Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. Their horsemen press proudly on. Yes, their horsemen come from afar. They fly as an eagle that hurries to devour.
Parallel Translations
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Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. Their horsemen press proudly on. Yes, their horsemen come from afar. They fly as an eagle that hurries to devour.
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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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Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the wolves of the desert; and their horsemen spread themselves; yea, their horsemen come from far, they fly as a vulture that hasteth to devour.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Habakkuk 1:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Jeremiah 4:13 Behold, he will come up as clouds, and his chariots will be as the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! For we are ruined.
- Zephaniah 3:3 Her princes within her are roaring lions. Her judges are evening wolves. They leave nothing until the next day.
- Deuteronomy 28:49 Yahweh will bring a nation against you from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flies: a nation whose language you will not understand,
- Jeremiah 5:6 Therefore a lion out of the forest will kill them. A wolf of the evenings will destroy them. A leopard will watch against their cities. Everyone who goes out there will be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many and their backsliding has increased.
- Ezekiel 17:3 and say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “A great eagle with great wings and long feathers, full of feathers, which had various colors, came to Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar.
- Hosea 8:1 “Put the trumpet to your lips! Something like an eagle is over Yahweh’s house, because they have broken my covenant, and rebelled against my law.
- Isaiah 5:26-28 He will lift up a banner to the nations from far away, and he will whistle for them from the end of the earth. Behold, they will come speedily and swiftly. No one shall be weary nor stumble among them; no one shall slumber nor sleep, neither shall the belt of their waist be untied, nor the strap of their sandals be broken, whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent. Their horses’ hoofs will be like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind.
- Lamentations 4:19 Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the sky. They chased us on the mountains. They set an ambush for us in the wilderness.
- Ezekiel 17:12 “Say now to the rebellious house, ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king, and its princes, and brought them to him to Babylon.
- Matthew 24:28 For wherever the carcass is, that is where the vultures gather together.
- Luke 17:37 They, answering, asked him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there the vultures will also be gathered together.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain The design of these figurative expressions is the same.…
The design of these figurative expressions is the same. The Prophet had spoken of the cruelty of those enemies whom the Jews despised: he now adds, that they would be so active as to surpass in velocity both leopards and eagles, or to be at least equal to them. He then says first, that their horses would be swifter then leopards. The Jews might have eluded his threatenings, or at least have cherished their insensibility by a vain confidence, as we see how this vice prevails in the world; for they might have thought thus within themselves, “The Chaldeans are far away, and the danger of which the Prophet speaks cannot be so near at hand.” Hence he declares that their horses would be swifter than leopards.
He then adds, that they would be fiercer than the evening wolves. The wolf is a rapacious animal; and when he ranges about all the day in vain seeking what he may devour, then in the evening hunger kindles his rage. There is, therefore, nothing more dreadful than hungry wolves. But, as I have said, except they find some prey about the evening, they become the more furious. We shall meet with the same simile in Zephaniah 3:1. We now see the drift of the Prophet’s words.
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He adds that their horsemen would be numerous He now sets forth their power, lest the Jews should have recourse to vain hopes, because they might obtain some help either from the Egyptians or other neighbors. The Prophet shows that all such hopes would be wholly vain; for had they gathered auxiliaries from all quarters, still the Chaldeans would exceed them in power and number.
He afterwards says, that their horsemen would come from a distance. Though they should have a long journey, yet weariness would not hinder and delay them in coming from a remote part. The toil of travelling would not weaken them, until they reached Judea. How so? Because it will fly, he says, (he speaks throughout of the nation itself,) as an eagle hastening to devour. This metaphor is also most suitable to the present purpose; for it signifies, that wherever the Chaldeans saw a prey, they would instantly come, as an eagle to any carcass it may observe. Let the distance be what it may, as soon as it sees a prey, it takes a precipitate flight, and is soon present to devour; for the rapidity of eagles, as it is well known, is astonishing.
