Job 39:22
in Job 39He laughs at fear, frightened of nothing; he does not turn back from the sword.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He mocketh at fear, and is not dismayed; Neither turneth he back from the sword.
KJV
He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword.
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This verse in Job 39
Commentary
8 notes on this verseHe mocketh at fear, and yieldeth not to the sword. [MORAL INTERPRETATION] 80. He mocketh at fear, because he is not so far alarmed by fear of any temptation, as to keep silence. And he yieldeth not to the sword; because though violent temptation assails him, it yet drives him not away from the care of his neighbour. Whence also Paul, teaching us an example of resolute conversation, both states what swords he endures from the enemy, and shews how he yields not to these same swords.
This site's exposition
Do you give strength to the horse
on Job 39:19-25
The war horse is the one creature in this list that serves man. Where the King James reads thunder, Delitzsch takes the Hebrew of the quivering mane. Henry draws the point that the courage men prize in battle is lent by the God whose rule Job has questioned.
This site's exposition
He laughs at fear
Gill notes that the Egyptians made the horse their symbol of courage. Henry pictures sword, quiver and spear all brandished to drive him back, and he presses forward still. His courage passes into his rider.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Nor is he cast down with fear in the thick of the battle itself, and so he says, "he scorns fear," and what is more, he is not even put off by the pain of wounds, and so he says, "he does not retreat from …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book XXXI · Written before 604.
proposed
He mocketh at fear, and yieldeth not to the sword. 61. Let us see how he mocks at fear, who, as he counts, tramples under foot the swords of the adversaries. For he says, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or famine, or persecution? [Rom. 8, 35] In fear, coming punishment is dreaded; but in the sword, pain is felt already from a present blow. Because therefore a holy man dreads not coming evils, he despises fear: but because he is not overcome even by a blow as it comes upon him, he yields not at all to the sword. Against this horse then there are as many swords of enemies as there are kinds of persecutions, all which he meets and overcomes, because from the love of life, he prepares himself for destruction.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted,.... At those things which cause fear and fright to men; as arms, though ever so terrible, and armies, though never so numerous; neither turneth he back from the sword; the naked sword, when it is drawn against him, and ready to be thrust into him; the horse being so bold and courageous was with the Egyptians a symbol of courage and boldness (v). (v) Clement. Alex. Stromat. l. 5. p. 567.
): He mocks at fear, and makes a jest of it; slash at him with a sword, rattle the quiver, brandish the spear, to drive him back, he will not retreat, but press forward, and even inspires courage into his rider. (4.) See how furious he is.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He mocketh at fear - He laughs at that which is fitted to intimidate; that is, he is not afraid. Neither turneth he back from the sword - He rushes on it without fear. Of the fact here stated, and the accuracy of the description, there can be no doubt.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יִשְׂחַ֣ק | yischak | it laughs | H7832 → | 36 times |
| לְ֭פַחַד | lefachad | to fear | H6343 → | 49 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֵחָ֑ת | yechat | it is dismayed | H2865 → | 52 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָ֝שׁ֗וּב | yashuv | it turns back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| מִפְּנֵי־ | mipenei- | from before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| חָֽרֶב׃ | charev | a sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
יִשְׂחַ֣קit laughs
yischakH7832 →36 times
לְ֭פַחַדto fear
lefachadH6343 →49 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יֵחָ֑תit is dismayed
yechatH2865 →52 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָ֝שׁ֗וּבit turns back
yashuvH7725 →1056 times
מִפְּנֵי־from before
mipenei-H6440 →2123 times
חָֽרֶב׃a sword
charevH2719 →413 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Job 39:16She treats her young harshly, as if not her own, with no concern that her labor was in vain.
it leads to
- Lamentations 4:3
Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like an ostrich in the wilderness.
- 1 Kings 3:26–27
Then the woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she yearned with compassion for her son. “Please, my lord,” she said, “give her the living baby. Do not kill him!” But…
- 2 Kings 6:28–29
Then the king asked her, “What is the matter?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son, that we may eat him, and tomorrow we will eat my son.’
- Habakkuk 2:13
Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain?
- Lamentations 2:20
Look, O LORD, and consider: Whom have You ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the infants they have nurtured? Should priests and prophets be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?
- Lamentations 4:3
Through
Job 41:33Nothing on earth is his equal—a creature devoid of fear!
it leads to
- Job 40:19
He is the foremost of God’s works; only his Maker can draw the sword against him.
- Job 40:19
Through
Job 39:18Yet when she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 19:21
This is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: ‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head behind you.
- Job 39:7
He scorns the tumult of the city and never hears the shouts of a driver.
- 2 Kings 19:21
About Job
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXXI; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.