The one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’ is as good as dead ¹  – he who says ²  to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’ Can it give reliable guidance? ³  It is overlaid with gold and silver; it has no life’s breath inside it.

biblegateway Hab 2:19

"Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’ To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’ And that is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, And there is no breath at all inside it.

Woe to him who says to wood: Wake up! or to mute stone: Come alive! Can it teach? Look! It may be plated with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.

How horrible it will be for the one who says to a piece of wood, "Wake up!" and to a stone that cannot talk, "Get up!"’ Can that thing teach anyone? Just look at it! It’s covered with gold and silver, but there’s absolutely no life in it."

biblegateway Hab 2:19

Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’ Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’ Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it.

Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it.

bibleoremus Hab 2:19

Alas for you who say to the wood, "Wake up!" to silent stone, "Rouse yourself!" Can it teach? See, it is gold and silver plated, and there is no breath in it at all.

Woe betide the person who says to a block of wood, “Wake up,” to a lifeless stone, “Bestir yourself”! Overlaid with gold and silver it may be, but there is no breath in it.

biblegateway Hab 2:19

Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ To silent stone, ‘Arise! It shall teach!’ Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, Yet in it there is no breath at all.

Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it [is] laid over with gold and silver, and [there is] no breath at all in the midst of it.

biblegateway Hab 2:19

The one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’ is as good as dead ¹  – he who says ²  to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’ Can it give reliable guidance? ³  It is overlaid with gold and silver; it has no life’s breath inside it.

¹ tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who says.” On the term הוֹי (hoy) see the note on the word “dead” in v. 6.

² tn The words “he who says” in the translation are supplied from the previous parallel line.

³ tn Though the Hebrew text has no formal interrogative marker here, the context indicates that the statement should be taken as a rhetorical question anticipating the answer, “Of course not!” (so also NIV, NRSV).