“Can anyone capture him when he is on watch, Can anyone pierce his nose with barbs?
Parallel translations
- WEB Shall any take him when he is on the watch, or pierce through his nose with a snare?
- KJV He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.
- BSB Can anyone capture him as he looks on, or pierce his nose with a snare?
- NKJV Though he takes it in his eyes, Or one pierces his nose with a snare.
- NLT No one can catch it off guard or put a ring in its nose and lead it away.
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
God asks whether anyone can capture Behemoth or pierce his nose with a snare. No human can subdue this creature, much less its Maker.
Overview
The closing question about Behemoth makes the point explicit: no one can take him by force or lead him with a snare. If man cannot master the creature, he certainly cannot contend with the Creator. The Behemoth passage thus humbles Job's pretensions and prepares for the even greater portrait of Leviathan, driving Job toward full submission to God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Job 41:1–2“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fish hook, or press down his tongue with a cord?
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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 40:24 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.