We now see that what we learn from the Prophet’s words is substantially this,—that God’s judgement ought to have been feared, because he purposed to employ the Chaldeans as his servants, whose cruel disposition and inhumanity would be dreadful: he also shows that the Chaldeans would be far superior in power and number; and in third place he makes it known, that they would possess an astonishing rapidity, and that though length of journey might be deemed a hindrance, they would yet be like eagles, which come like an arrow from heaven to earth, whenever a prey is observed by them. And eagles are not only rapid in their flight, but they possess also sharpness of sight; for we know that the eyes of eagles are remarkably keen and strong: and it is said that they cast away their young, if they find that they cannot look steadily at the sun; for they regard them as spurious. The Prophet then intimates that the Chaldeans would from a distance observe their prey: as the eagles, who are endued with incredible quickness of sight, see from mid air every carcass lying on the ground; so also would the Chaldeans quickly discover a prey, and come upon it in an instant. Let us proceed.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Hab 1:8 Their horses also are swifter than the…
Hab 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.
Ver. 8. Their horses also are swifter than the leopards] Or panthers, famous for their swiftness; whence the proverb, Panthera velocior (see Plin. i. 10, viii. 17). The horse is so swift in service that the Persians (as Pausanias hath it) dedicated him to their god, the Sun; as the swiftest creature to the swiftest god, ωσπερ το ταχιστον τω ταχυτατω θεων. See Job 41:20 Pro 21:31.
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And are more fierce than the evening wolves] Heb. More sharp-set, after that they have been held hunger bitten and empty all the day long. See Virg. Aeneid. ix. 59, &c.; Oppian. i. 3. Homo homini lupus, One man (left to himself) is a wolf, nay, a devil to another. The metaphor is here taken from sharpest swords, which quickly cut.
And their horsemen shall spread themselves] With incredible swiftness, which in war is most necessary and useful, as Julius Caesar experienced, and we in our late commotions.
And their horsemen shall come from far] The Jews were secure of the Chaldeans, as being far remote; but that shall be no hindrance.
They shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat] In singulis verbis pondus est, saith Drusius, here each word hath its weight; for he that hasteth on his way is said to fly, and the eagle is swifter of flight than any bird, and especially when she hasteth to eat, Job 9:26. Of the eagle’s swiftness why and whence, see Ambrose, Hexam. l. i. c. 14.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Their horses also are swifter; they will be sooner…
Their horses also are swifter; they will be sooner upon you than you think, and when once among you, they will be swifter than you can flee from, Isa 30:16; Lam 4:19.
Than the leopards; a fierce creature, ravenous as the lion, and much swifter, a watchful and sly beast, from which it is very hard to shift.
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More fierce, more eager after, and more cruel to the prey, than the evening wolves; which with long fasting in the day, do come out in the evening more fierce on every thing that may be a prey for them: see Jer 5:6; Eze 22:27; Zep 3:3.
Their horsemen; excellent riders, that can manage the speed and fierceness of these horses.
Shall spread themselves all over the land, so many shall they be, and so active, and all strong and hale, as some think the word implieth.
Shall come from far; as far from liking your customs, pitying your persons, or understanding your language, as they are far remote from your country; men that will make you pay the charge of their long and tedious journey.
They shall fly as the eagle; lest you should dream of escape by flight, your enemies (O miserable Jews) shall be so swift, you will think they flew on wings, on eagle’s wings, the swiftest of flight, and quickest in espying her prey.
