EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Habakkuk 1:8
8Their horses run faster than leopards. They are more cruel than wolves that attack in the evening. Their riders come on fast horses from places that are far away. They quickly attack their enemies, like hungry eagles that fly down to catch chickens.
Habakkuk 1:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.
- New International Version (NIV)Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
- English Standard Version (ESV)Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Their horses also are swifter than leopards, And more fierce than evening wolves. Their chargers charge ahead; Their cavalry comes from afar; They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.
Context of Habakkuk 1:8
6I will give more power to the Babylonians. They are a cruel nation with brave soldiers. They march across the whole earth. They take cities that do not belong to them. 7They cause people to be very afraid. They obey no laws except their own rules. Their horses run faster than leopards. They are more cruel than wolves that attack in the evening. Their riders come on fast horses from places that are far away. They quickly attack their enemies, like hungry eagles that fly down to catch chickens. 9Their whole army comes to do violent things. They march forward like a wind from the desert. They make people their prisoners, as easily as if they are picking up sand. 10They insult kings, and they laugh at rulers. They laugh at all the strong cities of their enemies. They build heaps of earth against the walls, and they take those cities for themselves.
Read all of Habakkuk 1Habakkuk 1:8 word by word
וְקַלּ֨וּ מִנְּמֵרִ֜ים סוּסָ֗יו וְחַדּוּ֙ מִזְּאֵ֣בֵי עֶ֔רֶב וּפָ֖שׁוּ פָּֽרָשָׁ֑יו וּפָֽרָשָׁיו֙ מֵרָח֣וֹק יָבֹ֔אוּ יָעֻ֕פוּ כְּנֶ֖שֶׁר חָ֥שׁ לֶאֱכֽוֹל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Their horsesסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
- also are swifterקָלַלqâlal · to lightenH7043
- than the leopardsנָמֵרnâmêr · leopardH5246
- and are more fierceחָדַדchâdad · be sharpH2300
- than the eveningעֶ֫רֶב‛ereb · eveningH6153
- wolvesזְאֵבze'êb · wolfH2061
- and their horsemenפָּרָשׁpârâsh · horsemanH6571
- shall spreadפּוּשׁpûsh · to leapH6335
- shall comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- from farרָחֹקrâchôq râchôq · distantH7350
- they shall flyעוּף‛ûph · to flyH5774
- as the eagleנֶשֶׁרnesher · eagleH5404
- hastethחוּשׁchûsh · to hastenH2363
- to eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
Cross-references for Habakkuk 1:8
- Deuteronomy 28:49The Lord will bring a nation from far away in the world to attack you. You will not understand their language. They will come quickly to attack you, like an eagle that comes down from the sky.
- Isaiah 5:26The Lord will send a message to foreign nations to come and attack. He calls to nations that are far away, and now they are already coming! Their armies march quickly to Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 5:6So lions will come out of the forest to attack them. Wolves will come from the desert to destroy them. Leopards will wait outside their cities. They will kill anyone who goes outside. That will happen because the people have turned against the Lord. They have done many bad things.
- Zephaniah 3:3The rulers of the city make a very loud noise with their voices like big wild animals. Its judges are like hungry wolves. They are like wolves that have even eaten all an animal's bones before morning.
- Jeremiah 4:13Look! The enemy army is coming like dark clouds! Their chariots make the noise of a storm. Their horses move faster than eagles in the sky. Terrible trouble has come. We will all die!
- Lamentations 4:19The enemy was quicker than big birds that fly in the air. They followed us so that they could catch us out on the mountains. They hid and they waited for us in the desert.
- Ezekiel 17:3Say to them, “The Almighty Lord says this: There was a great eagle that had strong wings. Its feathers were long and beautiful, with many colours. The eagle came to Lebanon and he took hold of the top of a cedar tree.
- Hosea 8:1The Lord says, ‘Warn the people of danger! My people have not obeyed the covenant that I made with them. They have refused to obey my laws. So an enemy army will come to attack their land, like an eagle that is ready to fly down and catch them.
- Matthew 24:28If the dead body of an animal is lying somewhere, vultures will come together in that place.
- Luke 17:37Jesus' disciples asked him, ‘Where will this happen?’ Jesus replied, ‘If a dead body is lying somewhere, vultures will come together in that place.’
Commentaries on Habakkuk 1:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Their horses also are swifter than the leopards - The Chaldean cavalry are proverbial for swiftness, courage, etc. In Jeremiah, Jeremiah 4:13, it is said, speaking of Nebuchadnezzar, "His chariots are as a whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles." Oppian, speaking of the horses bred about the Euphrates, says, "They are by nature warhorses, and so intrepid that neither the sight nor the roaring of the lion appals them; and, besides, they are…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Their horses are swifter - literally, lighter, as we say “light of foot” Than leopards - The wild beast intended is the panther, the lightest, swiftest, fiercest, most bloodthirsty of beasts of prey “It runs most swiftly and rushes brave and straight. You would say, when you saw it, that it is borne through the air.” Cyril: “It bounds exceedingly and is exceedingly light to spring down on whatever it pursues.” More fierce - o Than the evening wolves…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8The vivid images of cheetahs, wolves, and eagles show how fast and violent the Babylonian attacks against Judah were. These animals also show that the Babylonians hunted their enemies like prey (see Jeremiah 4:13; 48:40; 49:22).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. swifter than the leopards--Oppian [Cynegeticks, 3.76], says of the leopard, "It runs most swiftly straight on: you would fancy it was flying through the air." more fierce--rather, "more keen"; literally, "sharp." evening wolves--wolves famished with fasting all day and so most keen in attacking the fold under covert of the approaching night (Jr 5:6; Zep 3:3; compare Ge 49:27). Hence "twilight" is termed in Arabic and Persian "the wolf's tail"; and in…Read the comment
Topics related to Habakkuk 1:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Habakkuk 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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