Job 39:9 kjv
Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?
Job 39:9 nkjv
"Will the wild ox be willing to serve you? Will he bed by your manger?
Job 39:9 niv
"Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will it stay by your manger at night?
Job 39:9 esv
"Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he spend the night at your manger?
Job 39:9 nlt
"Will the wild ox consent to being tamed?
Will it spend the night in your stall?
Job 39 9 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Num 23:22 | God brings them out of Egypt... has the strength of a wild ox. | Strength of `re'em` (wild ox) attributed to God's people by divine power. |
| Num 24:8 | God brings him out of Egypt... He consumes the nations, breaks their bones, and pierces them with his arrows. He has the strength of a wild ox. | Divine strength compared to `re'em`. |
| Deut 33:17 | His glory is like the firstborn of his bull... with them he shall push the peoples. These are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and these are the thousands of Manasseh. | Figurative use of `re'em` (unicorn/wild ox) for power and conquest of Israelite tribes. |
| Ps 22:21 | Save me from the lion's mouth; from the horns of the wild oxen you answer me. | Wild oxen representing danger, needing divine deliverance. |
| Ps 29:6 | He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. | God's powerful voice (thunder) making strong mountains leap like `re'em` calves. |
| Ps 92:10 | But You have exalted my horn like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil. | Figurative use of `re'em` horn for strength and exaltation given by God. |
| Isa 34:7 | The wild oxen shall fall with them, and the young bulls with the mighty bulls... their land shall be soaked with blood. | Wild oxen listed among those destroyed by God's judgment. |
| Job 38:26-28 | To bring rain on a land... and make the ground put forth grass? Has the rain a father... | God's control over rain, sustaining wild, uninhabited places, showing His wisdom in caring for all creation. |
| Job 39:1-2 | Do you know the time the mountain goats give birth... Can you count the months... | Immediate context, God questioning Job's knowledge of wild animal births. |
| Job 39:5-8 | Who set the wild donkey free?... I gave him the desert for his home... He scorns the tumult of the city... | God's direct design and provision for the untamed wild donkey, reinforcing the theme of His sovereignty over independent creatures. |
| Job 40:4-5 | “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand over my mouth. I have spoken once, but I will not answer again; indeed, twice, but I will add no more.” | Job's response of humility and silence after God's questioning, directly related to understanding his limitations. |
| Job 42:2-3 | “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted... who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?” | Job's ultimate realization and confession of God's omnipotence and his own ignorance. |
| Ps 24:1 | The earth is the LORD’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it. | God's ultimate ownership and sovereignty over all creation, including wild animals. |
| Ps 50:10-11 | For every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills... And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. | God's complete ownership and provision for all animals, both wild and domesticated. |
| Ps 104:21 | The young lions roar after their prey and seek their food from God. | Even ferocious wild animals are dependent on God for sustenance. |
| Ps 145:15-16 | The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. | God's providential care extends to all creatures, highlighting His creative and sustaining power. |
| Isa 40:12-14 | Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand... Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD...? | Questions demonstrating God's incomparable power and wisdom in creation. |
| Isa 40:23-24 | He who reduces rulers to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless... | God's sovereignty over human authorities, contrasting human power with divine. |
| Jer 10:23 | I know, O LORD, that a man's way is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. | Human inability to control even their own lives, let alone nature. |
| Rom 9:20 | But indeed, O man, who are you to reply to God? Will the thing molded say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this?” | Emphasizes humanity's place as created beings before the Creator. |
| Col 1:16-17 | For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth... 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 sustenance of all things, reiterating divine control over every creature. |
| Heb 1:3 | And He is the radiance of His glory... and upholding all things by the word of His power... | God's continuous active sustenance of the universe through His powerful word. |
Job 39 verses
Job 39 9 Meaning
Job 39:9 presents a rhetorical question from God to Job, highlighting humanity's inherent inability to command or domesticate the powerful and untamed wild ox (re'em). This question serves to demonstrate God's supreme authority and control over all creation, in stark contrast to Job's limited understanding and capacity, thereby underscoring the infinite wisdom and power of the Creator.
Job 39 9 Context
Job 39:9 is part of God's second discourse to Job, delivered from the whirlwind in chapters 38-41. This extended passage is God's profound challenge to Job's limited understanding and questioning of divine justice. God bombards Job with a series of rhetorical questions, drawing upon the intricate design and management of the natural world and its wild inhabitants. The preceding verses in chapter 39 marvel at mountain goats and wild donkeys, focusing on their inherent nature and independence from human control. God's purpose is not to answer Job's specific complaints but to impress upon him His infinite power, wisdom, and sovereign control over all creation, including that which humans cannot tame or comprehend, thus humbling Job and revealing the immense gap between human wisdom and divine omniscience.
