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LXX Habakkuk

Septuagint

About this book
Chapter 2

1 I will stand upon my watch, and mount upon the rock, and watch to see what he will say by me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. 2 And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision, and that plainly on a tablet, that he that reads it may run. 3 For the vision is yet for a time, and it shall shoot forth at the end, and not in vain: though he should wait, wait for him; for he that is coming will come, and will not wait.⁠ 4 If he should draw back, my soul has no pleasure in him: but the just shall live by my faith.⁠ 5 But the arrogant man and the scorner, the boastful man, shall not finish anything; who has enlarged his desire as the grave, and like death he is never satisfied, and he will gather to himself all the nations, and will receive to himself all the peoples. 6 Shall not all these take up a parable against him? and a proverb to tell against him? and they shall say, Woe to him that multiplies to himself the possessions which are not his! how long? and who heavily loads his yoke. 7 For suddenly there shall arise up those that bite him, and they that plot against you shall awake, and you shall be a plunder to them. 8 Because you have looted many nations, all the nations that are left shall loot you, because of the blood of men, and the sins of the land and city, and of all that dwell in it. 9 Woe to him that covets an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evils. 10 You have devised shame to your house, you have utterly destroyed many nations, and your soul has sinned. 11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beetle out of the timber shall speak. 12 Woe to him that builds a city with blood, and establishes a city by unrighteousness. 13 Are not these things of the Lord Almighty? surely many people have been exhausted in the fire, and many nations have fainted. 14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord; it shall cover them as water. 15 Woe to him that gives his neighbor to drink the thick lees of wine, and intoxicates him, that he may look upon their secret parts. 16 Drink also your fill of disgrace instead of glory: shake, and quake,⁠ the cup of the right hand of the Lord has come round upon you, and dishonor has gathered upon your glory. 17 For the ungodliness of Lebanon shall cover you, and distress because of wild beasts shall dismay you, because of the blood of men, and the sins of the land and city, and of all that dwell in it. 18 What does the carved image profit, that they have carved it? one has made it a molten work, a false image; for the maker has trusted in his work, to make silent idols. 19 Woe to him that says to the wood, Awake, arise; and to the stone, Be exalted! whereas it is an image, and this is a casting of gold and silver, and there is no breath in it. 20 But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth fear before him.

Texts in conversation

Compare LXX Habakkuk 2:3 and Hebrews 10:37

Septuagint · New Testament

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Summary

Hebrews quotes Habakkuk to assure that what seems delayed will come, urging endurance and patience. Habakkuk used this language to describe a message waiting for its appointed time, while Hebrews uses it to emphasize the certainty of future vindication.

Passages

LXX Habakkuk 2:3

Septuagint
1 I will stand upon my watch, and mount upon the rock, and watch to see what he will say by me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. 2 And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision, and that plainly on a tablet, that he that reads it may run. 3 For the vision is yet for a time, and it shall shoot forth at the end, and not in vain: though he should wait, wait for him; for he that is coming will come, and will not wait. 4 If he should draw back, my soul has no pleasure in him: but the just shall live by my faith. 5 But the arrogant man and the scorner, the boastful man, shall not finish anything; who has enlarged his desire as the grave, and like death he is never satisfied, and he will gather to himself all the nations, and will receive to himself all the peoples.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Habakkuk

Hebrews 10:37

New Testament
35 So do not throw away your confidence, because it has great reward. 36 For you need endurance in order to do God’s will and so receive what is promised. 37 For just a little longer and he who is coming will arrive and not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I take no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not among those who shrink back and thus perish, but are among those who have faith and preserve their souls.
80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Hebrews

References

"... The fifth instance of gezerah shawah occurs in Hebrews 10:6–7 in conjunction with Hebrews 10:37–38 (Guthrie 1994: 141). This occurrence is somewhat unique in that it uses two key-words to create a literary transition. Guthrie notes that the present tense “I am coming” in Hebrews 10:7 parallels the future tense “I will come” in Hebrews 10:37, and the aorist tense “had no pleasure” in Hebrews 10:6 parallels the present tense “is having no pleasure” in Hebrews 10:38 (1994: 141). The references are as follows: Hebrews 10:7 quotes Psalm 40:7 (Psalm 39:8 LXX) and Hebrews 10:37–38 quotes Habakkuk 2:3–4. The quotation of Psalm 39:7 in Hebrews 10:6 is another case where a word is quoted differently from the Septuagint to the epistle. However, the difference in meaning is only slight: “desire” in Hebrews 10:6 vs. “demand” in Psalm 39:7. Variants within the copies of Septuagint are also possible as Ellingworth notes (501) ..."
David H. Wenkel, “Gezerah Shawah as Analogy in the Epistle to the Hebrews,” BTB 37.2 (2007): 62–68.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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LXX Habakkuk 2:3 and Hebrews 10:37

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