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His young ones feast on blood; and where the slain are, there he is.”
Job 39:30 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB His young ones also suck up blood. Where the slain are, there he is.”
  • KJV Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she.
  • NKJV Its young ones suck up blood; And where the slain are, there it is.”
  • NASB “His young ones also lick up blood greedily; And where the slain are, there he is.”
  • NLT Its young gulp down blood. Where there’s a carcass, there you’ll find it.”

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

The eagle's young feed on blood, gathering where the slain lie. Even the harsher provisions of nature fall under God's ordering.

Overview

God concludes the survey of creatures by noting how the eagle provides for its young, even amid scenes of death. This sober image affirms that God sustains the whole web of creation, including its predatory dimension. The speech leaves Job overwhelmed by a creation whose every detail bears the mark of a wisdom and care that far exceed his own, preparing him to humble himself before the Lord.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 3

  • Matt 24:28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
  • Luke 17:37“Where, Lord?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”
  • Ezek 39:17–19And as for you, son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: Call out to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great feast on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Job videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Job 39:30YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JobMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 39:30 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.