Job 39 9 Word analysis
- Will: This word introduces a direct, rhetorical question from God to Job. It functions to provoke Job's acknowledgement of his own limited power and authority, anticipating an unequivocal "no" answer, thereby emphasizing the impossibility of human dominion over this specific creature.
- the wild ox: Transliterated from the Hebrew `רְאֵם` (`re'em`). The `re'em` refers to an ancient, powerful, and ferocious wild bovine, likely the aurochs (now extinct), which was renowned for its strength, independence, and untamable nature. In biblical culture, it symbolized formidable power, especially in untamed environments, contrasting sharply with domesticated livestock. God uses this creature precisely because it exemplifies that which human power cannot subdue or control.
- consent: Transliterated from the Hebrew verb `יַאֲלִיף` (`ya'aliph`), derived from `אָלַף` (`'alaph`), meaning "to teach," "to accustom," or "to become tamed/willing." Here, it signifies the wild ox's innate unwillingness to yield its independence or submit to domestication. The question implies an inherent freedom and a fundamental aversion to human authority that God Himself has instilled.
- to serve you: The phrase "to serve" (from `עָבַד` - `'avad`) denotes performing labor, being enslaved, or being a subordinate. This specific query highlights the concept of servitude, implying that the `re'em` would become a draft animal or part of a domestic herd. The suffix "-you" directly personalizes the challenge to Job, emphasizing his individual powerlessness.
- Will it spend the night: From the Hebrew verb `יָלִין` (`yalin`), meaning "to lodge," "to stay overnight," or "to abide." This action implies settling down, finding rest, and accepting a place as one's dwelling. For an untamed animal, to "spend the night" in a domestic setting is to relinquish its natural freedom and embrace dependence, a state entirely alien to the wild ox.
- at your manger: The Hebrew word `אֲבוּסֶךָ` (`avuseka`), from `אֲבוּס` (`avus`), refers to a "feeding trough" or "crib" for domesticated animals. This object is the ultimate symbol of human provision and control over livestock. The presence of the `re'em` at Job's manger represents the absurdity of taming such a creature, underscoreing the limits of human authority over God's wild creation.
- Words-group analysis:
- "Will the wild ox consent to serve you?": This complete phrase sets up the foundational rhetorical challenge. It's not about forcing the wild ox, but about its willingness or intrinsic nature. God is highlighting that even with human ingenuity, certain aspects of His creation operate beyond human influence, living according to His specific design and will. It points to a divine design for creatures to maintain their wildness and not merely serve human utility.
- "Will it spend the night at your manger?": This further elaborates the first question, painting a picture of total domestication. Staying at a manger signifies not just temporary presence but adopting a domesticated way of life—eating human-provided food, abiding in human enclosures. This paints an impossible scenario for the `re'em`, making God's point undeniable that such a powerful, wild creature is utterly independent of Job's will or resources.
Job 39 9 Bonus section
The re'em (wild ox/aurochs) holds symbolic significance as a creature designed by God to remain untamed by human hands. This demonstrates a key theological principle that not all creation is intended solely for human utility or dominion. Some parts of the natural world serve as a testament to God's raw power, untrammeled freedom, and intrinsic glory, distinct from human-centric purposes. The preservation of such creatures' wildness reinforces the vastness of God's creative design and the reality of His overarching providence, where He cares for and sustains creatures that defy human control (Ps 50:10-11). It's a reminder that true wisdom includes acknowledging our finite nature and surrendering to the divine Creator who effortlessly manages that which we cannot.
Job 39 9 Commentary
Job 39:9 vividly portrays the insurmountable gap between human capacity and God's sovereign power. By posing rhetorical questions about the untamable re'em, God demonstrates that humans, with all their strength and ingenuity, cannot control or domesticate the mightiest of wild creatures. This highlights Job's severe limitations in wisdom and power, serving to humble him before the Creator. The verse implies that if Job cannot even bend the will of a wild ox to his service or compel it to his domestic settings, how then can he presume to question the infinite and complex workings of God's universal plan? This passage underscores that much of creation operates according to divine design, independently of human manipulation, serving to display God's unassailable majesty rather than human convenience.