See the ships sailing along, and Leviathan, which you made to play in the sea.
Parallel translations
- WEB There the ships go, and leviathan, whom you formed to play there.
- KJV There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
- BSB There the ships pass, and Leviathan, which You formed to frolic there.
- NKJV There the ships sail about; There is that Leviathan Which You have made to play there.
- NASB The ships move along there, And Leviathan, which You have formed to have fun in 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
Upon the sea the ships sail, and there is leviathan, formed by God to play in it. Even the mighty sea creature is God's plaything, not His rival.
Overview
Leviathan, elsewhere a symbol of fearsome power, is here pictured frolicking in the sea God made for it. What men dread is mere sport to the Creator. This declares God's complete mastery over every power, a mastery exercised by Christ, who tramples every hostile force beneath His feet.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ps 107:23Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters;
- Isa 27:1In that day, Yahweh with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan, the fleeing serpent, and leviathan the twisted serpent; and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea.
- Ps 74:14You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures.
- Gen 49:13“Zebulun will dwell at the haven of the sea. He will be for a haven of ships. His border will be on Sidon.
- Job 41:1–34“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fish hook, or press down his tongue with a cord?
- Job 3:8Let them curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up leviathan.
- Ezek 27:9The old men of Gebal and its wise men were your repairers of ship seams in you: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you to deal in your merchandise.
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 104:26 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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