Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, August 21st, 2025
the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
Attention!
Take your personal ministry to the Next Level by helping StudyLight build churches and supporting pastors in Uganda.
Click here to join the effort!

Read the Bible

Revised Standard Version

Job 40:22

For his shade the lotus trees cover him; the willows of the brook surround him.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - God;   Thompson Chain Reference - Trees;   Willows;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Brooks;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Behemoth;   Leviathan;   Willow;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Trees;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Behemoth;   Willows;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Behemoth;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Animals;   Behemoth;   Hippopotamus;   Job, the Book of;   Lotus;   Plants in the Bible;   Shadow;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Willow;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Willow,;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Behemoth;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Be'hemoth;   Willows;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Lotus Trees;   Shade;   Willows;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Behemoth;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Lotus plants cover him with their shade;the willows by the brook surround him.
Hebrew Names Version
The lotuses cover him with their shade. The willows of the brook surround him.
King James Version
The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about.
English Standard Version
For his shade the lotus trees cover him; the willows of the brook surround him.
New Century Version
The lotus plants hide it in their shadow; the poplar trees by the streams surround it.
New English Translation
The lotus trees conceal it in their shadow; the poplars by the stream conceal it.
Amplified Bible
"The lotus plants cover him with their shade; The willows of the brook surround him.
New American Standard Bible
"The lotus plants cover him with shade; The willows of the brook surround him.
World English Bible
The lotuses cover him with their shade. The willows of the brook surround him.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Can the trees couer him with their shadow? or can the willowes of the riuer compasse him about?
Legacy Standard Bible
The lotus plants cover it with shade;The willows of the brook surround it.
Berean Standard Bible
The lotus plants conceal him in their shade; the willows of the brook surround him.
Contemporary English Version
or hides among reeds in the swamp.
Complete Jewish Bible
the lotus bushes cover him with their shade, and the willows by the stream surround him.
Darby Translation
Lotus-bushes cover him with their shade; the willows of the brook surround him.
Easy-to-Read Version
The lotus plants hide him in their shade. He lives under the willow trees that grow near the river.
George Lamsa Translation
The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook encircle him.
Good News Translation
The thorn bushes and the willows by the stream give him shelter in their shade.
Lexham English Bible
The lotus trees cover it with their shade; the wadi's poplar trees surround it.
Literal Translation
the lotus trees cover him in its shadow; the willows of the torrent circle him.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
hyde him with their shadowe, and the wylowes of the broke couer him rounde aboute.
American Standard Version
The lotus-trees cover him with their shade; The willows of the brook compass him about.
Bible in Basic English
He is covered by the branches of the trees; the grasses of the stream are round him.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
The lotus-trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about.
King James Version (1611)
The shady trees couer him with their shaddow: the willowes of the brooke compasse him about.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
The trees couer him with their shadowe, and the wyllowes of the brooke compasse him about.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Will he address thee with a petition? softly, with the voice of a suppliant?
English Revised Version
The lotus trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Schadewis hilen his schadewe; the salewis of the ryuer cumpassen hym.
Update Bible Version
The lotus-trees cover him with their shade; The willows of the brook compass him about.
Webster's Bible Translation
The shady trees cover him [with] their shadow; the willows of the brook encompass him.
New King James Version
The lotus trees cover him with their shade; The willows by the brook surround him.
New Living Translation
The lotus plants give it shade among the willows beside the stream.
New Life Bible
He lies in the shadow of the lotus plants, with the willow trees of the river around him.
New Revised Standard
The lotus trees cover it for shade; the willows of the wadi surround it.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The lotus-trees cover him with their shade, the willows of the torrent-bed compass him about;
Douay-Rheims Bible
(40-17) The shades cover his shadow, the willows of the brook shall compass him about.
Young's Literal Translation
Cover him do shades, [with] their shadow, Cover him do willows of the brook.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"The lotus plants cover him with shade; The willows of the brook surround him.

Contextual Overview

15 "Behold, Be'hemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. 16 Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. 17 He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. 18 His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron. 19 "He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword! 20 For the mountains yield food for him where all the wild beasts play. 21 Under the lotus plants he lies, in the covert of the reeds and in the marsh. 22 For his shade the lotus trees cover him; the willows of the brook surround him. 23 Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened; he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth. 24 Can one take him with hooks, or pierce his nose with a snare?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the willows: Leviticus 23:40, Isaiah 15:7, Ezekiel 17:5

Cross-References

Genesis 40:8
They said to him, "We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them." And Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, I pray you."
Genesis 40:11
Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand."
Genesis 40:13
within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you shall place Pharaoh's cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his butler.
Genesis 40:19
within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head--from you! --and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat the flesh from you."
Genesis 40:23
Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Genesis 41:16
Joseph answered Pharaoh, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer."
Jeremiah 23:28
Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the LORD.
Daniel 2:30
But as for me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living has this mystery been revealed to me, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.
Daniel 5:12
because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshaz'zar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation."
Acts 5:30
The God of our fathers raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The shady trees cover him [with] their shadow,.... Under which it lies, as in Job 40:21; which is thought not so well to agree with the elephant, since, according to Aelianus h and other writers, it lies not down, at least but rarely, but sleeps standing; it being very troublesome to it to lie down and rise up again; and besides it is represented by some authors i as higher than the trees, and therefore this is supposed to agree better with the river horse; especially since it follows,

the willows of the brook compass him about; or the willows of the Nile, as some choose to render it; which would put it out of all doubt that the river horse is intended, if it could be established, it being an inhabitant of that river; and yet the above writer k speaks of elephants, when grown old, seeking large thick and shady woods to take up their abode in.

h Ibid. (Aelian. de Animal.) c. 31. i Ibid. l. 7. c. 6. k Ibid. c. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The shady trees - Probably the “lote-trees;” see the note at Job 40:21. The same word is used here.

The willow-trees of the brook - Of the “stream,” or “rivulet.” The Hebrew word (נחל nachal) means rather “a wady;” a gorge or gulley, which is swollen with torrents in the winter, but which is frequently dry in summer; see the notes at Job 6:15. Willows grew commonly on the banks of rivers. They could not be cultivated in the desert; Isaiah 15:7.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 40:22. The willows of the brook compass him — This would agree well enough with the hippopotamus.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile