Job 9 · Verse 26

Job 9:26

They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.
Job 9:26, King James Version

Job 9:26 in other translations

BSBThey sweep by like boats of papyrus, like an eagle swooping down on its prey.
WEBThey have passed away as the swift ships, as the eagle that swoops on the prey.
ASVThey are passed away as the swift ships; As the eagle that swoopeth on the prey.
YLTThey have passed on with ships of reed, As an eagle darteth on food.
DARBYThey pass by like skiffs of reed; as an eagle that swoops upon the prey.
BBEThey go rushing on like reed-boats, like an eagle dropping suddenly on its food.
WebsterThey are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.

What does Job 9:26 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
26. swift ships--rather, canoes of reeds or papyrus skiffs, used on the Nile, swift from their lightness (Is 18:2).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 26 As the swift ships - אניות אבה oniyoth ebeh. Ships of desire, or ships of Ebeh, says our margin; perhaps more correctly, inflated ships, the sails bellying out with a fair brisk wind, tide favorable, and the vessels themselves lightly freighted. The Vulgate has, Like ships freighted with apples. Ships laden with the best fruits - Targum. Ships well adapted for sailing - Arabic. Shipes that be good under sale - Coverdale. Probably this relates to the light fast-sailing ships on the Nile, which were made of reeds or papyrus. Perhaps the idea to be seized is not so much the swiftness of the passage, as their leaving no trace or track behind them. But instead of אבה ebeh, איבה eybah, hostile ships or the ships of enemies, is the reading of forty-seven of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., and of the Syriac version. If this be the true reading what is its sense? My days are gone off like the light vessels of the pirates, having stripped me of my property, and carried all irrecoverably away, under the strongest press of sail, that they may effect their escape, and secure their booty. The next words, As the eagle that hasteth to the prey, seem at least to countenance, if not confirm, the above reading: the idea of robbery and spoil, prompt attack and sudden retreat, is preserved in both images.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 9:25-35

What little need have we of pastimes, and what great need to redeem time, when it runs on so fast towards eternity! How vain the enjoyments of time, which we may quite lose while yet time continues! The remembrance of having done our duty will be pleasing afterwards; so will not the remembrance of having got worldly wealth, when it is all lost and gone. Job's complaint of God, as one that could not be appeased and…

Read the full comment on Job 9:25-35 →

Job 9:26 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.

חָ֭לְפוּChal.futhey have passed onH2498
עִם\־'im-withH5973
אֳנִיּ֣וֹת'o.ni.Yotships ofH591
אֵבֶ֑ה'e.VehreedH16
כְּ֝נֶ֗שֶׁרke.Ne.sherlike an eagleH5404
יָט֥וּשׂya.Tus[which] it rushesH2907
עֲלֵי\־'a.lei-onH5921
אֹֽכֶל\׃'O.khelfoodH400

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

Cross references for Job 9:26

  • Habakkuk 1:8

    Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.

  • Isaiah 18:2

    That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!

  • Lamentations 4:19

    Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.

  • Jeremiah 4:13

    Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.

  • 2 Samuel 1:23

    Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

  • Job 39:27-30

    Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high? She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place. From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off. Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she.

  • Proverbs 23:5

    Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
swift ships. Heb. ships of desire, or, ships of Ebeh. asthe eagle.
39:27-30; 2Sa 1:23; Pr 23:5; Jer 4:13; La 4:19; Hab 1:8

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

Context

  • Job 9:25

    Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good.

  • Job 9:26

    They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.

  • Job 9:27

    If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself:

Read all of Job 9

Job 9:26 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Pasaron cual navíos veloces: como el águila que se arroja á la comida.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Ils passent rapides comme les barques de jonc, comme un aigle qui fond sur sa proie.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Sie ziehen vorüber gleich Rohrschiffen, wie ein Adler, der auf Fraß herabstürzt.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Pertransierunt quasi naves poma portantes; sicut aquila volans ad escam.