Job 39:16
Job 39:16 in Multiple Translations
She treats her young harshly, as if not her own, with no concern that her labor was in vain.
She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear;
She dealeth hardly with her young ones, as if they were not hers: Though her labor be in vain, she is without fear;
She is cruel to her young ones, as if they were not hers; her work is to no purpose; she has no fear.
She is tough towards her young, acting as if they didn't belong to her. She doesn't care that all her work was for nothing.
Hast thou giuen the pleasant wings vnto the peacockes? or winges and feathers vnto the ostriche?
Her young ones it hath hardened without her, In vain [is] her labour without fear.
She deals harshly with her young ones, as if they were not hers. Though her labor is in vain, she is without fear,
She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labor is in vain without fear;
She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers, she hath laboured in vain, no fear constraining her.
Ostriches act cruelly towards their chicks; they act as though the chicks belonged to some other ostrich. They are not concerned if their chicks die, and so the laying of the eggs was in vain.
Berean Amplified Bible — Job 39:16
BAB
Word Study
Hover over any word to see its amplified meaning. Click a word to explore its full definition and translation comparisons.
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Job 39:16 Interlinear (Deep Study)
BIB
HEB
הִקְשִׁ֣יחַ
בָּנֶ֣י/הָ
לְּ/לֹא
לָ֑/הּ
לְ/רִ֖יק
יְגִיעָ֣/הּ
בְּלִי
פָֽחַד
הִקְשִׁ֣יחַ
qâshach
H7188
to harden
V-Hiphil-Perf-3ms
בָּנֶ֣י/הָ
bên
H1121
son
N-mp | Suff
לְּ/לֹא
lôʼ
H3808
not
Prep | Part
לָ֑/הּ
Prep | Suff
לְ/רִ֖יק
rîyq
H7385
vain
Prep | N-ms
יְגִיעָ֣/הּ
yᵉgîyaʻ
H3018
toil
N-ms | Suff
בְּלִי
bᵉlîy
H1097
without
Part
פָֽחַד
pachad
H6343
dread
N-ms
Hebrew Word Study
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Hebrew Word Reference — Job 39:16
הִקְשִׁ֣יחַ
qâshach
H7188
"to harden"
V-Hiphil-Perf-3ms
This word means to make someone or something unfeeling or hard, like when God hardened the hearts of some people in the book of Isaiah.
Definition: 1) to make hard, treat hardly, treat severely 1a) (Hiphil) 1a1) to make hard, make stubborn 1a2) to treat hardly, treat roughly
Usage: Occurs in 2 OT verses. KJV: harden. See also: Job 39:16; Isaiah 63:17.
בָּנֶ֣י/הָ
bên
H1121
"son"
N-mp | Suff
In the Bible, this word means a son or descendant, and can also refer to a grandson, nation, or quality. It appears in 1 Chronicles 24, describing a Levite named Beno. The word is used to show family relationships and inheritance.
Definition: : child/son
Usage: Occurs in 3653 OT verses. KJV: [phrase] afflicted, age, (Ahoh-) (Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-) ite, (anoint-) ed one, appointed to, ([phrase]) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-) ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, [phrase] (young) bullock, [phrase] (young) calf, [idiom] came up in, child, colt, [idiom] common, [idiom] corn, daughter, [idiom] of first, [phrase] firstborn, foal, [phrase] very fruitful, [phrase] postage, [idiom] in, [phrase] kid, [phrase] lamb, ([phrase]) man, meet, [phrase] mighty, [phrase] nephew, old, ([phrase]) people, [phrase] rebel, [phrase] robber, [idiom] servant born, [idiom] soldier, son, [phrase] spark, [phrase] steward, [phrase] stranger, [idiom] surely, them of, [phrase] tumultuous one, [phrase] valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth. See also: Genesis 3:16; Genesis 23:3; Genesis 34:18.
לְּ/לֹא
lôʼ
H3808
"not"
Prep | Part
The Hebrew word for not or no is used to indicate absence or negation, as when God says no to the Israelites' requests, or when they disobey His commands.
Definition: 1) not, no 1a) not (with verb-absolute prohibition) 1b) not (with modifier-negation) 1c) nothing (subst) 1d) without (with particle) 1e) before (of time) Aramaic equivalent: la (לָא "not" H3809)
Usage: Occurs in 3967 OT verses. KJV: [idiom] before, [phrase] or else, ere, [phrase] except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), ([idiom] as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, [phrase] surely, [phrase] as truly as, [phrase] of a truth, [phrase] verily, for want, [phrase] whether, without. See also: Genesis 2:5; Genesis 31:15; Exodus 4:9.
לָ֑/הּ
""
Prep | Suff
לְ/רִ֖יק
rîyq
H7385
"vain"
Prep | N-ms
This Hebrew word means something that is empty, worthless, or done in vain. It is used to describe actions or things that have no value or purpose. The Bible uses it to warn against empty or idle pursuits.
Definition: emptiness, vanity, empty, idle, vain
Usage: Occurs in 12 OT verses. KJV: empty, to no purpose, (in) vain (thing), vanity. See also: Leviticus 26:16; Isaiah 30:7; Psalms 2:1.
