Habakkuk 1 · Verse 12

Habakkuk 1:12

Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.
Habakkuk 1:12, King James Version

Habakkuk 1:12 in other translations

BSBAre You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. O LORD, You have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, You have established them for correction.
WEBAren’t you from everlasting, LORD my God, my Holy One? We will not die. LORD, you have appointed them for judgment. You, Rock, have established him to punish.
ASVArt not thou from everlasting, O Jehovah my God, my Holy One? we shall not die. O Jehovah, thou hast ordained him for judgment; and thou, O Rock, hast established him for correction.
YLTArt not Thou of old, O Jehovah, my God, my Holy One? We do not die, O Jehovah, For judgment Thou hast appointed it, And, O Rock, for reproof Thou hast founded it.
DARBY— Art thou not from everlasting, Jehovah my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. Jehovah, thou hast ordained him for judgment; and thou, O Rock, hast appointed him for correction.
BBEAre you not eternal, O Lord my God, my Holy One? for you there is no death. O Lord, he has been ordered by you for our punishment; and by you, O Rock, he has been marked out to put us right.
WebsterArt thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.

What does Habakkuk 1:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
12. In opposition to the impious deifying of the Chaldeans power as their god (Maurer, or, as the English Version, their attributing of their successes to their idols), the prophet, in an impassioned address to Jehovah, vindicates His being "from everlasting," as contrasted with the Chaldean so-called "god." my God, mine Holy One--Habakkuk speaks in the name of his people. God was "the Holy One of Israel," against whom the Chaldean was setting up himself (Is 37:23). we shall not die--Thou, as being our God, wilt not permit the Chaldeans utterly to destroy us. This reading is one of the eighteen called by the Hebrews "the appointment of the scribes"; the Rabbis think that Ezra and his colleagues corrected the old reading, "Thou shalt not die." thou hast ordained them for judgment--that is, to execute Thy judgments. for correction--to chastise transgressors (Is 10:5-7). But not that they may deify their own power (Ha 1:11, for their power is from Thee, and but for a time); nor that they may destroy utterly Thy people. The Hebrew for "mighty God" is Rock (De 32:4). However the world is shaken, or man's faith wavers, God remains unshaken as the Rock of Ages (Is 26:4, Margin).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 Art thou not frown everlasting - The idols change, and their worshippers change and fail: but thou, Jehovah, art eternal; thou canst not change, and they who trust in thee are safe. Thou art infinite in thy mercy; therefore, "we shall not die," shall not be totally exterminated. Thou hast ordained them for judgment - Thou hast raised up the Chaldeans to correct and punish us; but thou hast not given them a commission to destroy us totally. Instead of לא נמות lo namuth, "we shall not die," Houbigant and other critics, with a little transposition of letters, read אל אמת El emeth, "God of truth;" and then the verse will stand thus: "Art thou not from everlasting, O Jehovah, my God, my Holy One? O Jehovah, God of Truth, thou hast appointed them for judgment." But this emendation, however elegant, is not supported by any MS.; nor, indeed, by any of the ancient versions, though the Chaldee has something like it. The common reading makes a very good sense.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Habakkuk 1:12-17
However matters may be, yet God is the Lord our God, our Holy One. We are an offending people, he is an offended God, yet we will not entertain hard thoughts of him, or of his service. It is great comfort that, whatever mischief men design, the Lord designs good, and we are sure that his counsel shall stand. Though wickedness may prosper a while, yet God is holy, and does not approve the wickedness. As he cannot do iniquity himself, so he is of purer eyes than to behold it with any approval. By this principle we must abide, though the dispensations of his providence may for a time, in some cases, seem to us not to agree with it. The prophet complains that God's patience was abused; and because sentence against these evil works and workers was not executed speedily, their hearts were the more fully set in them to do evil. Some they take up as with the angle, one by one; others they catch in shoals, as in their net, and gather them in their drag, their enclosing net. They admire their own cleverness and contrivance: there is great proneness in us to take the glory of outward prosperity to ourselves. This is idolizing ourselves, sacrificing to the drag-net because it is our own. God will soon end successful and splendid robberies. Death and judgment shall make men cease to prey on others, and they shall be preyed on themselves. Let us remember, whatever advantages we possess, we must give all the glory to God.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Habakkuk 1:12 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

הֲל֧וֹאha.Lo'¿ notH3808
אַתָּ֣ה'a.Tah[are] youH859
מִקֶּ֗דֶםmi.Ke.demfrom antiquityH6924
יְהוָ֧הYah.wehO YahwehH3068
אֱלֹהַ֛י'e.lo.HaiGod myH430
קְדֹשִׁ֖יke.do.Shiholy [one] myH6918
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
נָמ֑וּתna.Mutwe will dieH4191
יְהוָה֙Yah.wehO YahwehH3068
לְמִשְׁפָּ֣טle.mish.Patto judgmentH4941
שַׂמְתּ֔וֹsam.Toyou have appointed itH7760
וְצ֖וּרve.Tzurand O rockH6697
לְהוֹכִ֥יחַle.ho.Khi.achto reproveH3198
יְסַדְתּֽוֹ\׃ye.sad.Toyou have established itH3245

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Habakkuk 1:12

  • Deuteronomy 32:4

    He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

  • Psalms 90:2

    Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

  • Deuteronomy 33:27

    The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.

  • Jeremiah 46:28

    Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.

  • Jeremiah 30:11

    For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.

  • Psalms 93:2

    Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.

  • Amos 9:8-9

    Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord. For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.

  • Ezekiel 37:11-14

    Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.

  • Lamentations 5:19

    Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.

  • Hebrews 13:8

    Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

  • Ezekiel 30:25

    But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.

  • Hebrews 1:10-12

    And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
thou not.
De 33:27; Ps 90:2; 93:2, Isa 40:28; 57:15; La 5:19; Mic 5:2
1Ti 1:17; 6:16; Heb 1:10-12; 13:8; Re 1:8,11
mine.
Isa 43:15; 49:7; Ac 3:14
we.
3:2; Ps 118:17; Isa 27:6-9; Jer 4:27; 5:18; 30:11; 33:24-26; 46:28
Eze 37:11-14; Am 9:8,9
thou hast ordained.
2Ki 19:25; Ps 17:13; Isa 10:5-7; 37:26; Jer 25:9-14; Eze 30:25
mighty God. Heb. Rock.
De 32:4,30,31; 1Sa 2:2; Ps 18:1
established. Heb. founded. for.
Isa 27:9,10; Jer 30:11; 31:18-20; 46:28; Heb 12:5,6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Habakkuk 1:11

    Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.

  • Habakkuk 1:12

    Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.

  • Habakkuk 1:13

    Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

Read all of Habakkuk 1

Habakkuk 1:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		¿No eres tú desde el principio, oh Jehová, Dios mío, Santo mío? No moriremos. Oh Jehová, para juicio lo pusiste; y tú, oh Roca, lo fundaste para castigar.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		– Toi, n’es-tu pas de toute ancienneté, Éternel, mon Dieu, mon Saint? Nous ne mourrons pas! Ô Éternel, tu l’as établi pour le jugement, et tu l’as fondé, ô Rocher, pour châtier.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Bist du nicht von alters her, Jehova, mein Gott, mein Heiliger? Wir werden nicht sterben. Jehova, zum Gericht hast du es gesetzt, und, o Fels, zur Züchtigung es bestellt.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Numquid non tu a principio, Domine, Deus meus, sancte meus, et non moriemur? Domine, in judicium posuisti eum, et fortem, ut corriperes, fundasti eum.