Habakkuk 1:8
ContextNETBible | Their horses are faster than leopards and more alert 1 than wolves in the desert. 2 Their horses 3 gallop, 4 their horses come a great distance; like a vulture 5 they swoop down quickly to devour their prey. 6 |
XREF | De 28:49; Isa 5:26-28; Jer 4:13; Jer 5:6; La 4:19; Eze 17:3,12; Ho 8:1; Zep 3:3; Mt 24:28; Lu 17:37 |
NET © Notes |
1 tn Heb “sharper,” in the sense of “keener” or “more alert.” Some translate “quicker” on the basis of the parallelism with the first line (see HALOT 291 s.v. חדד). 2 tn Heb “wolves of the evening,” that is, wolves that prowl at night. The present translation assumes an emendation to עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “desert”). On this phrase see also Zeph 3:3. 3 tn Or “horsemen,” “cavalry.” 4 tn The precise nuance of the rare verb פָּוַשׁ (parash) is unclear here. Elsewhere it is used of animals jumping or leaping (see Jer 50:11; Mal 4:2). 5 tn Or “eagle” (so NASB, NRSV). The term can refer to either eagles or vultures, but in this context of gruesome destruction and death “vulture” is preferred. 6 tn Heb “they fly like a vulture/an eagle quickly to devour.” The direct object “their prey” is not included in the Hebrew text but is implied, and has been supplied in the translation for clarity. |