יְגִיעָ֣/הּ
yᵉgîyaʻ
H3018
"toil"
N-ms | Suff
This word refers to hard work or labor, and the things we produce as a result of our efforts. It can also mean the property or wealth we acquire through our work. The KJV translates it as 'labour' or 'work'.
Definition: 1) toil, work 2) product, produce, acquired property (as a result of work)
Usage: Occurs in 16 OT verses. KJV: labour, work. See also: Genesis 31:42; Psalms 128:2; Psalms 78:46.
בְּלִי
bᵉlîy
H1097
"without"
Part
This word means without or nothing, often used for negation. It appears in various forms, such as without or not yet, in the Old Testament.
Definition: subst 1) wearing out adv of negation 2) without, no, not
Usage: Occurs in 57 OT verses. KJV: corruption, ig(norantly), for lack of, where no...is, so that no, none, not, un(awares), without. See also: Genesis 31:20; Job 38:41; Psalms 19:4.
פָֽחַד
pachad
H6343
"dread"
N-ms
This word refers to a feeling of terror or dread, often caused by something sudden or frightening. In the Bible, it describes the fear of God or the dread of His judgment. The prophet Isaiah used it to describe the terror of God's wrath.
Definition: 1) terror, dread 1a) dread 1b) object of dread
Usage: Occurs in 48 OT verses. KJV: dread(-ful), fear, (thing) great (fear, -ly feared), terror. See also: Genesis 31:42; Job 39:22; Psalms 14:5.
Study Notes — Job 39:16
Show Verse Quote Highlights
- Context
- Cross References
- Job 39:16 Summary
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Reflection Questions
- Gill's Exposition on Job 39:16
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Job 39:16
- Matthew Poole's Commentary on Job 39:16
- Trapp's Commentary on Job 39:16
- Adam Clarke's Commentary on Job 39:16
- Cambridge Bible on Job 39:16
- Barnes' Notes on Job 39:16
- Whedon's Commentary on Job 39:16
- Sermons on Job 39:16
Context — The LORD Speaks of His Creation
14For she leaves her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand.
15She forgets that a foot may crush them, or a wild animal may trample them.
16She treats her young harshly, as if not her own, with no concern that her labor was in vain.
17For God has deprived her of wisdom; He has not endowed her with understanding. 18Yet when she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider.Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lamentations 4:3 | Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like an ostrich in the wilderness. |
| 2 | Deuteronomy 28:56–57 | The most gentle and refined woman among you, so gentle and refined she would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground, will begrudge the husband she embraces and her son and daughter the afterbirth that comes from between her legs and the children she bears, because she will secretly eat them for lack of anything else in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you within your gates. |
| 3 | 1 Kings 3:26–27 | Then the woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she yearned with compassion for her son. “Please, my lord,” she said, “give her the living baby. Do not kill him!” But the other woman said, “He will be neither mine nor yours. Cut him in two!” Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. By no means should you kill him; she is his mother.” |
| 4 | 2 Kings 6:28–29 | Then the king asked her, “What is the matter?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son, that we may eat him, and tomorrow we will eat my son.’ So we boiled my son and ate him, and the next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son, that we may eat him.’ But she had hidden her son.” |
| 5 | Habakkuk 2:13 | Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain? |
| 6 | Ecclesiastes 10:15 | The toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city. |
| 7 | Romans 1:31 | They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless. |
| 8 | Lamentations 2:20 | Look, O LORD, and consider: Whom have You ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the infants they have nurtured? Should priests and prophets be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord? |
Job 39:16 Summary
This verse, Job 39:16, describes how the ostrich treats her young harshly, as if they are not her own, which may seem surprising to us. However, this behavior is a result of her natural instincts, and it is also a reminder that God is the Creator of all things, as seen in Psalm 104:24. As Christians, we are called to show love, care, and compassion to others, as taught in Matthew 22:37-40 and 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. By trusting in God's sovereignty over creation, we can learn to balance our natural tendencies with the call to love and care for others, and seek God's guidance and wisdom in all areas of our lives, as seen in Proverbs 2:6 and James 1:5.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the ostrich treat her young harshly, as if they are not her own?
The ostrich's behavior is a result of her natural instincts, as described in Job 39:16, and it is also a reflection of her lack of wisdom and understanding, as stated in Job 39:17, which says that God has deprived her of wisdom and not endowed her with understanding, similar to what is written in Proverbs 30:2-3, where the writer acknowledges their lack of knowledge and understanding.
Is the ostrich's behavior a reflection of her lack of love for her young?
The Bible does not say that the ostrich lacks love for her young, but rather that she treats them harshly due to her natural instincts, as seen in Job 39:16, and as illustrated in Isaiah 49:15, where God says that even if a mother were to forget her child, He would never forget His people, indicating that a mother's love is not the same as God's love.
What can we learn from the ostrich's behavior in this verse?
