Habakkuk 2:8
“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.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Because the conqueror plundered many nations and shed blood, the survivors of those nations will plunder him in return.
What Does Habakkuk 2:8 Mean?
The reason for Babylon's downfall is stated plainly. Because it spoiled many nations, the remnant left from those nations will spoil it. The charge is bloodshed and violence — against lands, cities, and all who lived in them. The crime defines the punishment.
Scripture insists that violence is never cost-free; the blood of the oppressed cries out and is answered. The conqueror who treated whole populations as expendable will find the survivors becoming the instruments of justice against him. This is the steady drumbeat of the woes: the measure used is the measure received. It assures every victim of cruelty that their suffering is seen and weighed by God, and it warns every wielder of violence that a reckoning is built into the very fabric of His just world.
In the Original Language
damim (דָּמִים), 'blood' — bloodshed and the guilt of violence, here the spilled life that cries out for justice.