Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrifying.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The verse doesn't just compare the horse's terrifying snort to a grasshopper's fear, but more profoundly, it highlights the horse's ability to leap like a grasshopper—an image of surprising agility and controlled power, not fear. This isn't about the horse being timid, but about its explosive, almost insect-like spring into action, a magnificent display of God's design that's far beyond human capability.
Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrifying.
English Standard Version (ESV)
God is challenging Job's understanding of creation by describing the incredible power and spirit of a warhorse. He highlights how the horse, unlike a timid creature, eagerly leaps into battle and breathes out a terrifying snort, demonstrating a wild, untamable force that only God fully understands and controls. This imagery serves as a powerful illustration of God's immense power and sovereignty over all living things.
Think about the most powerful and impressive things you've ever seen. Now, imagine trying to control them. God challenges Job with a simple question about the warhorse: can you do this?
God is showing Job who's boss, and it's not Job! He points to the warhorse, a creature built for power and speed, and asks if Job can replicate its most impressive abilities.
An Uncontrollable Force
The verse says, "Do you make him leap like the locust?" This isn't about making the horse afraid like a grasshopper. It's about whether Job can command the horse to move with that kind of explosive, agile power. It's a skill that comes from God, not from human engineering.
Majestic Terror
Then comes the description of the horse's "majestic snorting." When a warhorse gets ready for battle, it's not just noise; it's a display of power that inspires awe and fear. This isn't something we can orchestrate or control. It's a raw, untamed force that belongs to God.
The ancient world viewed the warhorse with a mixture of awe and terror. What does this powerful creature reveal about its Creator?
The description of the warhorse in Job 39 isn't just a biological detail; it's a profound theological statement. This animal, used in warfare, becomes a symbol of God's incredible power and the awe it inspires.
Swift and Agil
Ask a follow-up
When the verse compares the horse's movement to a locust's leap, it emphasizes the horse's incredible agility and speed. Imagine this large, powerful animal moving with such swiftness and explosive energy. This isn't just brute force; it's a finely tuned power that God has given it.
Terrifying Glory
The "majestic snorting" isn't just a sound. It's described as 'terrible' or 'majestic glory.' This speaks to the sheer presence and impact of the warhorse. When it snorts, preparing for battle, it's a display of its power that can shake its enemies. This 'glory' is a reflection of the Creator's own awesome power, displayed through His creation.
Understand the original words
eimah · Hebrew Noun
In biblical imagery, terror or being 'terrifying' often refers to the overwhelming awe or dread inspired by God's creation or His own presence. It signifies a power so great that it commands respect, fear, and submissiveness.
This passage also highlights the terrifying sound of horses snorting, emphasizing the powerful and awe-inspiring nature of these creatures in battle, echoing the description in Job.
Joel 2:4This verse compares the appearance and movement of locusts to horses and horsemen, drawing a parallel in their visual impact and rapid advance, similar to the comparison made in Job 39.
Revelation 9:7Here, locusts are described as resembling horses prepared for battle, featuring faces like human faces and strong snorting sounds, further solidifying the ancient comparison of horses to locusts in their terrifying power.
Habakkuk 3:14-15This passage speaks of God smiting the heads of an enemy with their own weapons, and the horses (or chariots) being used as tools of divine judgment, showing the horse as an instrument of powerful, God-ordained action.
jfbJob 39:20: "Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible."
- make … afraid—rather, "canst thou (as I do) make him spring as the locust?" So in Joe 2:4, the comparison is between locusts and war-horses. The heads of the two are so similar that the Italians call the locusts cavaletta, "little horse."nostrils—snorting furiously.
pooleJob 39:20: "Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible."
As a grasshopper; which is easily affrighted, and chased away by the least noise of a man. Or, as divers others render the place, Didst thou make him to move like a grasshopper , skipping and leaping as he goes? So he describes the posture of a gallant and generous horse, who curvets, and pranceth, and as it were danceth as he walks. The glory of his nostrils; that snorting, or sound, and smoke whic…
The verse doesn't just compare the horse's terrifying snort to a grasshopper's fear, but more profoundly, it highlights the horse's ability to leap like a grasshopper—an image of surprising agility and controlled power, not fear. This isn't about the horse being timid, but about its explosive, almost insect-like spring into action, a magnificent display of God's design that's far beyond human capability.
God is challenging Job's understanding of creation by describing the incredible power and spirit of a warhorse. He highlights how the horse, unlike a timid creature, eagerly leaps into battle and breathes out a terrifying snort, demonstrating a wild, untamable force that only God fully understands and controls. This imagery serves as a powerful illustration of God's immense power and sovereignty over all living things.
God is challenging Job's understanding of creation by describing the incredible power and spirit of a warhorse. He highlights how the horse, unlike a timid creature, eagerly leaps into battle and breathes out a terrifying snort, demonstrating a wild, untamable force that only God fully understands and controls. This imagery serves as a powerful illustration of God's immense power and sovereignty over all living things.
"Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrifying." — The verse doesn't just compare the horse's terrifying snort to a grasshopper's fear, but more profoundly, it highlights the horse's ability to leap like a grasshopper—an image of surprising agility…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026