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I will overturn royal thrones and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overturn chariots and their riders; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.
Haggai 2:22 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overthrow the chariots, and those who ride in them. The horses and their riders will come down, everyone by the sword of his brother.
  • KJV And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.
  • NKJV I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overthrow the chariots And those who ride in them; The horses and their riders shall come down, Every one by the sword of his brother.
  • NASB And I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations; and I will overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the horses and their riders will go down, every one by the sword of another.’
  • NLT I will overthrow royal thrones and destroy the power of foreign kingdoms. I will overturn their chariots and riders. The horses will fall, and their riders will kill each other.

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

God promises to overthrow the thrones, armies, and strength of the nations. No earthly power can stand against His purposes.

Overview

The toppling of thrones, chariots, and riders pictures the collapse of all human kingdoms before God. The detail of warriors falling by one another's swords recalls how God brings down His enemies (Judges 7:22). This assures God's people that His kingdom, fulfilled in Christ, will outlast every rival power.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 29

  • Mic 5:10“In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will remove your horses from among you and wreck your chariots.
  • Judg 7:22And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.
  • Mic 5:15I will take vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations that have not obeyed Me.”
  • Zeph 3:8Therefore wait for Me,” declares the LORD, “until the day I rise to testify. For My decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them My indignation—all My burning anger. For all the earth will be consumed by the fire of My jealousy.
  • Matt 24:7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
  • Ezek 39:20And at My table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, of mighty men and warriors of every kind,’ declares the Lord GOD.
  • Ps 46:9He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire.
  • Zech 10:11They will pass through the sea of distress and strike the waves of the sea; all the depths of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt will depart.
  • Zech 4:6So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.
  • Dan 8:25Through his craft and by his hand, he will cause deceit to prosper, and in his own mind he will make himself great. In a time of peace he will destroy many, and he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken off, but not by human hands.
  • Ps 76:6At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both horse and rider lie stunned.
  • Dan 2:34–35As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them.
  • Dan 7:25–27He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, and times, and half a time.
  • Isa 9:19By the wrath of the LORD of Hosts the land is scorched, and the people are fuel for the fire. No man even spares his brother.
  • Isa 60:12For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly destroyed.
  • Zech 14:3Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.
  • Exod 15:19For when Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them. But the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.
  • Zech 12:2–5“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples. Judah will be besieged, as well as Jerusalem.
  • Exod 14:28The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
  • Dan 2:44–45In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.
  • Mic 5:8Then the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which tramples and tears as it passes through, with no one to rescue them.
  • Ezek 21:27A ruin, a ruin, I will make it a ruin! And it will not be restored until the arrival of Him to whom it belongs, to whom I have assigned the right of judgment.’
  • Rev 11:15Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.”
  • Zech 9:10And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be broken. Then He will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
  • 2 Chr 20:22The moment they began their shouts and praises, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were defeated.
  • Isa 19:2“So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
  • Exod 14:17And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. Then I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army and chariots and horsemen.
  • 1 Sam 14:16Now when Saul’s watchmen at Gibeah in Benjamin looked and saw the troops melting away and scattering in every direction,
  • Exod 15:4Pharaoh’s chariots and army He has cast into the sea; the finest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Haggai videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Haggai 2:22YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on HaggaiMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The promise that the latter glory of the temple will exceed the former, and that God will shake the nations and bring 'the desire of all nations,' is fulfilled when Christ enters his temple.

How Haggai 2:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

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.