That hasteth to eat; hunger makes her flight the quicker, and her seizure of the prey more bold and daring, Job 9:26; Eze 17:3; so shall your enemies be to you.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Their horses also are swifter than the leopards,.... Creatures…
Their horses also are swifter than the leopards,.... Creatures remarkable for their swiftness: these are creatures born of the mating of a he panther and a lioness, and not of a lion and a she panther, as some have affirmed; and which adultery is highly resented by the lion; nor will he suffer it to go unrevenged, as Pliny (u) and Philostratus (w) observe: those thus begotten differ from common lions in this, that they have no manes: the panthers are the creatures here meant, which are very swift, as Bochart (x) from various authors has observed. Lucan (y) calls this creature "celerem pardum", t"he swift panther"; and Jerom says (z) nothing is swifter than the panther; and Aelianus (a) observes that the panther, by the swiftness of its running, will overtake most creatures, and particularly apes; and Eustathius (b) confirms the same, saying that it exceeds other creatures in swiftness, and as it were flies before the eyes of hunters; and Osorius (c) relates, that the king of Portugal once sent to the pope of Rome a panther tamed, which being had into the woods a hunting by a Persian hunter, with wonderful swiftness leaped upon the boars and deer, and killed them at once; and the Septuagint version here is, "their horses will leap above the panthers": or exceed them in leaping, for which these panthers are very famous too: an Arabic writer (d), whom Bochart mentions, says it will leap above forty cubits at a leap. Pliny (e) reports, that the panthers in Africa will get up into thick trees, and hide themselves in the branches, and leap from thence on those that pass by; and because of the swiftness of this creature, with other qualities of it, the third beast or Grecian monarchy, especially in its first head Alexander the great, is represented by it, Dan 7:6 he making such a swift and rapid progress in his conquests; and yet the Chaldean horses would exceed them in swiftness, and be very speedy in their march into the land of Judea; and therefore it was in vain for the Jews to please themselves with the thoughts that these people were a great way off, and so they secure from them, when they could and would be upon them presently, ere they were aware:
and are more fierce than ravening wolves; which creatures are naturally fierce, and especially when they are hungry, and particularly at evening; when, having had no food all the day, their appetites are very keen, and they go in quest of their prey; and, when they meet with it, fall upon it with greater eagerness and fierceness. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, than the wolves of Arabia; that there are wolves very frequent in Arabia, is observed by Diodorus Siculus (f), and Strabo (g); but that these are remarkable for their fierceness does not appear; rather those in colder climates are more fierce; so Pliny (h) says, they are little and sluggish in Africa and Egypt, but rough and fierce in cold climates. It is, in the original text, "more sharp" (i); which some interpret of the sharpness of their sight. Aelianus says (k), it is a most quick and sharp sighted creature; and can see in the night season, even though the moon shines not: the reason of which Pliny (l) gives is, because the eyes of wolves are shining, and dart light; hence Aelianus (m) observes, that that time of the night in which the wolf only by nature enjoys the light is called wolf light; and that Homer (n) calls a night which has some glimmering of light, or a sort of twilight, such as the wolves can see themselves walk by, , which is that light that precedes the rising sun; and he also observes that the wolf is sacred to the sun, and to Apollo, which are the same; and there was an image of one at Delphos; and so Macrobias (o) says, that the inhabitants of Lycopolis, a city of Thebais in Egypt, alike worship Apollo and a wolf, and in both the sun, because this animal takes and consumes all things like the sun; and, because perceiving much by the quick sight of its eyes, overcomes the darkness of the night; and observes, that some think they have their name from light, though they would have it be from the morning light; because those creatures especially observe that time for seizing on cattle, after a nights hunger, when before day light they are turned out of the stables into pasture; but it is for the most part at evening, and in the night, that wolves prowl about for their prey (p); and from whence they have the name of evening wolves, to which the Chaldean horses are here compared: and yet there seems to be an antipathy between these, if what some naturalists (q) say is true; as that if a horse by chance treads in the footsteps of a wolf, a numbness will immediately seize it, yea, even its belly will burst; (This sounds like a fable. Ed.) and that, if the hip bone of a wolf is thrown under horses drawing a chariot full speed, and they tread upon it, they will stop and stand stone still, immovable: whether respect is here had to the quick sight or sharp hunger of these creatures is not easy to say; though rather, since the comparison of them is with horses, it seems to respect the fierceness of them, for which the war horse is famous, Job 39:24 and may be better understood of the sharpness of the appetite of evening wolves, when hunger bitten:
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and their horsemen shall spread themselves; or be multiplied, as the Targum; they shall be many, and spread themselves all over the country, so that there will be no escaping; all will fall into their hands:
and their horsemen shall come from far; as Chaldea was reckoned from Judea, and especially in comparison of neighbouring nations, who used to be troublesome, as Moab, Edom, &c. see Jer 5:15,
they shall flee as the eagle that hasteth to eat; those horsemen shall be so speedy in their march, that they shall seem rather to fly than ride, and even to fly as swift as the eagle, the swiftest of birds, and which itself flies swiftest when hungry, and in sight of its prey; and the rather this bird is mentioned, because used by many nations, as the Persians, and others, for a military sign (r).
