Habakkuk 1:8 (GNV)

Passage

Their horses also are swifter then the leopards, and are more fierce then the wolues in the euening: and their horsemen are many: and their horsemen shall come from farre: they shall flie as the eagle hasting to meate.

Nearby Context

Habakkuk 1:6 For lo, I raise vp the Caldeans, that bitter and furious nation, which shall goe vpon the breadth of the lande to possesse the dwelling places, that are not theirs.

Habakkuk 1:7 They are terrible and fearefull: their iudgement and their dignitie shall proceede of theselues.

Habakkuk 1:8 Their horses also are swifter then the leopards, and are more fierce then the wolues in the euening: and their horsemen are many: and their horsemen shall come from farre: they shall flie as the eagle hasting to meate.

Habakkuk 1:9 They come all to spoyle: before their faces shalbe an Eastwinde, and they shall gather the captiuitie, as the sand.

Habakkuk 1:10 And they shall mocke the Kings, and the princes shalbe a skorne vnto them: they shall deride euery strong holde: for they shall gather dust, and take it.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "horses", "swifter", "leopards", "fierce", "wolues", "euening", and "horsemen". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "horses" and "swifter", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "They are terrible and fearefull their iudgement..." into verse 9's "They come all to spoyle before their...", so "horses" and "swifter" belong inside that flow. In Habakkuk context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "horses" and "swifter" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.