Proverbs 21:31

31. The horse is prepared against… battle This verse connects with the preceding. Its import is, that no preparation for war, however great, however confided in, can be successful without God’s blessing. We find horses first in Egypt. Genesis 49:17; Exodus 9:3; Exodus 14:6-28. They are mentioned by Job, (Job 39:19.) Egypt was celebrated for its horses, 1 Kings 10:28; Isaiah 31:1; Isaiah 36:9; Ezekiel 17:5. Joshua encountered chariots and horsemen in the north of Palestine. Joshua 11:4-9. Anciently horses were generally used for war purposes: for the more peaceful avocations the ass was employed. Zechariah 9:9. Solomon first introduced the raising of horses among the Hebrews. The hundred reserved (2 Samuel 8:4; 1 Chronicles 18:4) were for the use of David himself, whose example was imitated by Absalom. 2 Samuel 15:1. God had expressly forbidden the ruler of the Jews to multiply horses, (Deuteronomy 17:16:) but Solomon seems to have paid no attention to this injunction, and after his time the Hebrews were never destitute of horses. They had both horsemen and chariots of war.

Safety is of the Lord The deliverance belongs to Jehovah. It is his to give victory. Compare 1 Samuel 17:47; Psalms 3:8; Psalms 33:17. Miller singularly enough translates the last clause, “and salvation against Jehovah!” that is, as he explains, Salvation is “prepared,” “made ready,” against the “day of Jehovah!”