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.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- 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.
- BSB Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves of the night. Their horsemen charge ahead, and their cavalry comes from afar. They fly like a vulture, swooping down to devour.
- NASB “Their horses are faster than leopards, And quicker than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen charge along, Their horsemen come from afar; They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.
- NLT Their horses are swifter than cheetahs and fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their charioteers charge from far away. Like eagles, they swoop down to devour their prey.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Babylonian cavalry is portrayed as swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves, swooping like eagles to devour. The vivid imagery conveys the speed and ferocity of God's appointed instrument of judgment.
Overview
Through a cluster of predatory animal images, the prophet captures the overwhelming military might of Babylon. Their horsemen come from afar with relentless aggression, unstoppable in their advance. The portrait magnifies how formidable the coming judgment will be, while also setting the stage for the sobering question of how God can wield such violence and still be just.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Jer 4:13Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as the whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! For we are ruined.
- Zeph 3:3Her princes within her are roaring lions. Her judges are evening wolves. They leave nothing until the next day.
- Jer 5:6Therefore a lion out of the forest shall kill them, a wolf of the evenings shall destroy them, a leopard shall watch against their cities; everyone who goes out there shall be torn in pieces; because their transgressions are many, and their backsliding is increased.
- Deut 28:49Yahweh 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;
- Hos 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.
- Ezek 17:3and say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “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.
- Ezek 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.
- Matt 24:28For wherever the carcass is, there is where the vultures gather together.
- Isa 5:26–28He will lift up a banner to the nations from far, and he will whistle for them from the end of the earth. Behold, they will come speedily and swiftly.
- Lam 4:19Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the sky: They chased us on the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.
- Luke 17:37They, answering, asked him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there will the vultures also be gathered together.”
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Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.