Habakkuk 1:8

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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
horses	סוּסָ֗יו su.Sav	H5483	a horse (as leaping) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
swifter	וְקַלּ֨וּ ve.ka.Lu	H7043	to be (causatively · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
leopards	מִנְּמֵרִ֜ים mi.ne.me.Rim	H5246	a leopard (from its stripes) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
fierce	וְחַדּוּ֙ ve.cha.Du	H2300	to be (causatively · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
evening	עֶ֔רֶב 'E.rev	H6153	dusk · noun, common masculine singular absolute
wolves	מִזְּאֵ֣בֵי mi.ze.'E.vei	H2061	a wolf · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
horsemen	פָּֽרָשָׁ֑יו pa.ra.Shav	H6571	a steed (as stretched out to a vehicle · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
spread	וּפָ֖שׁוּ u.Fa.shu	H6335	to spread · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
horsemen	וּפָֽרָשָׁיו֙ u.fa.ra.Shav	H6571	a steed (as stretched out to a vehicle · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
come	יָבֹ֔אוּ ya.Vo.'u	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
far	מֵרָח֣וֹק me.ra.Chok	H7350	remote · preposition + adjective, masculine singular absolute
fly	יָעֻ֕פוּ ya.'U.fu	H5774	to fly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
eagle	כְּנֶ֖שֶׁר ke.Ne.sher	H5404	the eagle (or other large bird of prey) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
hasteth	חָ֥שׁ chash	H2363	to hurry · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
eat	לֶאֱכֽוֹל le.'e.Khol	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Jeremiah 4:13 Behold, 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 sp…
Zephaniah 3:3 Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.
Deuteronomy 28:49 The LORD 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 sha…
Jeremiah 5:6 Wherefore 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: ev…
Ezekiel 17:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon,…
Hosea 8:1 Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and tresp…
Isaiah 5:26-28 And 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…
Lamentations 4:19 Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Habakkuk 1:5-11

We have here an answer to the prophet's complaint, giving him assurance that, though God bore long, he would not bear always with this provoking people; for the day of vengeance was in his heart, and he must tell them so, that they might by repentance and reformation turn away the judgment they were threatened with. I. The preamble to the sentence is very awful (Hab 1:5): Behold, you among the heathen, and regard. Since they will not be brought to repentance by the long-suffering of God, he will take another course with them. No resentments are so keen, so deep, as those of abused patience. The Lord will inflict upon them, 1. A public punishment, which shall be beheld and regarded among the…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Habakkuk 1:8

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 (Jer 5:6; Zep 3:3; compare Gen 49:27). Hence "twilight" is termed in Arabic and Persian "the wolf's tail"; and in French, entre chien et loup. spread themselves--proudly; as in Jer 50:11, and Mal 4:2, it implies strength and vigor. So also the Arabic cognate word [MAURER]. their horsemen . . . come from far--and yet are not wearied by the long jou…

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Adam Clarke on Habakkuk 1:8

Their horses also are swifter than the leopards - The Chaldean cavalry are proverbial for swiftness, courage, etc. In Jeremiah, Jer 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 astonishingly fleet." The leopard, of all quadrupeds, is allowed to be the swiftest. The evening wolves - The wolf is remarkable for his quick sight. Aelian says, Οξυωτεστατον εστι ζωον, και μεντοι, και νυκτος και σεληνης ουκ ουσης ὁδε ὁρᾳ; "The wolf…

Dictionary and topics

Leopard — (Heb. namer, so called because spotted, Cant. 4:8), was that great spotted feline which anciently infested the mountains of Syria, more appropriately called a panther (Felis pardus). Its fierceness…
Wolf — Heb. zeeb, frequently referred to in Scripture as an emblem of treachery and cruelty. Jacob’s prophecy, “Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf” (Gen. 49:27), represents the warlike character of that tribe…
Armies · Marched: Often in open line — Marched: Often in open line
Babylon · .Prophecies concerning — .Prophecies concerning
Heathen, The · Employed to chastise the Church — Employed to chastise the Church
Horse, The · Described as: Swift — Described as: Swift
Leopard · Fierceness of — Fierceness of
Wolf, The · Particularly fierce in the evening when it seeks its prey — Particularly fierce in the evening when it seeks its prey

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Habakkuk 1:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Habakkuk 1:5-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Habakkuk 1:8

Adam Clarke on Habakkuk 1:8

Dictionary and topics

Habakkuk 1:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Habakkuk 1:5-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Habakkuk 1:8

Adam Clarke on Habakkuk 1:8

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Habakkuk 1:8

John Calvin on Habakkuk 1:8

Keil & Delitzsch on Habakkuk 1:6-11

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Habakkuk 1:8

Rashi on Habakkuk 1:8