The Meaning of Isaiah 5:28 Explained

Isaiah 5:28

KJV: Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:

YLT: Whose arrows are sharp, and all its bows bent, Hoofs of its horses as flint have been reckoned, And its wheels as a hurricane!

Darby: their arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses' hoofs are reckoned as the flint, and their wheels as a whirlwind.

ASV: whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses hoofs shall be accounted as flint, and their wheels as a whirlwind:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Whose arrows  [are] sharp,  and all their bows  bent,  their horses'  hoofs  shall be counted  like flint,  and their wheels  like a whirlwind: 

What does Isaiah 5:28 Mean?

Context Summary

Isaiah 5:18-30 - Warning Against Pride, Intemperance, And Corruption
The wild grapes of Judah are here continued: blind atheism, Isaiah 5:18-20; proud self-conceit, Isaiah 5:21; drunkenness, Isaiah 5:22; injustice in the courts, Isaiah 5:23-24. What a terrible description is that given in Isaiah 5:18 of the inevitable progress of sin! The bacchanalian procession which is seen, in Isaiah 5:14, descending with music and flowers into the open gates of Hades is described in Isaiah 5:18 as being drawn down by a cable. Men begin with a thread, but the thread of habit becomes a rope, and the rope grows to a cable, which ultimately lands a man in the pit. From Isaiah 5:25 onward we have the description of impending judgment. Earthquakes, armed raids, civil strife, and famine fever, the devastating inroads of hostile invasion, a desolate land and a hungry sea such would be the forces of destruction which Judah's sin would unloose. Recent events have revealed the terror of such a visitation. Remember that the wrath of love is as severe as a consuming fire. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 5

1  Under the parable of a vineyard, God excuses his severe judgment
8  His judgments upon covetousness
11  Upon lasciviousness
13  Upon impiety
20  And upon injustice
26  The executioners of God's judgments

What do the individual words in Isaiah 5:28 mean?

Whose arrows [are] sharp and all their bows bent hooves their horses' like flint will seem and their wheels like a whirlwind
אֲשֶׁ֤ר חִצָּיו֙ שְׁנוּנִ֔ים וְכָל־ קַשְּׁתֹתָ֖יו דְּרֻכ֑וֹת פַּרְס֤וֹת סוּסָיו֙ כַּצַּ֣ר נֶחְשָׁ֔בוּ וְגַלְגִּלָּ֖יו כַּסּוּפָֽה

אֲשֶׁ֤ר  Whose 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
חִצָּיו֙  arrows 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: חֵץ  
Sense: arrow.
שְׁנוּנִ֔ים  [are]  sharp 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine plural
Root: שָׁנַן 
Sense: to sharpen, whet.
וְכָל־  and  all 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
קַשְּׁתֹתָ֖יו  their  bows 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: קֶשֶׁת  
Sense: bow.
דְּרֻכ֑וֹת  bent 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, feminine plural
Root: דָּרַךְ  
Sense: to tread, bend, lead, march.
פַּרְס֤וֹת  hooves 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: פַּרְסָה  
Sense: hoof.
סוּסָיו֙  their  horses' 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: סוּס 
Sense: swallow, swift.
כַּצַּ֣ר  like  flint 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: צַר 
Sense: narrow, tight.
נֶחְשָׁ֔בוּ  will  seem 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: חָשַׁב 
Sense: to think, plan, esteem, calculate, invent, make a judgment, imagine, count.
וְגַלְגִּלָּ֖יו  and  their  wheels 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: גַּלְגַּל 
Sense: wheel, whirl, whirlwind, whirling.
כַּסּוּפָֽה  like  a  whirlwind 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: סוּפָה 
Sense: storm-wind.