Job 41:9
in Job 41Surely hope of overcoming him is false. Is not the sight of him overwhelming?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, the hope of him is in vain: Will not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
KJV
Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
⋯
This verse in Job 41
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBehold, his hope shall disappoint him. And in the sight of all he shall be cast down. 37. But this ought to be so understood, as to be referred to his body also; because all wicked men who fear not the strictness of Divine justice, flatter themselves in vain on His compassion. And He presently returns to console us, and foretels his coming destruction at the last judgment, saying; And in the sight of all he shall be cast down.
This site's exposition
Surely hope of overcoming him is false
on Job 41:9-11
The argument turns at “Then who is able to stand against Me”, from a man's power over one animal to God's ownership of all creation. Henry reads this turn as the speech's purpose, a beast no hook can catch standing for a Maker no argument can catch.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
["And all the ships come together would not be able to bear the mere skin of his tail."] All the ships come together are not capable to mortify the extreme and main parts of the dragon. People using bodies or ships cannot by themselves lift a single piece of the skin of his tail. But with the favor of divine virtue, they can bear not only a piece of the skin of his tail but also his entire body, and [they can] mortify it.
The Medieval Church1 voice
About the conquest by which he is overcome by God he adds, "Behold, his hope will be in vain for him." If this is referred to the whale it is clear. For when the whale follows fish hoping to catch them, he runs aground on …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Behold, the hope of him is in vain,....
If men go about to seize him, so formidable is he that the very sight of him will appal them, and make a stout man ready to faint away: Shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him? and will not that deter the pursuers from their attempt? Job is told, at his peril, to lay his hand upon him,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Behold, the hope of him is in vain - That is, the hope of taking him is vain. Shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him? - So formidable is his appearance, that the courage of him who would attack him is daunted, and his resolution fails. This agrees well also with the crocodile. There is perhaps scarcely any animal whose appearance would be more likely to deter one from attacking him.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Behold, the hope - If thou miss thy first advantage, there is no hope afterwards: the very sight of this terrible monster would dissipate thy spirit, if thou hadst not a positive advantage against his life, or a place of sure retreat to save thine own.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
His sneezes flash forth light With every sneeze that he sneezes, light flashes forth and shines.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֵן־ | hen- | there! | H2005 → | 316 times |
| תֹּחַלְתּ֥וֹ | tochalto | hope his | H8431 → | |
| נִכְזָ֑בָה | nikhzavah | it is proved a lie | H3576 → | 16 times |
| הֲגַ֖ם | hagam | ¿ also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | because of | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מַרְאָ֣יו | marav | appearance its | H4758 → | |
| יֻטָֽל׃ | yutal | everyone is thrown down | H2904 → |
הֵן־there!
hen-H2005 →316 times
תֹּחַלְתּ֥וֹhope his
tochaltoH8431 →
נִכְזָ֑בָהit is proved a lie
nikhzavahH3576 →16 times
הֲגַ֖ם¿ also
hagamH1571 →769 times
אֶל־because of
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מַרְאָ֣יוappearance its
maravH4758 →
יֻטָֽל׃everyone is thrown down
yutalH2904 →
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
1 Samuel 3:11Then the LORD said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel at which the ears of all who hear it will tingle.
it leads to
- Habakkuk 1:5
“Look at the nations and observe—be utterly astounded! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe even if someone told you.
- Acts 13:41
‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.’”
- Jeremiah 19:3
saying, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and residents of Jerusalem. This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster…
- 2 Kings 21:12
this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah that the news will reverberate in the ears of all who hear it.
- Luke 21:26
Men will faint from fear and anxiety over what is coming upon the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
- Habakkuk 1:5
Through
Luke 21:11There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
it leads to
- Matthew 24:29–30
Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will…
- Matthew 24:29–30
Through
Isaiah 28:19As often as it passes through, it will carry you away; it will sweep through morning after morning, by day and by night.” The understanding of this message will bring sheer terror.
it leads to
- Habakkuk 3:16
I heard and trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Decay entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress to come upon the…
- Luke 21:25–26
There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves.
- Habakkuk 3:16
About Job
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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 XXXIII; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, FRAGMENTS ON JOB 28.85 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.