KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT
To get what Habakkuk 2:13 means based on its source text, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity.
“Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?”
What does this verse really mean? Use this table to get a word-for-word translation of the original Hebrew Scripture. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words. Use this reference information to gain deeper insight into the Bible and enrich your understanding. Information based on Strong's Exhaustive Concordance[1].
| KJV Verse | Original Hebrew | Meaning/ Definition This is a simplified translation of the original Hebrew word. Follow the buttons on the right to get more detail. | More Use the buttons below to get details on the Hebrew word and view related Bible verses that use the same root word. |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Behold,” | הִנֵּ֔ה | Lo! | Behold |
| “is it” | (No Hebrew definition. English implied.) | ||
| “not” | הֲל֣וֹא | Not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles | not |
| “of” | מֵאֵ֖ת | Properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely) | of |
| “the Lord” | יְהוָ֣ה | (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God | Lord |
| “of hosts” | צְבָא֑וֹת | A mass of persons (or figuratively, things), especially reg. organized for war (an army); by implication, a campaign, literally or figuratively (specifically, hardship, worship) | hosts |
| “that the people” | עַמִּים֙ | A people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock | people |
| “shall labour” | וְיִֽיגְע֤וּ | Properly, to gasp; hence, to be exhausted, to tire, to toil | labour |
| “in the very” | בְּדֵי | Enough (as noun or adverb), used chiefly with preposition in phrases | very |
| “fire,” | אֵ֔שׁ | Fire (literally or figuratively) | fire |
| “and the people” | וּלְאֻמִּ֖ים | A community | people |
| “shall weary” | יִעָֽפוּ׃ | To tire (as if from wearisome flight) | weary |
| “themselves for very” | בְּדֵי | Enough (as noun or adverb), used chiefly with preposition in phrases | themselves very |
| “vanity?” | רִ֥יק | Emptiness; figuratively, a worthless thing; adverbially, in vain | vanity |
See Habakkuk 2:13 with its adjacent verses in bold below. Follow either of the two large buttons below to see these verses in their broader context of the King James Bible or a Bible concordance.
| Very High |
Verse Search Popularity Levels What do people search for?Use the scale on the left to tell how often the verses below are googled compared to each other. |
|
| High | ||
| Medium | ||
| Low | ||
| Very Low |
11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!
13 Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?
14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
The King James Bible (1611) and Strong's Concordance (1890) with Hebrew and Greek dictionaries are sourced from the BibleForgeDB database (https://github.com/bibleforge) within the BibleForge project (http://bibleforge.com). Popularity rankings are based on search volume data from the Google AdWords Keyword Planner tool.