Revised Literal Translation
Habakkuk 1:8
8Their 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.1
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
6For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs. 7They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. 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. 9They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. 10And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.
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
- 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 28:49Yhwh shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;
- Isaiah 5:26And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
- Jeremiah 5:6Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.
- Zephaniah 3:3Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.
- Jeremiah 4:13Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.
- Lamentations 4:19Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.
- Ezekiel 17:3And say, Thus saith the Lord Yhwh; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:
- Hosea 8:1Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of Yhwh, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.
- Matthew 24:28For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
- Luke 17:37And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
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
Notes
- 1. Habakkuk 1:8 fierce: Heb. sharp. ↩
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries