Job 41:20

20 Smoke erupts from his nostrils like steam from a boiling pot.

Job 41:20 Meaning and Commentary

Job 41:20

Out of his nostrils goeth forth smoke, as [out] of a seething
pot or caldron.
] In which flesh or anything else is boiling. It is observed that there is a likeness between the crocodile and the river horse, and particularly in their breathing F21: and of the former it is remarked F23, that its nostrils are very large and open, and that they breathe out a fiery smoke, as out of a furnace.


FOOTNOTES:

F21 Plin. l. 48. c. 8. Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 8. c. 2.
F23 Achilles Statius & Eustathius, apud Scheuchzer: ut supra. (vol. 4. p. 849.)

Job 41:20 In-Context

18 "He snorts and the world lights up with fire, he blinks and the dawn breaks.
19 Comets pour out of his mouth, fireworks arc and branch.
20 Smoke erupts from his nostrils like steam from a boiling pot.
21 He blows and fires blaze; flames of fire stream from his mouth.
22 All muscle he is - sheer and seamless muscle. To meet him is to dance with death.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.