Job 39:21

It ¹  paws the ground in the valley, ²  exulting mightily, ³  it goes out to meet the weapons.

He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray.

"He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength; He goes out to meet the weapons.

It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength. When it charges to war,

He paws the ground fiercely, eager and spirited, then charges into the fray.

He is stamping with joy in the valley; he makes sport of fear.

It paws violently, exults mightily; it goes out to meet the weapons.

He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength; He gallops into the clash of arms.

It ¹  paws the ground in the valley, ²  exulting mightily, ³  it goes out to meet the weapons.

¹ tc The Hebrew text has a plural verb, “they paw.” For consistency and for stylistic reasons this is translated as a singular.

² tn The armies would prepare for battles that were usually fought in the valleys, and so the horse was ready to charge. But in Ugaritic the word `mk means “force” as well as “valley.” The idea of “force” would fit the parallelism here well (see M. Dahood, “Value of Ugaritic for textual criticism,” Bib 40 [1959]: 166).

³ tn Or “in strength.”