Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up, and makes his nest on high?
Parallel Translations
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Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up, and makes his nest on high?
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Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?
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Doth the vulture mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Science (1)
Historical claims about the natural world, weighed against the scientific record.
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to Job 39:27 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Jeremiah 49:16 As for your terror, the pride of your heart has deceived you, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill, though you should make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh.
- Obadiah 1:4 Though you mount on high as the eagle, and though your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh.
- Exodus 19:4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to myself.
- Leviticus 11:13 “ ‘You shall detest these among the birds; they shall not be eaten because they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture,
- Psalms 103:5 who satisfies your desire with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
- Proverbs 23:5 Why do you set your eyes on that which is not? For it certainly sprouts wings like an eagle and flies in the sky.
- Isaiah 40:31 but those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.
- Hosea 8:1 “Put the trumpet to your lips! Something like an eagle is over Yahweh’s house, because they have broken my covenant, and rebelled against my law.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He so rideth the ground that it seemeth nothing…
He so rideth the ground that it seemeth nothing under him.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Job 39:27 Doth the eagle mount up at thy…
Job 39:27 Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?
Ver. 27. Doth the eagle mount up at thy command?] Mount plumb up (which no bird else can do) to an infinite height, even out of sight; not without an eye still on her prey, which by this means she spies sooner, and seizeth upon better, Mat 24:28. A fit emblem of a hypocrite, who seems to soar aloft, but it is for some self and sinister respect: he seeketh not the Lord Jesus Christ (as the sincere hearted do), but his own belly, Rom 16:18.
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And make her nest on high] Not in plains, but on lofty tops and inaccessible rocks, for the safety of her young ones. Of the nature of eagles, read Aristotle, De Nat. Animal. lib. 9, cap. 32, and Pliny, lib. 3, cap. 10. They tell us, that there is an enmity between the eagle and the serpent; and because the serpent seeketh to destroy the young eagles, she setteth her nest on high, to safeguard them. And if any man seek to rob her nest, she doubteth not to assault him with her wings and talons. Formidable she is to all birds save only the hawk, who is able to deal with her if he can but avoid the first shock.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Mount up; fly directly upward, till she be out…
Mount up; fly directly upward, till she be out of thy sight; which no other bird can do.
On high; in the highest and inaccessible rocks. Compare Jer 49:16; Oba 1:4.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Doth the eagle mount up at thy command,.... No;…
Doth the eagle mount up at thy command,.... No; but by an instinct which God has placed in it, and a capacity he has given it above all other birds. They take a circuit in their flight, and bend about before they soar aloft: but the eagle steers its course directly upwards towards heaven, till out of sight; and, as Apuleius says (p), up to the clouds, where it rains and snows, and beyond which there is no place for thunder and lightning;
and make her nest on high? so the philosopher says (q); eagles make their nests not in plains, but in high places, especially in cragged rocks, as in Job 39:28.
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(p) Florida 1. (q) Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 9. c. 32.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Mount - Flies directly upward 'till she be out…
Mount - Flies directly upward 'till she be out of thy sight; which no other bird can do.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 27. Doth the eagle mount up] The eagle…
Verse 27. Doth the eagle mount up] The eagle is said to be of so acute a sight, that when she is so high in the air that men cannot see her, she can discern a small fish in the water! See on Job 39:29.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Job 39:27-28. Doth the eagle mount up at thy…
Job 39:27-28. Doth the eagle mount up at thy command? — Fly directly upward till she be out of thy sight, which no other bird can do; and make her nest on high — In the highest and inaccessible rocks: compare Jer 49:16; Oba 1:4. She dwelleth upon the crag of the rock — Which she doth partly for the security of herself and her young; and partly that she may thence have the better prospect to discern her prey, as it follows.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Doth the eagle mount up at thy command? -…
Doth the eagle mount up at thy command? - Margin, as in Hebrew, “by thy mouth.” The meaning is, that Job had not power to direct or order the eagle in his lofty flight. The eagle has always been celebrated for the height to which it ascends. When Ramond had reached the summit of Mount Perdu, the highest of the Pyrenees, he perceived no living creature but an eagle which passed above him, flying with inconceivable rapidity in direct opposition to a furious wind. “Edin. Ency.” “Of all animals, the eagle flies highest; and from thence the ancients have given him the epithet of “the bird of heaven.” “Goldsmith.” What is particularly worth remarking here is, the accuracy with which the descriptions in Job are made. If these are any indications of the progress of the knowledge of Natural History, that science could not have been then in its infancy. Just the things are adverted to here which all the investigations of subsequent ages have shown to characterize the classes of the feathered creation referred to.
