath said relative to the Chaldeans besieging Jerusalem, shall make his escape from the place, and consequently shall save his life. The words in the New Testament are accommodated to the salvation which believers in Christ shall possess. Indeed, the just - the true Christians, who believed in Jesus Christ's words relative to the destruction of Jerusalem, when they found the Romans coming against it, left the city, and esca…

The Church Fathers

"But the righteous one will live from my faith." So even if someone should be uncertain in their trust in the future and doubt if it will really happen, such a one is very much the object of dislike to me, because I define a righteous person as one who trusts in the promises and gets benefit from them.
— Theodore of Mopsuestia, COMMENTARY ON HABAKKUK 2:1-4

Therefore pride is contrary to this justice of God, because it puts its trust in its own works. Thus the psalm continues, "Let not the foot of pride come to me." This justice is the grace of the New Testament, by which the faithful are just, while they live by faith, until, by the perfection of justice, they are brought to the face-to-face vision, as they are also equally brought to immortality of the body itself, by the perfection of salvation.
— Augustine of Hippo, LETTER 140:30

And hence Tobias also, while instructing his son in the precepts of godliness, says, "Give alms of your substance, and turn not your face from any poor man. So shall it come to pass that the face of God shall not be turned from you." This virtue makes all virtues profitable, for by its precepts it gives life to that very faith by which "the just lives" and which is said to be "dead without works." As the reason for works consists in faith, so the strength of faith consists in works.
— Leo the Great, SERMON 10:4

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

Character · .Just — .Just
Character Of Saints · Just — Just
Justification · 23:6; — 23:6;
Justification Before God · By faith: Revealed under the Old Testament age — By faith: Revealed under the Old Testament age
Pride · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Titles And Names Of Saints · Just, The — Just, The
Uprightness · The wicked: Have not, in heart — The wicked: Have not, in heart

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).

Habakkuk 2:4

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Habakkuk 2:1-4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Habakkuk 2:4

Adam Clarke on Habakkuk 2:4

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Habakkuk 2:4

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Habakkuk 2:1-4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Habakkuk 2:4

Adam Clarke on Habakkuk 2:4

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Habakkuk 2:4

John Calvin on Habakkuk 2:4

Keil & Delitzsch on Habakkuk 2:4-5

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Habakkuk 2:4

Rashi on Habakkuk 2:4