Limitless Word
The folds of his flesh are joined together; They are firm on him and cannot be moved.
Job 41:23 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB The flakes of his flesh are joined together. They are firm on him. They can’t be moved.
  • KJV The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.
  • BSB The folds of his flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.
  • NASB “The folds of his flesh are joined together, Firm and immovable on him.
  • NLT Its flesh is hard and firm and cannot be penetrated.

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 folds of Leviathan's flesh are firmly joined and immovable. His solid frame displays the Creator's power.

Overview

Leviathan's flesh is described as firm and tightly knit, unyielding to any force. The imagery of a body that cannot be moved reinforces the creature's invulnerability. As with his scales, his very flesh testifies to the strength God built into him. Job is led again to marvel at the Creator who fashioned such a beast and to bow before his power.

Cross-references & the web

No cross-references recorded for this verse.

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 41:23YouTube · 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 41:23 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.