Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting?
Parallel translations
- WEB Have you made him to leap as a locust? The glory of his snorting is awesome.
- KJV Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible.
- NKJV Can you frighten him like a locust? His majestic snorting strikes terror.
- NASB “Do you make him leap like locusts? His majestic snorting is frightening.
- NLT Did you give it the ability to leap like a locust? Its majestic snorting is terrifying!
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
God asks if Job gave the horse its locust-like leaping and its awesome, snorting power. The animal's fearsome vigor is the Creator's handiwork.
Overview
The war-horse leaps like a locust and snorts with terrifying majesty, a creature built for battle. God's questioning makes clear that none of this is Job's doing. The portrait invites wonder at how God has woven strength and courage into his creatures, again confronting Job with a power and wisdom infinitely beyond his own.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Jer 8:16The snorting of enemy horses is heard from Dan. At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds, the whole land quakes. They come to devour the land and everything in it, the city and all who dwell in it.
- Job 41:20–21Smoke billows from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
- Joel 2:5With a sound like that of chariots they bound over the mountaintops, like the crackling of fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army deployed for battle.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 39:20 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.