Habakuk 1:7

1:7 They are frightening and terrifying;

they decide for themselves what is right. ¹ 

Habakuk 2:9

2:9 The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. ² 

He does this so he can build his nest way up high

and escape the clutches of disaster. ³ 

[1:7]  ¹ tn Heb “from him his justice, even his lifting up, goes out.” In this context שְׂאֵת (sÿ’et) probably has the nuance “authority.” See R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 150.

[2:9]  ² tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who profits unjustly by evil unjust gain for his house.” On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.

[2:9]  ³ tn Heb “to place his nest in the heights in order to escape from the hand of disaster.”

[2:9]  sn Here the Babylonians are compared to a bird, perhaps an eagle, that builds its nest in an inaccessible high place where predators cannot reach it.