And make her nest on high - “The nest of the eagle is usually built in the most inaccessible cliff of the rock, and often shielded from the weather by some jutting crag that hangs over it.” “Goldsmith.” “It is usually placed horizontally, in the hollow or fissure, of some high and abrupt rock, and is constructed of sticks of five or six feet in length, interlaced with pliant twigs, and covered with layers of rushes, heath, or moss. Unless destroyed by some accident, it is supposed to suffice, with occasional repairs, for the same couple during their lives.” “Edin. Ency.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain eagle--It flies highest of all birds: thence called "the…
eagle--It flies highest of all birds: thence called "the bird of heaven."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 27. The eagle — Comp. Oba_1:4. The climax is…
27. The eagle — Comp. Oba_1:4. The climax is reached in the eagle, king of birds, (compare the lion, king of beasts, with which the description commences, Job_38:39,) which, notwithstanding its home “is in the teeth of the rock,” delights in blood. Another marvellous feature of instinct is thus presented, that he who flies so high should stoop so low, so that “wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.”
Mat_24:28. Tristram observes that eagles will not kill their prey, if they can find it ready slain to their hand.
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Her nest — his nest. The gender is the same throughout the description.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 27–30. The eagle.
27–30. The eagle.
Is it at Job’s command that the eagle fixes her habitation fearlessly on the dizzy crag? Did he bestow on her her penetrating vision, which scans the wide expanse of country and pierces into the deep ravine? or did he endow her with her terrible instincts, that shew themselves at once in her young, which “suck up blood”?
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Doth the eagle mount up at thy command? The…
Doth the eagle mount up at thy command? The enumeration of natural marvels ends with the eagle, the monarch of birds, as it began with the lion, the king of beasts. (Job_38:39) The power of the eagle to "mount up," notwithstanding its great size and weight, is very surprising. The species intended in this place is probably the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) or else the imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca)" which arc both of them common in Syria and Mesopotamia. And make her nest on high? The nests of eagles are almost always built on lofty, generally on inaccessible, rocks. Aristotle says, Poiountai deauta (sc, taav ), ouk en pedinoiv topoiv all en uqhkoiv malista me en petraiv apokrhmnoiv . (comp. Jer_49:16)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Doth the eagle mount up at thy command?
Job_39:27
Doth the eagle mount up at thy command?
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The captive set free
Many years had a noble eagle been confined in such a manner that no one had seen it even attempt to raise a wing. It had been cherished and fed that it might be exhibited to visitors and friends. Perfectly subdued, unconscious now of its native power, it remained inactive, and apparently contented, oblivious of the heights it once could soar. But its owner was about to leave for a far country, never to return. He could not take the eagle with him. I will do, said he, one act of kindness before I go, which shall be remembered long after me. He unloosed the chain from the captive. His neighbours and children looked on with regret that they should see the eagle no more. A moment, and it would be gone forever! But no. The bird walked the usual round, which had been the length of his chain, looked tamely about, unconscious that he was free, and at length perched himself at his usual height. The gazers looked on in wonder and in pity. Brief, however, was their pity. The slow rustling of a wing was heard. It was projected from the body, then folded. Anon it moved again. At last, stretched to its full expansion, it quivered a moment in the air, then folded softly against its resting place. Now slowly and cautiously the eagle expanded the other, and stood at last upon his perch with both wings spread, looking earnestly in the blue sky above. One effort to mount, then another. The wings have found their lost skill and strength. Upward, slowly, still upward--higher and speedier he mounts his way. The eye follows him in vain. Lost to sight, far above tide mountain top he is bathing his cramped wings in misty clouds, and revels in his liberty. Hast thou, O child of God, been pinioned long to the cares and toils of earth, so that thy wings of faith and love have lost all power to rise? Long bound to earth, its hopes and visions, thou canst not shake thy wings at once. The heart tries to mount in prayer, but it tries in vain. Scenes of earth are floating still before the vision, and sounds of earth ring in the ears. But cease not thy efforts. Expand thy soul once more, if only for a little. Raise the wing of thought first--still more, raise it higher yet. (Preachers Lantern.)
The eagle
The eagle is built for a solitary life. There is no bird so alone; other birds go in flocks--the eagle never, two at most together, and they are mates. Its majesty consists partly in its solitariness. It lives apart because other birds cannot live where and as it lives, and follow where it leads. The true child of God must consent to a lonely life apart with God, and often the condition of holiness is separation. (A. T. Pierson.)
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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Yahweh continues to challenge Job.
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Is it at your orders ... nest in high places?
Yahweh uses this question to prove that Job is not powerful enough to command the eagles. The implicit answer to this question is "no." AT: "You are not able to command the eagle to mount up and build his nest in high places." (See: Rhetorical Question)
at your orders
The abstract noun "orders" can be stated as a verb. AT: "because you tell it to do so" (See: Abstract Nouns)
mounts up
This means he flies upward. AT: "flies up into the sky" (See: Idiom)
a stronghold
The high cliffs are strongholds for eagles because the animals that would want to eat them cannot reach them.
translationWords
eagle
life
stronghold
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.