Job 39:22

39:22 It laughs at fear and is not dismayed;

it does not shy away from the sword.

Job 40:19

40:19 It ranks first among the works of God, ¹ 

the One who made it

has furnished it with a sword. ² 

Job 41:26

41:26 Whoever strikes it with a sword ³ 

will have no effect, ⁴ 

nor with the spear, arrow, or dart.

[40:19]  ¹ tn Heb “the ways of God.”

[40:19]  ² tc The literal reading of the MT is “let the one who made him draw near [with] his sword.” The sword is apparently a reference to the teeth or tusks of the animal, which cut vegetation like a sword. But the idea of a weapon is easier to see, and so the people who favor the mythological background see here a reference to God’s slaying the Beast. There are again many suggestions on how to read the line. The RV probably has the safest: “He that made him has furnished him with his sword” (the sword being a reference to the sharp tusks with which he can attack).

[41:26]  ¹ tn This is the clearest reading, following A. B. Davidson, Job, 285. The versions took different readings of the construction.

[41:26]  ² tn The verb קוּם (qum, “stand”) with בְּלִי (bÿli, “not”) has the sense of “does not hold firm,” or “gives way.”