Habakkuk 2:12
“Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Woe to the one who builds a city by bloodshed and founds a town on injustice.
What Does Habakkuk 2:12 Mean?
The third woe names a particular sin: building greatness on violence. Woe to the one who constructs a town with blood and establishes a city by iniquity. Babylon's impressive cities, raised through conquest and oppression, stand condemned by the very means of their making.
Human civilization can dazzle — great cities, monuments, achievements — but God looks at the foundations. A glory built on the suffering of others is no glory in His sight; it is guilt set in stone. This woe refuses to let the splendor of empire excuse its cruelty. It calls every builder, in every age, to reckon with how their accomplishments are won. What is established by iniquity cannot stand, however magnificent it appears, because the God who sees the blood in the mortar will not let it endure.