Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.
Parallel translations
- WEB His undersides are like sharp potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
- BSB His undersides are jagged potsherds, spreading out the mud like a threshing sledge.
- NKJV His undersides are like sharp potsherds; He spreads pointed marks in the mire.
- NASB “His underparts are like sharp pieces of pottery; He spreads out like a threshing sledge on the mud.
- NLT Its belly is covered with scales as sharp as glass. It plows up the ground as it drags through the mud.
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
Leviathan's underside is like sharp potsherds, leaving a marked trail in the mud. Even his belly is armored and formidable.
Overview
The creature's underparts are likened to jagged pottery shards that scrape a path through the mire like a threshing sledge. The detail shows that Leviathan is fearsome from every side, with no vulnerable part. Such complete design testifies to the Creator's wisdom and power. Job is led to marvel anew at the God who fashioned every feature of this overwhelming creature.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Isa 41:15Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.
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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 41:30 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
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