Tree of Life Version
Habakkuk 1:8
8Its horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Its horsemen come galloping. Its horsemen are coming from afar. They fly like a vulture, swooping down to eat.
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 I am about to raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter, impetuous nation, marching all over the land, to seize dwellings not its own. 7Dreadful and terrifying, Its justice and dignity derive from itself. Its horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Its horsemen come galloping. Its horsemen are coming from afar. They fly like a vulture, swooping down to eat. 9All of them come for violence— an assembling of faces to the east. He gathers captives like sand. 10He scoffs at kings, and rulers are a joke to him. He laughs at every stronghold— he heaps up dirt and takes 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
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 28:49“Adonai will raise up a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, just as the eagle swoops down—a nation whose language you will not understand,
- Isaiah 5:26He will lift up a banner to nations far off, and will whistle for them from the ends of the earth. Look! Swiftly, speedily they come!
- Jeremiah 5:6Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them. A desert wolf will ravage them. A leopard watches over their cities. Everyone who ventures out will be torn to pieces, For their rebellion is great, their backslidings frequent.
- Zephaniah 3:3Her princes within her are roaring lions. Her judges are wolves of the night, leaving nothing but bones for morning.
- Jeremiah 4:13See, he comes up like clouds, and his chariots like whirlwinds. His horses are swifter than eagles— “Oy ! We are ruined!”
- Lamentations 4:19Our pursuers were swifter than eagles of the sky; they pursued us over the mountains; they ambushed us in the wilderness.
- Ezekiel 17:3Say, thus says Adonai Elohim: “A great eagle with large wings and broad wings, full of feathers which had varied colors, came to Lebanon and took hold of the top of the cedar.
- Hosea 8:1“Put a shofar to your mouth! Like a vulture he comes against the house of Adonai. For they overstepped My covenant and transgressed My Torah.
- Matthew 24:28For wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.
- Luke 17:37“Where, Lord?” they replied. And He said to them, “Where there is a corpse, there also will the vultures be gathered.”
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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