Job 39:24

24 They are so stirred up that they eat up the ground. They can't stand still when trumpets are blown.

Job 39:24 Meaning and Commentary

Job 39:24

He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage
Being so eager for the battle, and so full of fierceness and rage, he bounds the plain with such swiftness that he seems rather to swallow up the ground than to run upon it;

neither believeth he that [it is] the sound of the trumpet;
for joy at hearing it; or he will not trust to his ears, but will see with his eyes whether the battle is ready, and therefore pushes forward. Mr. Broughton and others read it, "he will not stand still at the noise of the trumpet"; and the word signifies firm and stable, as well as to believe; when he hears the trumpet sound, the alarm of war, as a preparation for the battle, he knows not how to ^F1 stand; there is scarce any holding him in, but he rushes into the battle at once, ( Jeremiah 8:6 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 "Stare loco nescit". Virgil. Georgic. l. 3. v. 84. "Ut fremit acer equus" Ovid. Metamorph. l. 3. Fab. 10. v. 704.

Job 39:24 In-Context

22 They laugh at fear. They are not afraid of anything. They do not run away from swords.

23 Many arrows rattle at their sides. Flashing spears and javelins are also there.

24 They are so stirred up that they eat up the ground. They can't stand still when trumpets are blown.

25 When they hear the trumpets they snort, 'Aha!' They catch the smells of battle far away. They hear the shouts of commanders and the battle cries.

26 "Job, are you wise enough to teach hawks where to fly? They spread their wings and fly toward the south.