Job 40 · Verse 17

Job 40:17

He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.
Job 40:17, King James Version

Job 40:17 in other translations

BSBHis tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.
WEBHe moves his tail like a cedar. The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
ASVHe moveth his tail like a cedar: The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
YLTHe doth bend his tail as a cedar, The sinews of his thighs are wrapped together,
DARBYHe bendeth his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are woven together.
BBEHis tail is curving like a cedar; the muscles of his legs are joined together.
WebsterHe moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his male organs are wrapped together.

What does Job 40:17 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Job 40:15-24

15-24. God shows that if Job cannot bring under control the lower animals (of which he selects the two most striking, behemoth on land, leviathan in the water), much less is he capable of governing the world. behemoth--The description in part agrees with the hippopotamus, in part with the elephant, but exactly in all details with neither. It is rather a poetical personification of the great Pachydermata, or…

Read the full comment on Job 40:15-24 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 17 He moveth his tail like a cedar - Therefore it was neither the elephant, who has a tail like that of the hog, nor the hippopotamus, whose tail is only about a foot long. The sinews of his stones - I translate with Mr. Good, and for the same reasons, the sinews of his haunches, which is still more characteristic; as the animal must have excelled in leaping.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 40:15-24

God, for the further proving of his own power, describes two vast animals, far exceeding man in bulk and strength. Behemoth signifies beasts. Most understand it of an animal well known in Egypt, called the river-horse, or hippopotamus. This vast animal is noticed as an argument to humble ourselves before the great God; for he created this vast animal, which is so fearfully and wonderfully made. Whatever strength…

Read the full comment on Job 40:15-24 →

Job 40:17 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

יַחְפֹּ֣ץyach.Potzit stiffensH2654
זְנָב֣וֹze.na.Votail itsH2180
כְמוֹ\־khe.mov-likeH3644
אָ֑רֶז'A.reza cedarH730
גִּידֵ֖יgi.Dei[the] sinews ofH1517
פַחֲדָ֣יוfa.cha.dovthighs itsH6344
יְשֹׂרָֽגוּ\׃ye.so.Ra.guthey are intertwinedH8276

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Job 40:17

  • Job 41:23

    The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
moveth. or, setteth up. the.
41:23

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Job 40:16

    Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.

  • Job 40:17

    He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.

  • Job 40:18

    His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.

Read all of Job 40

Job 40:17 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Los árboles sombríos lo cubren con su sombra; los sauces del arroyo lo cercan.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Il courbe sa queue comme un cèdre; les nerfs de sa cuisse sont entrelacés;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Lotosbüsche bedecken ihn mit ihrem Schatten, es umgeben ihn die Weiden des Baches.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Protegunt umbræ umbram ejus: circumdabunt eum salices torrentis.