Habakkuk 2 · Verse 11

Habakkuk 2:11

For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
Habakkuk 2:11, King James Version

Habakkuk 2:11 in other translations

BSBFor the stones will cry out from the wall, and the rafters will echo it from the woodwork.
WEBFor the stone will cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the woodwork will answer it.
ASVFor the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
YLTFor a stone from the wall doth cry out, And a holdfast from the wood answereth it.
DARBYFor the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
BBEFor the stone will give a cry out of the wall, and it will be answered by the board out of the woodwork.
WebsterFor the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

What does Habakkuk 2:11 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
11. stone ... cry out--personification. The very stones of thy palace built by rapine shall testify against thee (Lu 19:40). the beam out of the timber--the crossbeam or main rafter connecting the timbers in the walls. shall answer it--namely, the stone. The stone shall begin and the crossbeam continue the cry against thy rapine.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 11 The stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it - This appears to refer to the ancient mode of building walls; two or three courses of stone. and then one course of timber. See 1Kgs 6:36 : thus was the palace of Solomon built. The splendid and costly buildings of Babylon have been universally celebrated. But how were these buildings erected? By the spoils of conquered nations, and the expense of the blood of multitudes; therefore the stones and the timber are represented as calling out for vengeance against this ruthless conqueror.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Habakkuk 2:5-14

The prophet reads the doom of all proud and oppressive powers that bear hard upon God's people. The lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, are the entangling snares of men; and we find him that led Israel captive, himself led captive by each of these. No more of what we have is to be reckoned ours, than what we come honestly by. Riches are but clay, thick clay; what are gold and silver but…

Read the full comment on Habakkuk 2:5-14 →

Habakkuk 2:11 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.

כִּי\־ki-forH3588
אֶ֖בֶן'E.vena stoneH68
מִקִּ֣ירmi.Kirfrom [the] wallH7023
תִּזְעָ֑קtiz.'Akit will cry outH2199
וְכָפִ֖יסve.kha.Fisand a rafterH3714
מֵעֵ֥ץme.'Etzfrom [the] wood<s>H6086
יַעֲנֶֽנָּה\׃\ \פya.'a.Ne.nahit will answer itH6030

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

Cross references for Habakkuk 2:11

  • Luke 19:40

    And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

  • Joshua 24:27

    And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.

  • James 5:3-4

    Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

  • Job 31:38-40

    If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain; If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life: Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.

  • Genesis 4:10

    And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

  • Revelation 6:10

    And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

  • Hebrews 12:24

    And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the stone.
Ge 4:10; Jos 24:27; Job 31:38-40; Lu 19:40; Heb 12:24; Jas 5:3,4
Re 6:10
beam. or, piece. or, fastening. answer it. or, witnessagainst it.

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

Context

  • Habakkuk 2:10

    Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.

  • Habakkuk 2:11

    For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

  • Habakkuk 2:12

    Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!

Read all of Habakkuk 2

Habakkuk 2:11 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Porque la piedra clamará desde el muro, y la tabla del enmaderado le responderá.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Car de la muraille, la pierre crie, et de la charpente, le chevron répond!
German
Elberfelder 1871		Denn der Stein wird schreien aus der Mauer, und der Sparren aus dem Holzwerk ihm antworten.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Quia lapis de pariete clamabit, et lignum, quod inter juncturas ædificiorum est, respondebit.