23 Bible Verses About Horses

Job 39:19

“Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane?”

Reflection: God speaks to Job out of the whirlwind (Job 38:1), and in Job 39 he questions him about animals. The questions about the horse come one after another: “Do you give the horse his might? … Do you make him leap like the locust?” (Job 39:19-20). Job is not the one who gave the horse its might, and the questions leave him to say so.

Job 39:25

“When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.”

Reflection: The speech follows the horse into battle. It paws in the valley, “goes out to meet the weapons” and “laughs at fear” (Job 39:21-22), and it cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet (39:24). When God challenges Job to answer (Job 40:2), Job replies, “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth” (40:4).

Exodus 15:1

“Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, ‘I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Reflection: Moses and Israel sing this after the sea closed over “all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen” (Exodus 14:23, 28). Miriam leads the women in the same line with tambourines (Exodus 15:20-21). Later passages come back to Egypt and its horses: Deuteronomy 17:16 forbids the king to send the people back there for them, and Isaiah 31:1 pronounces woe on those who go down to Egypt to rely on them.

Deuteronomy 17:16

“Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’”

Reflection: Moses’ law for a future king sets three limits: not many horses, not many wives, and not excessive silver and gold (Deuteronomy 17:16-17). The king is to write out a copy of the law and read it “all the days of his life,” so that his heart is not “lifted up above his brothers” (17:18-20). Solomon later had 12,000 horsemen and imported horses from Egypt and Kue (1 Kings 10:26-28).

Psalm 20:7

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”

Reflection: Psalm 20 is said on behalf of the king (“the LORD saves his anointed,” 20:6) and ends, “O LORD, save the king! May he answer us when we call.” Verse 7 sets two sides against each other: one trusts in chariots and horses, the other in the name of the LORD. The next verse gives the outcome: “They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.”

Psalm 33:17

“The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.”

Reflection: Psalm 33:16-17 says the king is not saved by his great army, the warrior is not delivered by his great strength, and the war horse cannot rescue. Verse 18 says where the psalm looks instead: “the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love.” Psalm 147:10-11 also sets the strength of the horse against “those who fear him, … those who hope in his steadfast love.”

Proverbs 21:31

“The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD.”

Reflection: Getting the horse ready is assumed: someone prepares it for the day of battle, and the outcome still belongs to the LORD. The verse before sets the same limit on planning: “No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.”

Isaiah 31:1

“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD!”

Reflection: Isaiah pronounces woe on those who go to Egypt for help and count its horses, chariots and horsemen. Verse 3 gives the reason they will fail: “The Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit.” When the LORD stretches out his hand, the helper and the one helped fall together.

Hosea 14:3

“Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.”

Reflection: Near the end of Hosea, God gives Israel words to say when they return: “Take with you words and return to the LORD” (Hosea 14:2). In those words Israel gives up three things: help from Assyria, riding on horses, and calling “the work of our hands” their God. The words end, “In you the orphan finds mercy.”

Psalm 32:9

“Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.”

Reflection: The verse before is a promise: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” Verse 9 is the warning that goes with it: a horse or mule has to be held with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near. The next verse sets the sorrows of the wicked against the steadfast love that “surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.”

James 3:3

“If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.”

Reflection: James uses the bit as a picture of the tongue: a small thing in the mouth steers the whole horse, as a small rudder steers a large ship (James 3:4). Verse 2 makes the connection: a person who does not stumble in what he says is “able also to bridle his whole body.”

Jeremiah 8:6

“I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents of his evil, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turns to his own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle.”

Reflection: God speaks through Jeremiah about a people who “hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return” (Jeremiah 8:5). He has listened for anyone to say, “What have I done?” and heard no one. Each goes his own way like a horse plunging into battle. Verse 7 turns to birds: the stork, turtledove, swallow and crane keep their seasons, “but my people know not the rules of the LORD.”

Jeremiah 12:5

“If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?”

Reflection: Jeremiah has just asked, “Why does the way of the wicked prosper?” (Jeremiah 12:1). God’s reply warns him that harder things are coming: if running against men on foot has worn him out, racing horses will be worse. Verse 6 names the next trouble: his own brothers and his father’s house “have dealt treacherously with you.”

2 Kings 2:11

“And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”

Reflection: Elisha has asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, and Elijah tells him it will be granted if he sees Elijah taken (2 Kings 2:9-10). The verse does not put Elijah in the chariot: the chariots and horses of fire separate the two men, and Elijah goes up by a whirlwind. Elisha sees it and cries, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” (2:12).

2 Kings 6:17

“Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

Reflection: The king of Syria has sent horses, chariots and a great army to surround Dothan, where Elisha is (2 Kings 6:13-14), and Elisha’s servant asks, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” Elisha answers that “those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16) and prays for the servant’s eyes to be opened. The horses and chariots of fire were already on the mountain; the servant is given the sight to see them.

Habakkuk 3:8

“Was your wrath against the rivers, O LORD? Was your anger against the rivers, or your indignation against the sea, when you rode on your horses, on your chariot of salvation?”

Reflection: Habakkuk 3 describes the LORD going out as a warrior with bow, arrows and a glittering spear (Habakkuk 3:9, 11). The horses and the “chariot of salvation” are his, and verse 13 says why he went out: “You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed.” Verse 15 returns to the horses: “You trampled the sea with your horses.”

Zechariah 1:8

“I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.”

Reflection: Zechariah dates this night vision to the second year of Darius (Zechariah 1:7). The rider on the red horse and the horses behind him are those “whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth,” and they report back, “all the earth remains at rest” (1:10-11).

Zechariah 6:2-3

“The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong.”

Reflection: Four chariots come out from between two mountains of bronze, each drawn by horses of one color. The angel explains that they are going out “to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth” (Zechariah 6:5), and the strong horses are “impatient to go and patrol the earth” (6:7). Red, black and white horses appear again in Revelation 6.

Revelation 6:2

“And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.”

Reflection: The Lamb opens the first of seven seals, and one of the four living creatures calls, “Come!” (Revelation 6:1). The rider of the white horse carries a bow, is given a crown, and goes out “conquering, and to conquer.” The text does not name him. Revelation 19:11 also has a rider on a white horse, but that rider is named, Faithful and True, and a sword comes from his mouth (19:15).

Revelation 6:4

“And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.”

Reflection: At the second seal a red horse comes out. Its rider is permitted to take peace from the earth “so that people should slay one another,” and he is given a great sword.

Revelation 6:5

“And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand.”

Reflection: At the third seal the rider holds a pair of scales, and a voice from among the four living creatures names prices for grain: “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!” (Revelation 6:6).

Revelation 6:8

“And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.”

Reflection: Of the four riders, this is the one Revelation 6 names: Death, with Hades following him. The two are given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, famine, pestilence and wild beasts.

Revelation 19:11

“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.”

Reflection: Heaven opens and the rider on the white horse is called Faithful and True, and later in the passage “The Word of God” (Revelation 19:13) and “King of kings and Lord of lords” (19:16). The armies of heaven follow him “on white horses” (19:14), and a sharp sword comes from his mouth to strike down the nations (19:15).