Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:
Parallel translations
- WEB whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent. Their horses’ hoofs will be like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind.
- BSB Their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows are strung. The hooves of their horses are like flint; their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.
- NKJV Whose arrows are sharp, And all their bows bent; Their horses’ hooves will seem like flint, And their wheels like a whirlwind.
- NASB Its arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent; The hoofs of its horses seem like flint, and its chariot wheels like a storm wind.
- NLT Their arrows will be sharp and their bows ready for battle. Sparks will fly from their horses’ hooves, and the wheels of their chariots will spin like a whirlwind.
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
Their arrows are sharp, bows ready, horses' hooves like flint, and chariot wheels like a whirlwind. It continues the picture of a fearsome, well-armed invading force.
Overview
The hardness of the horses' hooves and the speed of the wheels convey overwhelming military power and momentum. Such detailed imagery would strike dread into a people facing this army as God's judgment. It reinforces that no human defense can withstand the force the Lord has summoned.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 45:5Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.
- Ezek 21:9–11Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:
- Nah 2:3–4The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.
- Jer 47:3At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands;
- Ps 120:4Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
- Mic 4:13Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.
- Ps 7:12–13If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.
- Judg 5:22Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.
- Jer 5:16Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.
- Nah 3:2The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.
- Isa 21:1The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 5:28 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.