Job 40 · Verse 21

Job 40:21

He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.
Job 40:21, King James Version

Job 40:21 in other translations

BSBHe lies under the lotus plants, hidden among the reeds of the marsh.
WEBHe lies under the lotus trees, in the covert of the reed, and the marsh.
ASVHe lieth under the lotus-trees, In the covert of the reed, and the fen.
YLTUnder shades he lieth down, In a secret place of reed and mire.
DARBYHe lieth under lotus-bushes, in the covert of the reed and fen:
BBEHe takes his rest under the trees of the river, and in the pool, under the shade of the water-plants.
WebsterHe lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.

What does Job 40:21 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 21 He lieth under the shady trees - This and the following verses refer to certain habits of the behemoth, with which we are and must be unacquainted,

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 40:21 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.

תַּֽחַת\־ta.chat-underH8478
צֶאֱלִ֥יםtze.'e.Limthorny lotus plantsH6628
יִשְׁכָּ֑בyish.Kavit liesH7901
בְּסֵ֖תֶרbe.Se.terin a hiding place ofH5643
קָנֶ֣הka.Nehreed[s]H7070
וּבִצָּֽה\׃u.vi.Tzahand swampH1207

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

Cross references for Job 40:21

  • Isaiah 19:6-7

    And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither. The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.

  • Isaiah 35:7

    And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the reed.
Isa 19:6,7; 35:7

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

Context

  • Job 40:20

    Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play.

  • Job 40:21

    He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.

  • Job 40:22

    The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about.

Read all of Job 40

Job 40:21 in other languages

French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Il se couche sous les lotus dans une retraite de roseaux et de marécages;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Kannst du einen Binsenstrick durch seine Nase ziehen, und seinen Kinnbacken mit einem Ringe durchbohren?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Numquid pones circulum in naribus ejus, aut armilla perforabis maxillam ejus?