Job 39:26 kjv
Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?
Job 39:26 nkjv
"Does the hawk fly by your wisdom, And spread its wings toward the south?
Job 39:26 niv
"Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread its wings toward the south?
Job 39:26 esv
"Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings toward the south?
Job 39:26 nlt
"Is it your wisdom that makes the hawk soar
and spread its wings toward the south?
Job 39 26 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Job 12:7-10 | "Ask the animals, and they will teach you... in whose hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind?" | God's power over all life & creation's testimony. |
| Job 38:1-3 | "Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself... and I will question you, and you shall answer Me." | God challenges Job's understanding. |
| Job 38:4-5 | "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding." | Human ignorance vs. divine wisdom in creation. |
| Job 38:39-41 | "Can you hunt the prey for the lion...? Who provides food for the raven when its young cry to God...?" | God's providential care for all creatures. |
| Job 39:1-2 | "Do you know the time when the wild goats of the rock give birth? Or can you mark when the deer calve?" | God's knowledge of animal procreation. |
| Job 39:5-8 | God questions if Job released the wild donkey or guides its pasture. | Animals free from human control. |
| Job 39:9-12 | God questions if Job can harness the wild ox or rely on its strength. | Wild nature untamable by humans. |
| Job 39:13-18 | The ostrich's peculiar behavior is detailed, independent of human wisdom. | Instincts bestowed by God, not human logic. |
| Psa 19:1-4 | "The heavens declare the glory of God... Day to day utters speech..." | Creation as a witness to God's attributes. |
| Psa 50:10-11 | "Every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills... I know all the birds of the mountains..." | God's ownership and knowledge of all animals. |
| Psa 104:24 | "O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all..." | God's wisdom evident in diverse creation. |
| Psa 147:9 | "He gives food to the beasts, and to the young ravens that cry." | God provides for even the most basic creatures. |
| Prov 3:19-20 | "The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens." | God's wisdom as the basis for creation. |
| Isa 40:28 | "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God... there is no searching of His understanding." | God's infinite, unsearchable understanding. |
| Isa 55:8-9 | "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord... higher than your ways." | God's superior thoughts and ways to humanity's. |
| Jer 8:7 | "Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times... but My people do not know the judgment of the Lord." | Bird migration as divine instinct vs. human ignorance. |
| Matt 6:26 | "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap... yet your heavenly Father feeds them..." | God's faithful provision for creation. |
| Luke 12:6 | "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God." | God's minute attention to every creature. |
| Rom 1:20 | "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen... so that they are without excuse." | Creation reveals God's eternal power and deity. |
| Rom 11:33-36 | "Oh, the depth of the riches... How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord?" | Human inability to comprehend God's wisdom. |
| Col 1:16-17 | "For by Him all things were created... All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." | Christ's role in creation and sustaining it. |
| Heb 1:3 | "[Christ] upholds all things by the word of His power..." | Christ's active role in sustaining creation. |
Job 39 verses
Job 39 26 Meaning
Job 39:26 presents a rhetorical question from God to Job, challenging the extent of human understanding and control over the natural world. It powerfully asserts that the hawk's inherent ability to soar with precision and instinctively migrate southward is solely a manifestation of divine wisdom and intricate design. This action occurs completely independent of any human instruction or intellect, thus underscoring God's absolute sovereignty and the incomprehensible depth of His creative intelligence.
Job 39 26 Context
This verse is a pivotal part of God's profound monologue to Job, which spans from chapter 38 to 41. Following Job's extended discourse with his friends regarding the nature of suffering and divine justice, God intervenes from a whirlwind to assert His sovereign power and inscrutable wisdom. God challenges Job's capacity to comprehend or manage the complexities of creation, thereby demonstrating human intellectual limitations. Chapter 39 specifically details God's command over various wild animals—including the untamable wild ass and ox, the seemingly foolish ostrich, the mighty war horse, and winged creatures like the hawk and eagle—highlighting their intrinsic, God-given instincts that operate entirely beyond human influence or understanding. Historically, in ancient Near Eastern cultures, wisdom was often sought to control nature or understand omens. God's speech directly refutes such anthropocentric notions, powerfully establishing that creation's intricate order and autonomous life spring solely from His decree, not from human intellect or command.
