But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
Parallel translations
- WEB But Yahweh is in his holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before him!”
- BSB But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.
- NKJV “Butthe Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”
- NASB “But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.”
- NLT But the Lord is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
In contrast to dead idols, the Lord is in His holy temple, and all the earth must be silent before Him. It calls for reverent silence and submission before the living, sovereign God.
Overview
Against the mute, lifeless idols, the true God reigns in His holy temple, demanding the worshipful silence of all creation. This call to hush before God answers the clamor of Habakkuk's complaints with the assurance that God is enthroned and in control. Such reverent stillness is the proper response to His majesty, and it prepares the way for the prayer of awe and trust that fills chapter 3.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Zech 2:13Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.
- Zeph 1:7Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.
- Ps 46:10Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
- Ps 11:4The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
- Isa 6:1In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
- Jonah 2:7When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
- Mic 1:2Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the LORD from his holy temple.
- Ps 76:8–9Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still,
- Ps 132:13–14For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.
- Eph 2:21–22In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
- Ps 115:3But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
- Isa 66:1Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
- Isa 66:6A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the LORD that rendereth recompence to his enemies.
- Jonah 2:4Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
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Christ at the center
'The righteous shall live by his faith' (2:4) becomes a cornerstone of the gospel in Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews — the faith that lays hold of Christ.
How Habakkuk 2:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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