We can learn that even in nature, there are examples of harsh treatment and lack of concern, as seen in Job 39:16, but as Christians, we are called to show love, care, and compassion, as taught in Matthew 22:37-40 and 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, where we are commanded to love God and our neighbors as ourselves.
How does this verse relate to God's sovereignty over creation?
This verse shows that God's sovereignty over creation extends even to the natural instincts and behaviors of animals, as stated in Job 39:16-18, and as seen in Psalm 104:24, where it says that God is the Creator of all things, and in Romans 1:20, where it says that God's invisible attributes are clearly seen in the things that He has made.
Reflection Questions
- What are some ways in which I may be treating others harshly, without even realizing it, and how can I show them more love and compassion, as taught in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7?
- How can I balance my natural instincts and tendencies with the call to love and care for others, as seen in Matthew 22:37-40 and Galatians 5:22-23?
- What are some areas in my life where I may be lacking wisdom and understanding, and how can I seek God's guidance and wisdom, as seen in Proverbs 2:6 and James 1:5?
- How can I trust in God's sovereignty over creation, even when I do not understand the ways of the natural world, as stated in Isaiah 55:9 and Romans 11:33-36?
Gill's Exposition on Job 39:16
She is hardened against her young ones, as though [they were] not hers,.... Hence said to be cruel, Lamentations 4:3; not against the young ones she hatches, for Aelianus (c) reports her as very
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Job 39:16
She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear; On a slight noise often she forsakes her eggs, and returns not, as if she were 'hardened
Matthew Poole's Commentary on Job 39:16
She is hardened; or, he, i.e. God, hardens her; or, she hardeneth herself. Against her young ones, i.e. against her eggs, which he calls her young ones emphatically, to aggravate her fault and folly in destroying those eggs, which, if not neglected, would have been young ones. As though they were not hers; as if they were laid by some other bird. Or, that they may not be to her, i.e. that they may be utterly lost and destroyed; or as if it were her design to destroy their very being. Her labour, to wit, in laying her egg’ s, is wholly lost. In vain without fear: this may be added as a further aggravation. She doth this, not because she is compelled to forsake her eggs for fear of men or beasts, but merely ont of an unnatural carelessness. Or, she is without fear, or for want of fear, to wit, of a provident fear and care about them.
Trapp's Commentary on Job 39:16
Job 39:16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though [they were] not hers: her labour is in vain without fear;Ver. 16. She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers] Heb. her sons. So are those peremptores potius quam parentes, as Bernard calleth them, rather parricides than parents, who look not to the precious souls of their poor children; who labour not to mend that by education which they have marred by propagation. These are worse than those daughters of Jerusalem, who, slain almost with grief and hunger, became cruel to their sucklings, like the ostriches of the wilderness, Lamentations 4:3. What a cruel mother was Medea! and the mother of King Edward, the martyr, whom she basely murdered; and when his brother Egelred (who succeeded him in the kingdom), being then but ten years old, mourned thereat, his mother was so enraged, that taking wax candles, which were readiest at hand, she therewith scourged him so sore, that he could never after endure wax candles to be burnt before him (Mr Clark’ s Martyrol. fol. 31). But this cruelty was nothing to that of soul murder, whereof many parents, by their negligence at least, are deeply guilty; they bring forth children to that old manslayer, and so their labour (in bearing and breeding children) is in vain, and worse, without fear, for they will not be better advised nor affected.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on Job 39:16
Verse 16. She is hardened against her young] See before, and the extracts from Dr. Shaw at the end of the chapter. See Clarke on Job 39:30. She neglects her little ones, which are often found half starved, straggling, and moaning about, like so many deserted orphans, for their mother.
Cambridge Bible on Job 39:16
16. she is hardened against] Or, she treateth hardly. her young ones] The words refer here to her eggs, from which the young come forth, not to the young brood—as the second clause explains. in vain without fear] The meaning is that she is without fear, has no apprehension of danger, and consequently her labour is often in vain—“she forgetteth that the foot may crush” her eggs. The verses refer to the popular belief that the ostrich did not brood but left her eggs to be hatched in the sun; hence she is a type of unnatural cruelty, Lamentations 4:3, “Even the sea monsters (the jackals, Streane, Jerem. and Lam.) draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.” The belief is not sustained by observation, except to this extent, that the bird does not brood till her complement of eggs (thirty in number) be laid, and that during the early period of incubation she often leaves the nest by day to go in search of food. It is also said that she lays a number of eggs outside the nest, which are not incubated but serve as food for the poults when they are hatched.
Barnes' Notes on Job 39:16
She is hardened against her young ones - The obvious meaning of this passage, which is a fair translation of the Hebrew, is, that the ostrich is destitute of natural affection for her young; or that
Whedon's Commentary on Job 39:16
16. She is hardened against her young ones — More correctly, she deals hardly with her young. Dr.
Sermons on Job 39:16
| Sermon | Description | |
|---|---|---|
|
Leviticus 26:3 by Chuck Smith | Chuck Smith emphasizes the certainty of God's promises as outlined in Leviticus 26:3, highlighting the importance of obedience to God's statutes and commandments. He explains that |