Bible Strands
Isaiah 5:28
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Isaiah addresses Judah, detailing the imminent arrival of an invading army. The oracle describes a force in complete combat readiness, positioned between a declaration of unbroken stamina and a depiction of predatory violence.
The words — The Hebrew שְׁנוּנִים (shĕnūnîm) literally means "sharpened," directly modifying the enemy's arrows. The term דְּרוּכֹת (dĕrûkōt) means "tread down" or "pressed," describing the heavy, crushing action of the chariot wheels.
The thread — The text states that the army's arrows are sharpened and bows are strung, a detail paralleled in Psalm 45:5 and Ezekiel 21:9. The passage links this martial preparedness to the surrounding context of Isaiah 5:27 and Isaiah 5:29, which frame the force as an unstoppable, lion-like instrument.
Why it lands — The text first describes the physical mechanics of the invading force before declaring its devastating effect. It asks the reader to recognize the described military power as a precise, controlled mechanism of judgment rather than random violence.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:
Cross-references
- Psalms 45:5 Your arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s foes; the nations fall beneath your feet.
- Ezekiel 21:9 “Son of man, prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord says: ‘A sword, a sword, sharpened and polished—
- Nahum 2:3 The shields of his mighty men are red; the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet. The fittings of the chariots flash like fire on the day they are prepared, and the spears of cypress have been brandished.
- Judges 5:22 Then the hooves of horses thundered—the mad galloping of his stallions.
- Psalms 7:12 If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow.
- Psalms 120:4 Sharp arrows will come from the warrior, with burning coals of the broom tree!
- Isaiah 21:1 This is the burden against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the Negev, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.
- Jeremiah 5:16 Their quivers are like open graves; they are all mighty men.
- Jeremiah 47:3 at the sound of the galloping hooves of stallions, the rumbling of chariots, and the clatter of their wheels. The fathers will not turn back for their sons; their hands will hang limp.
- Micah 4:13 Rise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion, for I will give you horns of iron and hooves of bronze to break to pieces many peoples. Then you will devote their gain to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.