(u) Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 16. (w) De Vita Apollonii, l. 2. c. 7. (x) Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 3. c. 7. col. 788. (y) Pharsalia, l. 6. (z) Comment. in Hos. v. 14. fol. 10. L. (a) Hist. Animal. l. 8. c. 6. (b) In Hexaemeron. (c) De Rebus Portugall. l. 9. apud Frantz. Hist. Animal. Sacr. par. 1. 8. p. 90. (d) Damir apud Bochart, ut supra. (Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 3. c. 7. col. 788.) (e) Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 73. (f) Bibliothec. l. 3. p. 177. (g) Geograph. l. 16. p. 534. (h) Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 22. (i) "et acuti erunt", Montanus, Cocceius; "et acutiores", Pagninus, Calvin, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius, Grotius; so Ben Melech; "et acuti sunt", Burkius. (k) De Animal. l. 10. c. 26. (l) Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 37. (m) Ut supra. (De Animal. l. 10. c. 26.) (n) Iliad. 7. prope finem. (o) Saturnal. l. 1. c. 17. (p) "Vesper ubi e pastu vitulos ad tecta reducit, Auditisque lupos acuunt balatibus agni." Virgil. Georgic. l. 4. "Ac veluti pleno lupus insidiatus ovili Nocte super media-----", Ibid. Aeneid. l. 8. (q) Aelian. de Animal. l. 1. c. 36. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 28. c. 20. (r) Vid. Lydium de Re Militari, l. 3. c. 7. p. 87.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 8. Their horses also are swifter than the…
Verse 8. Their horses also are swifter than the leopards] The Chaldean cavalry are proverbial for swiftness, courage, c. 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."
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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 is a very fleet animal; and, besides, it can see by night, even when there is no moonlight." Some think the hyaena is meant: it is a swift, cruel, and untameable animal. The other prophets speak of the Chaldeans in the same way. See De 28:49; Jer 48:40; Jer 49:22; Eze 17:5; La 4:19.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Their horses are swifter - literally, lighter, as we…
Their 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.”
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More fierce - o
Than the evening wolves - Compare Jer 5:6, i. e., than they are when fiercest, going forth to prey when urged to rabidness by hunger the whole day through. Such had their own judges been Zep 3:3, and by such should they be punished. The horse partakes of the fierceness of his rider in trampling down the foe .
Their horsemen shall spread themselves - literally, widespread are their horsemen
And their horsemen from far shall come - Neither distance of march shall weary them, nor diffusion weaken them. So should Moses’ prophecy be again fulfilled (Deu 28:49-50, מרחוק occurs in both.) “The Lord shall raise against thee a nation from far, from the ends of the earth, as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; a nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young.”
They shall fly as the eagle that hasteth - literally, hasting
To eat - Jerome: “not to fight, for none shall withstand; but with a course like the eagle’s, to whom all fowl are subdued, hasting but to eat.” Behold, Jeremiah says of Nebuchadnezzar Jer 48:40, he shall fly as an eagle and spread his wings over Moab; and, he repeats the words Jer 49:22, over Bozrah. Our pursuers, Jeremiah says Lam 4:19, are swifter than the eagles of the heavens. Ezekiel likens him to Eze 17:3 “a great eagle with great wings full of feathers;” in Daniel’s vision he is Dan 7:4 “a lion with eagle’s wings.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Leopards: the swiftest quadrupeds. (Calmet) --- The horses near…
Leopards: the swiftest quadrupeds. (Calmet) --- The horses near the Euphrates were swift and warlike. (Oppian.) --- Swifter. Hebrew, "sharper" (Haydock) in seeing, even when there is no moon. (Elian x. 26.) --- Evening. Septuagint, "Arabian." (Haydock) --- It may denote the hyena of that country, which is most terrible. (Guevar.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain swifter than the leopards--OPPIAN [Cynegeticks, 3.76], says of the…
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."
