“The righteous will live by faith”
Look at the proud one; his soul is not upright, but the righteous will live by faith, (Habakkuk 2:4 BSB)
What it sounds like today
A statement that being saved requires believing something.
The cultural key
This short line became one of the most important verses in the New Testament, and its key word is richer than 'faith' suggests. The Hebrew emunah means faithfulness, steadfastness, reliability, the quality of holding firm and being trustworthy over time. So Habakkuk's contrast is between the 'proud' whose inflated soul is crooked and unstable, and 'the righteous' who lives by emunah, a persevering, faithful trust in God that keeps holding on even when, as in Habakkuk's day, the world is collapsing and God's promises seem delayed. It is less a doctrine of intellectual belief than a summons to loyal endurance. Paul seizes this verse for the heart of his gospel, 'the righteous will live by faith' (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11), and Hebrews uses it to urge perseverance (Hebrews 10:38). A modern reader hears 'faith' as assent to a proposition; Habakkuk means a whole life of steadfast trust.
Recovered meaning
The word rendered 'faith' is emunah, steadfast faithfulness and enduring trust, not mere belief; the righteous person lives by loyal perseverance in God even when everything is falling apart. Paul makes this line the foundation of his gospel.