God’s Word Translation
Job 39:13
13“Does the ostrich flap its wings in joy, or do its wings lack feathers?
Job 39:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?
- New International Version (NIV)“The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and feathers of the stork.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are they the pinions and plumage of love?
- New King James Version (NKJV)“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork’s?
Context of Job 39:13
11Can you trust it just because it’s so strong or leave your labor to it? 12Can you rely on it to bring your grain back and take it to your threshing floor? “Does the ostrich flap its wings in joy, or do its wings lack feathers? 14It lays its eggs on the ground and warms them in the dust. 15It forgets that a foot may crush them or a wild animal may trample them.
Read all of Job 39Job 39:13 word by word
כְּנַף־רְנָנִ֥ים נֶעֱלָ֑סָה אִם־אֶ֝בְרָ֗ה חֲסִידָ֥ה וְנֹצָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 39:13
- 1 Kings 10:22The king had a fleet headed for Tarshish with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the Tarshish fleet would bring gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.
- 2 Chronicles 9:21The king had ships going to Tarshish with Huram’s sailors. Once every three years the Tarshish ships would bring gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.
- Job 30:29I’m a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.
- Leviticus 11:19storks, all types of herons, hoopoes, and bats.
- Psalms 104:17Birds build their nests in them. Storks make their homes in fir trees.
- Jeremiah 8:7Even storks know when it’s time to return. Mourning doves, swallows, and cranes know when it’s time to migrate. But my people don’t know that I, the Lord, am urging them to return.
- Zechariah 5:9I looked up and saw two women coming forward with wind in their wings. They had wings like those of a stork. They carried the basket into the sky.
Commentaries on Job 39:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13The goodly wings unto the peacocks? - I believe peacocks are not intended here; and the Hebrew word רננים renanim should be translated ostriches; and the term חסידה chasidah, which we translate ostrich, should be, as it is elsewhere translated, stork; and perhaps the word נצה notsah, rendered here feathers, should be translated hawk, or pelican. The Vulgate has, Penna struthionis similis est pennis herodii et accipitris; "the feather of the ostrich is…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? - In the previous verses the appeal had been to the wild and untamable animals of the desert. In the prosecution of the argument, it was natural to allude to the feathered tribes which resided there also, and which were distinguished for their strength or fleetness of wing, as proof of the wisdom and the superintending providence of God. The idea is, that these animals, far away from the abodes of man, where…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13-18In the ancient Near East, people believed the ostrich was a bird that God had not given wisdom.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. Rather, "the wing of the ostrich hen"--literally, "the crying bird"; as the Arab name for it means "song"; referring to its night cries (Job 30:29; Mi 1:8) vibrating joyously. "Is it not like the quill and feathers of the pious bird" (the stork)? [Umbreit]. The vibrating, quivering wing, serving for sail and oar at once, is characteristic of the ostrich in full course. Its white and black feathers in the wing and tail are like the stork's. But, unlike…Read the comment
Topics related to Job 39:13
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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