The miner strikes the flint; he overturns mountains at their base.
Parallel translations
- WEB He puts his hand on the flinty rock, and he overturns the mountains by the roots.
- KJV He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.
- NKJV He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the roots.
- NASB “He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the base.
- NLT People know how to tear apart flinty rocks and overturn the roots of mountains.
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
With his own hand man attacks the hard rock and overturns mountains at their roots.
Overview
Job portrays the miner's astonishing power to break flint and tear into the foundations of mountains. The language conveys both strength and persistence in the pursuit of treasure. This celebration of human capability sets up the humbling truth that all such power cannot grasp wisdom, which God alone possesses and grants (verses 23, 28).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Nah 1:4–6He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 28:9 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.