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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 journey.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 8. swifter than the leopards] Jer_4:13 says, “his horses…
8. swifter than the leopards] Jer_4:13 says, “his horses are swifter than eagles.”
more fierce than the evening wolves] lit. more sharp. Being parallel to “swift” the term “fierce” probably means keen in attack, eager in flinging themselves on the foe. Gesenius quotes Virg. Georg. 3. 264, genus acre luporum, and Æn. 4. 156, acri gaudet equo. The wolf attacks at night when his hunger is keen. For, “evening wolves,” Sept. reads “wolves of Arabia,” supplying different vowels.
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their horsemen shall spread themselves] and his horsemen bound, or, gallop. The word is used of the springing or bounding of cattle, Mal_4:2 (Heb. 3:20); Jer_50:11.
horsemen shall come from far] his horsemen come. But the repetition of “horsemen” is unnatural (Sept. omits), and the clause introduces an unequal number of members into the verse. Possibly the words are a marginal explanation of the somewhat uncommon term “gallop.”
They shall fly as the eagle] they fly. The word eagle refers possibly to some kind of vulture; cf. Mic_1:16 “enlarge thy baldness like the eagle.”
that hasteth to eat] i.e. that swoops upon the prey or carcase.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (8) Are more fierce.—Better, are sharper. This is the…
(8) Are more fierce.—Better, are sharper. This is the literal meaning of the verb. The ideas intended are those of activity and ferocity, both prompted by hunger. The evening wolf coming out of his lair to find prey is elsewhere an illustration of ravenous greediness. (See Zep_3:3 and Psa_59:7). In Jer_5:6 God’s punishment is likened to “a wolf of the evening,” “a lion out of the forest.” Jer_4:13 “his chariots shall be as a whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles,” is similar to Hab_1:8, but it is not necessary to regard it either as its original or its echo. Both passages are to some extent based on 2Sa_1:23.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Their horses, etc. Jeremiah (Jer_4:13) compares their horses to…
Their horses, etc. Jeremiah (Jer_4:13) compares their horses to eagles. (comp. Job_39:19, etc.) The punishment predicted in Deu_28:49, etc., is to come upon the Jews. We often read of the cavalry and chariots of the Chaldeans (Jer_4:29 Jer_6:23; Eze_23:23, Eze_23:24) Evening wolves. Wolves that prowl for food in the evening, and are then fiercest (Jer_5:6; Zep_3:3) Septuagint (with a different pointing), "wolves of Arabia." Their horsemen shall spread themselves. The verb is also rendered, "bear themselves proudly," or "gallop." Septuagint, ejxippasontai. The Anglican Version seems correct implying that the cavalry, like Cossacks or Uhlans, swept the whole country for plunder. The verbs throughout vers. 8-11 should be rendered in the present tense. From far. From Babylonia. (Isa_39:3) The preceding clause was of general import; the present one refers to the invasion of Judaea. As the eagle. This is a favourite comparison of Jeremiah, as quoted above. (comp. also Jer_48:40 Jer_49:22; Lam_4:19)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Their horses ... their horses
Their horses ... their horses
the horses of the Chaldean soldiers
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leopards
large, swift cats (See: Translate Unknowns)
the evening wolves
This refers to wolves that hunt their prey at night.
their horsemen
the Chaldean soldiers who ride the horses
they fly like an eagle hurrying to eat
Yahweh speaks of how quickly the Chaldeans move in order to conquer their enemies as if they were flying, like an eagle flies swiftly to capture its prey. (See: Metaphor)
their multitudes go like the desert wind
Yahweh speaks of how quickly the Chaldeans move as if they were a strong wind that blows in the desert. (See: Metaphor)
they gather captives like sand
Possible meanings are 1) the Chaldeans take people captive as easily as one would scoop up sand with his hand. AT: "they gather captives as one gathers sand" or 2) the Chaldeans take a great number of people captive, as if those people were as many as the grains of sand in the desert. AT: "they capture as many people as there are grains of sand" (See: Simile)
translationWords
horse
wolf
eagle
captive
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 1:8 The vivid images of cheetahs, wolves, and eagles…
1:8 The vivid images of cheetahs, wolves, and eagles depict the speed, ferocity, and predatory nature of the Babylonian attacks against Judah (see Jer 4:13; 48:40; 49:22).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.