Job 39 26 Word analysis
- Is it by your understanding (הֲמִבִּינָתְךָ - hămibbînāṯəḵā): This is a powerful rhetorical question designed to evoke a clear "no." The term bînah (from the root bîn) signifies deep insight, discernment, and comprehensive understanding. The prefix ha- makes it an interrogative. This challenges Job’s—and by extension, humanity’s—intellectual capacity to direct or even fully grasp the profound natural processes orchestrated by God. It directly questions human agency over the intricate mechanisms of life.
- that the hawk (נֵץ - nêṣ): Refers to a raptor, a bird of prey. While culturally it might have been categorized as unclean in Mosaic law, within this context, the hawk is a majestic creature known for its acute vision, speed, and aerial prowess. Its wild, undomesticated nature further serves as an example of a creature existing solely under divine command, demonstrating God's sole authority over all created beings, especially those beyond human dominion.
- soars (יָאֲבֶר - yā’aḇer): This verb describes the action of majestic, effortless, and powerful flight, often at considerable heights. It highlights the hawk’s natural ability to effortlessly glide and navigate vast expanses of air, powered by its inherent design rather than external guidance. The root implicitly links to the concept of flight or having wings (’abar).
- and spreads its wings (יִפְרֹשׂ אֶבְרָתוֹ - yiprōś ’eḇrāṯô): Yiprōś means "to spread out," depicting the wide expansion of the hawk's large wings during flight. Eḇrāh specifically means a 'wing' or 'pinion,' referring to its powerful flight feathers. This phrase vividly portrays the intentional and deliberate action of flight, underscoring the precise, divinely instilled instinctual mastery the hawk possesses in the air.
- toward the south (לְתֵימָן - ləṯêmān): Têmān designates the south. This detail points to the hawk's inherent, divinely programmed instinct for seasonal migration. It refers to a known and predictable migratory route for various birds seeking warmer climates, specific breeding grounds, or foraging areas during different seasons. This specific directional detail reinforces the concept of an intrinsic biological imperative and a divinely guided, purposeful journey that humans do not direct or initiate.
Job 39 26 Bonus section
The series of questions God poses to Job about various animals, including the hawk, serves as a divine "quiz" designed to expose the limits of human knowledge and authority. Job is consistently unable to provide answers, revealing the chasm between human and divine wisdom. This pedagogical approach not only silences Job's complaints but also reorients his perspective from his own suffering to the boundless grandeur of God. The mention of specific animal behaviors, like southward migration, demonstrates God's intimate involvement in the very fabric of nature and affirms the biblical portrayal of creation as sustained by divine command, not by autonomous natural forces or random chance. This reinforces God's continuous superintendence, not just as Creator but as the ongoing Sustainer and Governor of His universe.
Job 39 26 Commentary
Job 39:26 is a profound rhetorical question serving as a linchpin in God's demonstration of His unsearchable wisdom and sovereign control over creation, contrasting it sharply with human limitation. By pointing to the hawk—a creature known for its innate power, acute senses, and unerring instinct for flight and migration—God asks Job whether such complex, purposeful behaviors are a result of human direction. The implied answer, emphatically "no," underscores that the hawk's aerial majesty and precise southward journeys are not learned or commanded by any human intellect. They are manifestations of a deep, divinely imprinted wisdom. This verse humbles humanity, showing that if humans cannot comprehend or command the flight of a hawk, they certainly cannot fathom or dictate the ways of their infinite Creator. It invites surrender to God's all-encompassing, inexplicable plan for creation and, by extension, for the human condition.