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.
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.
- KJV Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted 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.
- 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 45:5Your arrows are sharp. The nations fall under you, with arrows in the heart of the king’s enemies.
- Ezek 21:9–11“Son of man, prophesy, and say, ‘Yahweh says: “A sword! A sword! It is sharpened, and also polished.
- Nah 2:3–4The shield of his mighty men is made red. The valiant men are in scarlet. The chariots flash with steel in the day of his preparation, and the pine spears are brandished.
- Jer 47:3At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong ones, at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers don’t 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, daughter of Zion; for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs brass; and you will beat in pieces many peoples: and I will devote their gain to Yahweh, and their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.
- Ps 7:12–13If a man doesn’t relent, he will sharpen his sword; he has bent and strung his bow.
- Judg 5:22Then the horse hoofs stamped because of the prancing, the prancing of their strong ones.
- Jer 5:16Their quiver is an open tomb, they are all mighty men.
- Nah 3:2The noise of the whip, the noise of the rattling of wheels, prancing horses, and bounding chariots,
- Isa 21:1The burden of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the South sweep through, it comes from the wilderness, from an awesome 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.