He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
Parallel translations
- WEB As often as the trumpet sounds he snorts, ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
- BSB At the blast of the horn, he snorts with fervor. He catches the scent of battle from afar—the shouts of captains and the cry of war.
- NKJV At the blast of the trumpet he says, ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle from afar, The thunder of captains and shouting.
- NASB “As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’ And he senses the battle from afar, And the thunder of the captains and the war cry.
- NLT It snorts at the sound of the horn. It senses the battle in the distance. It quivers at the captain’s commands and the noise of battle.
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
At the trumpet the horse snorts 'Aha!' and senses the coming battle from afar. His keen instinct for war reflects the wisdom of his Maker.
Overview
The war-horse seems to relish the approach of battle, scenting it from a distance and responding to the captains' thunder and shouting. Such instinct lies wholly outside Job's power to create. The portrait completes God's celebration of the horse and presses the larger point: the God who so wisely orders the animal world is fully able to govern Job's life with justice.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Ezek 36:2Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession:
- Ezek 26:2Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:
- Ps 70:3Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.
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 39:25 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.