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He lies under the lotus plants, hidden among the reeds of the marsh.
Job 40:21 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB He lies under the lotus trees, in the covert of the reed, and the marsh.
  • KJV He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.
  • NKJV He lies under the lotus trees, In a covert of reeds and marsh.
  • NASB “He lies down under the lotus plants, In the hiding place of the reeds and the marsh.
  • NLT It lies under the lotus plants, hidden by the reeds in the marsh.

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

Behemoth rests beneath the lotus trees, hidden among reeds and marsh. His watery, shaded haunts are part of God's provision.

Overview

The description of Behemoth lying among lotus plants, reeds, and marshes fits a creature at home in riverside habitats, often taken as evidence for the hippopotamus. The serene picture of the beast at rest in his God-given environment continues the theme of the Creator's provision. Every creature dwells where God has placed it, under his watchful ordering.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • Isa 35:7The parched ground will become a pool, the thirsty land springs of water. In the haunt where jackals once lay, there will be grass and reeds and papyrus.
  • Isa 19:6–7The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will trickle and dry up; the reeds and rushes will wither.

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 40:21YouTube · 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 40:21 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.