Habakkuk 1:8 — Meaning and Application

For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, {that} bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces {that are} not theirs. {breadth: Heb. breadths}

They {are} terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves. {their judgment...: or, from them shall proceed the judgment of these, and the captivity of these}

Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle {that} hasteth to eat. {fierce: Heb. sharp}

They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up {as} the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand. {their...: or, the supping up of their faces, etc: or, their faces shall look (Heb. the opposition of their faces) toward the east}

And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.