Revised Literal Translation
Job 40:19
19He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.
Job 40:19 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.
- New International Version (NIV)It ranks first among the works of God, yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword!
- New King James Version (NKJV)He is the first of the ways of God; Only He who made him can bring near His sword.
Context of Job 40:19
17He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. 18His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him. 20Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play. 21He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.
Read all of Job 40Job 40:19 word by word
ה֭וּא רֵאשִׁ֣ית דַּרְכֵי־אֵ֑ל הָ֝עֹשׂוֹ יַגֵּ֥שׁ חַרְבּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Job 40:19
- Job 26:13By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
- Psalms 104:24O Yhwh, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
- Psalms 7:12If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.
- Isaiah 27:1In that day Yhwh with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
Commentaries on Job 40:19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19He is the chief of the ways of God - The largest, strongest, and swiftest quadruped that God has formed. He that made him - No power of man or beast can overcome him. God alone can overcome him, and God alone could make his sword (of extinction) approach to him.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19He is the chief of the ways of God - In size and strength. The word rendered “chief” is used in a similar sense in Numbers 24:20, “Amalek was the first of the nations;” that is, one of the most powerful and mighty of the nations. He that made him can make his sword approach unto him - According to this translation, the sense is, that God had power over him, notwithstanding his great strength and size, and could take his life when he pleased. Yet this…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 40:19
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries