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Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.
Judges 5:22 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Then the horse hoofs stamped because of the prancing, the prancing of their strong ones.
  • BSB Then the hooves of horses thundered—the mad galloping of his stallions.
  • NKJV Then the horses’ hooves pounded, The galloping, galloping of his steeds.
  • NASB “Then the horses’ hoofs beat From the galloping, the galloping of his mighty stallions.
  • NLT Then the horses’ hooves hammered the ground, the galloping, galloping of Sisera’s mighty steeds.

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 horses' hooves pound as the enemy flees in panicked retreat.

Overview

The galloping of the warhorses depicts the chaotic flight of Sisera's broken army. The mighty chariot force is reduced to a stampede of escape. The image captures the totality of the rout God brought upon Israel's oppressor.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Ps 20:7Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
  • 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 33:17An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
  • Ps 147:10–11He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
  • Isa 5:28Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:
  • Jer 47:4Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the LORD will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Judges videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on Judges 5:22YouTube · 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 JudgesMatthew 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

Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.

How Judges 5:22 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.