Later text
Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”
Intertextuality Pair
Galatians 3:11-12 → Habakkuk 2:4
Quotation
Earlier text
Habakkuk 2:4BSB
Look at the proud one; his soul is not upright—but the righteous will live by faith—
+ 3 more earlier texts
Earlier text
I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the ramparts. I will watch to see what He will say to me, and how I should answer when corrected. Then the LORD answered me: “Write down this vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets, so that a herald may run with it. For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.
Earlier text
Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.
Earlier text
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the LORD your God. You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs. You are to practice My judgments and keep My statutes by walking in them. I am the LORD your God. Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.
Significance
Habakkuk himself was exhorting Judah to follow Abraham's footsteps—faith was not momentary but a whole life of persevering obedience. For Habakkuk, there was no dichotomy between faith and faithfulness. Paul didn't manipulate the citation; he was genuinely indebted to it and advanced the prophetic message. Regarding Leviticus 18:5's original setting—punctuated by "I am Yahweh your God"—it presents law as what the Lord requires for his people's good, not legalistic mentality. The key is redemptive-historical: to say "the law is not of faith" is to claim the Sinaitic covenant belongs to a different redemptive epoch than the gospel. The law came centuries after the Abrahamic covenant (3:15), and the time of law preceded the time of faith (3:19, 23-25).
- Found via
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
- Reference Type
- Direct Quotation
- Connection Method(s)
- Contrast + Redemptive-Historical Progression
Related Anchor-Text Networks
▸ The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
Linked Mentions 2