Habakkuk 2:3–4
He That Shall Come Will Come
Messiah removedQuoted by the apostles in Hebrews 10:37–38, in the older Greek wording
In one Bible a vision is coming. In the other, a Person is.
Side by Side
The Older Text
Septuagint, translated before Messiah
For the vision is yet for a time, and it shall shoot forth at the end, and not in vain: though he should tarry, wait for him; for he will surely come, and will not tarry. If he should draw back, my soul has no pleasure in him: but the just shall live by my faith.
The Later Text
Masoretic, finished about 1,000 years after the cross
For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Quoted in Hebrews 10:37–38
The apostle’s Old Testament
For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Your KJV reads: “it will surely come” in Habakkuk, following the later Hebrew, and “he that shall come will come” in Hebrews, following the Greek.
See what changed and why ↓What Your Bible Says
For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
Hebrews 10:37 KJV
Hebrews is writing to believers who were tired of waiting and tempted to turn back. The apostle reaches for Habakkuk. Someone is coming. He will not be late. Hold on. His readers had already lost goods and suffered for the name (Hebrews 10:32–34). What they needed was not a date but a Person.
What the Jewish Bible Says
For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Habakkuk 2:3 KJV
In the later reading, as your KJV translates it, what is coming is “it,” the vision. A prophecy will be fulfilled on time. No one is coming in person.
What Changed
In verse 3, the same Hebrew can be read “he” or “it.” The older text says, “wait for him; for he will surely come.” Hebrews makes it plainer still: “he that shall come,” the Coming One, a title for Messiah. When John asked, “Art thou he that should come?” (Matthew 11:3), he used the same title.
In verse 4, the warning changed too. The older text warns the one who draws back. The later text speaks of a soul lifted up in pride. Hebrews builds its warning on drawing back: “we are not of them who draw back unto perdition” (Hebrews 10:39).
Which One Is Right?
The Greek Bible, translated before Messiah, reads “he will surely come” and “if he should draw back.”
Hebrews 10 quotes that wording and adds the title: “he that shall come.”
The Masoretic text, as it is read and translated, has “it” and the proud soul.
Purpose of the Change
The effect of the later reading is that waiting for a Person becomes waiting for an event. Read as “it,” Habakkuk no longer tells the faithful to wait for the Coming One, and the warning against drawing back is gone from the verse Hebrews quoted.
The Bottom Line
Habakkuk’s older text said “he will come.” Hebrews named Him the Coming One.
The last promise in the Bible is the same one: “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Yahushua” (Revelation 22:20).
Dig Deeper The evidence, for anyone who wants it
He or It?
Hebrew uses the same word for “he” and “it.” The verb “come” in Habakkuk 2:3 is the same form used for “he will come.” The word for vision is also masculine, so “it will come” is a fair reading. The Greek translators chose “he,” and Hebrews confirmed that choice by adding “he that shall come.”
Whose Faithfulness?
The Greek reads “the just shall live by my faith,” meaning Elohim’s own faithfulness. The Hebrew reads “his faith,” the believer’s steady trust. Paul quotes the line without either word in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11. The point stands both ways: the righteous live by trusting the One who keeps His word.
Live By It
Living by trust is not the end of the Law. The one made right by trust then walks in what Yahuah commanded. Hebrews 10 itself warns those who sin wilfully after they have received the knowledge of the truth (Hebrews 10:26).
An Honest Note
Verse 3 is a translation choice of the same Hebrew letters, not a change to the text. Verse 4 is harder. The Greek “draw back” and the Hebrew “lifted up” do not match, and scholars disagree on what Hebrew the translators read. Hebrews also reverses the order of the two lines, and its opening “yet a little while” echoes Isaiah 26:20. The firm ground is that the apostle quoted the Greek as Scripture.