Behold, the hope of him is in vain. Won’t one be cast down even at the sight of him?
Parallel Translations
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Behold, the hope of him is in vain. Won’t one be cast down even at the sight of him?
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Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
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(41-1) Behold, the hope of him is in vain; shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Job 41:9 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Deuteronomy 28:34 so that the sights that you see with your eyes will drive you mad.
- 1 Samuel 3:11 Yahweh said to Samuel, “Behold, I will do a thing in Israel at which both the ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.
- Isaiah 28:19 As often as it passes through, it will seize you; for morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night; and it will be nothing but terror to understand the message.”
- Luke 21:11 There will be great earthquakes, famines, and plagues in various places. There will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain That is, casteth out flames of fire.
That is, casteth out flames of fire.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Job 41:9 Behold, the hope of him is in…
Job 41:9 Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not [one] be cast down even at the sight of him?
Ver. 9. Behold, the hope of him is in vain] Heb. is lying. A man may promise himseff or others to take the whale, but how or when will he effect it? It is a misery to lie languishing at Hope’s Hospital, and after all to be disappointed; to labour all night, and take nothing, &c.
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Shall not one be cast down at the sight of him?] Surely there is cause enough to be cast down, if he be so big and dreadful to behold as is reported. {{See Trapp on "Job 41:1"}
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 The hope of him; either,
The hope of him; either,
1. Of the fish, i.e. the hope of taking or conquering him. Or rather,
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2. Of the man who laid hands upon him, as hoping to take him by force, but in vain.
Shall not; the prefix he being put for halo, as it is ofttimes in the Hebrew text, as Gen 27:36; 1Sa 2:28; Jer 3:6; Jer 31:20; Eze 20:30.
Even at the sight of him; not only the fight, but the very sight of him is most frightful. Such is the sight of the whale to mariners, who fear the overturning of their vessel. And such is the sight of the crocodile, by which alone some have been affrighted out of their wits.
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 Behold, the hope of him is in vain,.... Of…
Behold, the hope of him is in vain,.... Of getting the mastery over him, or of taking him; and yet both crocodiles and whales have been taken; nor is the taking of them to be despaired of; but it seems the "orca", or the whale with many teeth, has never been taken and killed (o);
shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him? the sight of a whale is terrible to mariners, lest their ships should be overturned by it; and some have been so frightened at the sight of a crocodile as to lose their senses: and we read of one that was greatly terrified at seeing the shadow of one; and the creature before mentioned is supposed to be much more terrible (p).
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(o) Vid. Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 4. p. 846. (p) Scheuchzer. ib.
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 Hope - The hope of taking or conquering him.
Hope - The hope of taking or conquering him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 9. Behold, the hope] If thou miss thy…
Verse 9. 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.
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 41:9-10. Behold, the hope of him is in…
Job 41:9-10. Behold, the hope of him is in vain — That is, the hope of taking, or conquering him. Shall not one be cast down, even at the sight of him? — Not only the fight, but the sight of him is most frightful. Such is even the sight of the whale to mariners, who fear the overturning of their vessel. And such is the sight of the crocodile, by which alone some have been frightened out of their senses. None is so fierce — Hebrew, אכזר, achzer, so resolute, that dare stir him up — When he sleepeth or is quiet. This alludes to a custom of this creature, when sated with fish, to come on shore and sleep among the reeds. Who then is able to stand before me? — To contend with me his Creator, (as thou Job dost,) when one of my creatures is too hard for him?
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 Behold, the hope of him is in vain -…
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.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Sneezing. When the whale breathes, it causes the water…
Sneezing. When the whale breathes, it causes the water to foam. (Pineda) (Menochius) --- The eyes of the crocodile are also (Haydock) very bright, when out of the water. (Pliny viii. 25.) They appear first, and therefore were used as an hieroglyphic of Aurora, (Horus i. 26.) or of the morning star. (Haydock) --- Syriac, "His look is brilliant." Arabic, "The apples of his eyes are fiery, and his eyes are like the brightness of the morning." Septuagint, "like Aurora." (Calmet) --- Olaus (xxi. 5.) says, "that they eyes of the whale shine at night,...and at a distance, are taken by fishermen for great fires."
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain the hope--of taking him.
the hope--of taking him.
cast down--with fear "at the (mere) sight of him."
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 9. Of him — The rash assailant.
9. Of him — The rash assailant.
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 9. the hope of him is in vain] Rather,…
9. the hope of him is in vain] Rather, behold, one’s hope is belied; lit. his hope. The hope of the assailant to overcome Leviathan is disappointed.
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (9) Behold the hope of him is in vain—i.e.,…
(9) Behold the hope of him is in vain—i.e., the hope of the rash man who would venture to attack him: at the sight of him, i.e., the infuriated crocodile.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Behold, the hope of him is in vain; i.e.…
Behold, the hope of him is in vain; i.e. the hope of capturing or killing him. Shah not one be cast down even at the sight of him? The very sight of the savage and invulnerable animal is enough to make a man fall to the ground with fear.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.