He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He was a mighty hunter before Yahweh. Therefore it is said, “like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before Yahweh”.
- KJV He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
- BSB He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; so it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.”
- NASB He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.”
- NLT Since he was the greatest hunter in the world, his name became proverbial. People would say, “This man is like Nimrod, the greatest hunter in the world.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Nimrod was renowned as a mighty hunter before Yahweh, becoming a proverb. His fame highlights his exceptional power and reach.
Overview
Nimrod's reputation as a mighty hunter became proverbial, marking him as a figure of great strength and influence. Whether his might is viewed positively or as overreaching defiance is debated among interpreters, though his association with Babel suggests human ambition apart from God. His legacy contrasts with the gentle dominion of Christ, the King who rules in righteousness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 2 Chr 28:22In the time of his distress, he trespassed yet more against Yahweh, this same king Ahaz.
- Gen 13:13Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against Yahweh.
- Gen 27:30As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had just gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
- Gen 6:4The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when God’s sons came in to men’s daughters and had children with them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
- Gen 25:27The boys grew. Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field. Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents.
- Gen 6:11The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
- Ps 52:7“Behold, this is the man who didn’t make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.”
- Ezek 13:18and say, “Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Woe to the women who sew pillows on all elbows, and make kerchiefs for the head of persons of every stature to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of my people, and save souls alive for yourselves?
- Mic 7:2The godly man has perished out of the earth, and there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; every man hunts his brother with a net.
- Jer 16:16“Behold, I will send for many fishermen,” says Yahweh, “and they shall fish them up; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 10:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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