Habakkuk 2:20
But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
Study Note
Study Note
'But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him' — the verse stands as a majestic rebuttal to the idol-polemic of verses 18–19, where idols are described as deaf, dumb, and dead. God's presence in the temple (qodesh heykal) represents the living, enthroned sovereign whose reality silences all competing claims to divine authority. The call to universal silence (has) is an ancient Near Eastern formula for awestruck reverence before a superior, and in the context of Habakkuk's theodicy (why does God allow Babylon's wickedness?) it grounds the prophet's final trust in divine sovereignty transcending human comprehension — the foundation for the great doxology of Habakkuk 3.
Other Translations
But Jehovah is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
And Jehovah <FI>is<Fi> in His holy temple, Be silent before Him, all the earth!
But the Lord is in his holy Temple: let all the earth be quiet before him.
Cross References
The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the …
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in …
Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still,
When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah.
But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.
This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, …
Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that …
A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompence …