Habakkuk 2:9
“Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Woe to the one who grasps unjust gain to secure his house, setting his nest on high to escape all harm.
What Does Habakkuk 2:9 Mean?
The second woe targets greed that seeks self-security. It pronounces doom on the one who covets unjust gain for his own house, building his nest up high — like a bird beyond the reach of any threat — so that he imagines himself safe from every evil. He has plundered in order to be untouchable.
But security built on injustice is an illusion. The very gain meant to protect him will indict him. No height of wealth or fortification can place a person beyond the reach of God's justice. This woe exposes a universal temptation: to use ill-gotten means to make ourselves safe. True refuge is never found in what we have wrongly seized, but only in God Himself, who alone is a sure defense for those who trust Him rather than their own high nests.
In the Original Language
qen (קֵן), 'nest' — a bird's high, hidden refuge, here the proud man's fancied safety set beyond all danger.