English Standard Version
Job 39:16
16She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers; though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear,
Job 39:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear;
- New International Version (NIV)She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain,
- New King James Version (NKJV)She treats her young harshly, as though they were not hers; Her labor is in vain, without concern,
- New Living Translation (NLT)She is harsh toward her young, as if they were not her own. She doesn’t care if they die.
Context of Job 39:16
14For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them be warmed on the ground, 15forgetting that a foot may crush them and that the wild beast may trample them. She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers; though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear, 17because God has made her forget wisdom and given her no share in understanding. 18When she rouses herself to flee, she laughs at the horse and his rider.
Read all of Job 39Job 39:16 word by word
הִקְשִׁ֣יחַ בָּנֶ֣יהָ לְּלֹא־לָ֑הּ לְרִ֖יק יְגִיעָ֣הּ בְּלִי־פָֽחַד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 39:16
- Lamentations 4:3Even jackals offer the breast; they nurse their young; but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.
- Deuteronomy 28:56The most tender and refined woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because she is so delicate and tender, will begrudge to the husband she embraces, to her son and to her daughter,
- 1 Kings 3:26Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, "Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death." But the other said, "He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him."
- 2 Kings 6:28And the king asked her, "What is your trouble?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'
- Lamentations 2:20Look, O Lord, and see! With whom have you dealt thus? Should women eat the fruit of their womb, the children of their tender care? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?
- Romans 1:31foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
- Ecclesiastes 10:15The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city.
- Habakkuk 2:13Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing?
Commentaries on Job 39:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16She is hardened against her young - See before, and the extracts from Dr. Shaw at the end of the chapter, Job 39:30; (note). She neglects her little ones, which are often found half starved, straggling, and moaning about, like so many deserted orphans, for their mother.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16She is hardened against her young ones - The obvious meaning of this passage, which is a fair translation of the Hebrew, is, that the ostrich is destitute of natural affection for her young; or that she treats them as if she had not the usual natural affection manifested in the animal creation. This sentiment also occurs in Lamentations 4:3, “The daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.” This opinion is controverted by…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-16The ostrich symbolizes neglect for her young because she (Lamentations 4:3): Leaves her eggs on the ground. Seems to abandon her eggs when a predator comes near. She is probably trying to distract the predator from the nest. Lays her eggs with other female ostrich in a shared nest, so many eggs are not her own.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. On a slight noise she often forsakes her eggs, and returns not, as if she were "hardened towards her young." her labour--in producing eggs, is in vain, (yet) she has not disquietude (about her young), unlike other birds, who, if one egg and another are taken away, will go on laying till their full number is made up.Read the comment
Topics related to Job 39:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 39
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries