New English Translation
Job 40:23
23If the river rages, it is not disturbed, it is secure, though the Jordan should surge up to its mouth.
Job 40:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.
- New International Version (NIV)A raging river does not alarm it; it is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened; he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Indeed the river may rage, Yet he is not disturbed; He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth,
Context of Job 40:23
21Under the lotus trees it lies, in the secrecy of the reeds and the marsh. 22The lotus trees conceal it in their shadow; the poplars by the stream conceal it. If the river rages, it is not disturbed, it is secure, though the Jordan should surge up to its mouth. 24Can anyone catch it by its eyes, or pierce its nose with a snare?
Read all of Job 40Job 40:23 word by word
הֵ֤ן יַעֲשֹׁ֣ק נָ֭הָר לֹ֣א יַחְפּ֑וֹז יִבְטַ֓ח׀ כִּֽי־יָגִ֖יחַ יַרְדֵּ֣ן אֶל־פִּֽיהוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 40:23
- Isaiah 37:25I dug wells and drank water. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.’
- Psalms 55:8I will hurry off to a place that is safe from the strong wind and the gale.”
- Isaiah 28:16Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says: “Look, I am laying a stone in Zion, an approved stone, set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. The one who maintains his faith will not panic.
- Genesis 13:10Lot looked up and saw the whole region of the Jordan. He noticed that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, all the way to Zoar.
- Joshua 3:15When the ones carrying the ark reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched the surface of the water – (the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest time) –
Commentaries on Job 40:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23Behold, he drinketh up a river - A similar mode of expression, and of precisely the same meaning, as that in Job 39:24; : "He swalloweth the ground with fierceness." No river can stop his course: he wades through all; stems every tide and torrent; and hurries not as though he were in danger. He trusteth that he can draw up Jordan - Even when the river overflows its banks, it is no stoppage to him: though the whole impetuosity of its stream rush against…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23Behold he drinketh up a river - Margin, “oppresseth.” The margin expresses the proper meaning of the Hebrew word, עשׁק ‛âshaq It usually means to oppress, to treat with violence and injustice; and to defraud, or extort. But a very different sense is given to this verse by Bochart, Gesenius, Noyes, Schultens, Umbreit, Prof. Lee, and Rosenmuller. According to the interpretation given by them the meaning is, “The stream overfloweth, and he feareth not; he…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-24Verses 15-24 God, for the further proving of his own power, describes two vast animals, far exceeding man in bulk and strength. Behemoth signifies beasts. Most understand it of an animal well known in Egypt, called the river-horse, or hippopotamus. This vast animal is noticed as an argument to humble ourselves before the great God; for he created this vast animal, which is so fearfully and wonderfully made. Whatever strength this or any other creature…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-24After listing natural animals, God described Behemoth and "Leviathan" as creatures humans cannot control (39:1–30; 40:15–24; 41:1–34). Job could not control the wild donkey or ox (39:5–12; 40:15–24). However, God created and could control them, and Job had to accept this fact (41:2). Here, Behemoth appears to be a natural creature: It is an animal God made, just as he made Job (40:15). It is not a fierce predator but eats grass like an ox (40:15). It is…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-2415-24. God shows that if Job cannot bring under control the lower animals (of which he selects the two most striking, behemoth on land, leviathan in the water), much less is he capable of governing the world. behemoth--The description in part agrees with the hippopotamus, in part with the elephant, but exactly in all details with neither. It is rather a poetical personification of the great Pachydermata, or Herbivora (so "he eateth grass"), the idea of…Read the comment
Topics related to Job 40:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 40
- 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
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