Isaiah 5:28

28 whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and the wheels of their chariots like a whirlwind;

Isaiah 5:28 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 5:28

Whose arrows [are] sharp, and all their bows bent
Ready to shoot their arrows upon any occasion; and which being sharp, penetrated deep, and were deadly. This includes all kind of warlike instruments, with which they should come furnished, and ready prepared to do execution: their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint;
by those who rode upon them; who knowing how strong and firm they were, and that they were not worn out, nor hurt by the length of the way they came, would not spare to make haste upon them: and their wheels like a whirlwind;
that is, the wheels of their chariots, they used in battle, as Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Kimchi, interpret it; and so the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it: this metaphor denotes both the swiftness with which they should come, and the noise and rattling they should make, and the power and force in bearing down all before them. The Targum is,

``and his wheels swift as a tempest.''

Isaiah 5:28 In-Context

26 And he will lift up a banner as an example to Gentiles that are far and will hiss unto those that are in the end of the earth; and behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken;
28 whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and the wheels of their chariots like a whirlwind;
29 their roaring shall be like a lion: they shall roar like young lions; they shall gnash their teeth and lay hold of the prey and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.
30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea; and if one looks unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010