Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid; he remains secure, though the Jordan surges to his mouth.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, if a river overflows, he doesn’t tremble. He is confident, though the Jordan swells even to his mouth.
- KJV Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into 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 13:10And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
- Isa 37:25I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”
- Josh 3:15Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge,
- Isa 28:16So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.
- Ps 55:8I would hurry to my shelter, far from this raging tempest.”
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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.