Behold, if a river overflows, he doesn’t tremble. He is confident, though the Jordan swells even to his mouth.
Parallel translations
- KJV Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.
- BSB Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid; he remains secure, though the Jordan surges to his mouth.
- NKJV Indeed the river may rage, Yet he is not disturbed; He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth,
- NASB “If a river rages, he is not alarmed; He is confident, though the Jordan rushes to his mouth.
- NLT It is not disturbed by the raging river, not concerned when the swelling Jordan rushes around 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
Behemoth is unshaken even when a river rages, confident though the Jordan surges to his mouth. His calm strength shows the power God gave him.
Overview
Even a flooding river cannot frighten Behemoth, who remains confident amid the swelling waters. The imagery conveys a creature secure in the strength his Maker gave him. If a beast can be so unmoved by raging waters, how much more should Job trust the God who made and steadies him. The verse magnifies the Creator's power displayed in his creature.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Gen 13:10Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well-watered everywhere, before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar.
- Isa 37:25I have dug and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet I will dry up all the rivers of Egypt.”
- Josh 3:15and when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark had dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the time of harvest),
- Isa 28:16Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone of a sure foundation. He who believes shall not act hastily.
- Ps 55:8“I would hurry to a shelter from the stormy wind and storm.”
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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 40:23 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.