Habakkuk 2:17
“For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The violence the conqueror did to Lebanon and its creatures will overwhelm him, repaying his bloodshed against lands and cities.
What Does Habakkuk 2:17 Mean?
The reckoning broadens to include the natural world. The violence Babylon inflicted on Lebanon — its famed forests stripped, its creatures terrified and destroyed — will now cover the conqueror himself. Again the charge is bloodshed and violence against lands, cities, and all who dwelt in them, echoing the indictment of verse eight.
Notably, the crime includes harm done to creation itself, the ravaging of forests and animals, not only to people. God's justice extends to the whole created order that the oppressor has plundered. The same violence Babylon unleashed will return to engulf it. This repeated refrain underscores how seriously God takes destruction — of human life and of the world He made. The empire that spread terror across land and city will be buried beneath the weight of the very ruin it caused.