Job

Job 38

41 verses · Wisdom · Old Testament

1Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind,

2“Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3Brace yourself like a man, for I will question you, then you answer me!
4“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding. 5Who determined its measures, if you know? Or who stretched the line on it? 6What were its foundations fastened on? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8“Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke out of the womb, 9when I made clouds its garment, and wrapped it in thick darkness, 10marked out for it my bound, set bars and doors, 11and said, ‘You may come here, but no further. Your proud waves shall be stopped here?’
12“Have you commanded the morning in your days, and caused the dawn to know its place, 13that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it? 14It is changed as clay under the seal, and presented as a garment. 15From the wicked, their light is withheld. The high arm is broken.
16“Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep? 17Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? 18Have you comprehended the earth in its width? Declare, if you know it all.
19“What is the way to the dwelling of light? As for darkness, where is its place, 20that you should take it to its bound, that you should discern the paths to its house? 21Surely you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great! 22Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, or have you seen the treasures of the hail, 23which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war? 24By what way is the lightning distributed, or the east wind scattered on the earth?
25Who has cut a channel for the flood water, or the path for the thunder storm, 26to cause it to rain on a land where there is no man, on the wilderness, in which there is no man, 27to satisfy the waste and desolate ground, to cause the tender grass to grow? 28Does the rain have a father? Or who fathers the drops of dew? 29Whose womb did the ice come out of? Who has given birth to the gray frost of the sky? 30The waters become hard like stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen.
31“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion? 32Can you lead the constellations out in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs? 33Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you establish its dominion over the earth?
34“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover you? 35Can you send out lightnings, that they may go? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are?’ 36Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the mind? 37Who can count the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the containers of the sky, 38when the dust runs into a mass, and the clods of earth stick together?
39“Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, 40when they crouch in their dens, and lie in wait in the thicket? 41Who provides for the raven his prey, when his young ones cry to God, and wander for lack of food?

Commentary on this chapter

What others are saying

5 commentators · 134 notes on this chapter

Matthew HenryEnglish Puritan / Nonconformist · 1708–17144

Writes as a pastor rather than a critic. Expect devotional and practical application over historical or linguistic analysis, read through a Reformed covenantal frame — and expect the Old Testament to be read forward toward Christ throughout.

Why this voice is here: The most widely read English commentary for three centuries. Included as a baseline: where Henry and a modern voice diverge, the divergence itself is usually the interesting part.

v. 1–3

Let us observe here, 1. Who speaks - The Lord, Jehovah, not a created angel, but the eternal Word himself, the second person in the blessed Trinity, for it is he by whom the worlds were made, and that was no other than the Son of God. The same speaks here…

v. 4–11

For the humbling of Job, God here shows him his ignorance even concerning the earth and the sea. Though so near, though so bulky, yet he could give no account of their origination, much less of heaven above or hell beneath, which are at such a distance, or of…

v. 12–24

The Lord here proceeds to ask Job many puzzling questions, to convince him of his ignorance, and so to shame him for his folly in prescribing to God. If we will but try ourselves with such interrogatories as these, we shall soon be brought to own that what we…

John GillParticular Baptist / High Calvinist · 1746–176341

The most exhaustive and the most doctrinally committed here. Expect high — even supralapsarian — Calvinism applied consistently, and unusually heavy use of rabbinic and Talmudic sources for Jewish context. Where a passage bears on election or the will, Gill will read it in one direction, and knowing that in advance is the point.

Why this voice is here: The strongest Calvinist reading available in the public domain, and the best on Jewish background. Read alongside Clarke, not instead of him — between them you get both sides of the argument.

v. 1

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind,.... As soon as Elihu had done speaking, who saw the tempest rising, and gave hints of it, Job 37:2; and hastened to finish his discourse. This was raised to give notice of the Lord being about to appear, and to…

v. 2

Who is this,.... Meaning not Elihu the last speaker, as some think; and there are some who suppose not only that these words are directed to him, but all that is said in this and the following chapter: but it was Job the Lord spoke to and answered, as…

v. 3

Gird up now thy loins like a man,.... Like a man of valour that girds on his harness for battle: Job is bid to prepare for the controversy the Lord was entering into with him; and bring forth his strong reasons and most powerful arguments in his own defence…

Adam ClarkeMethodist / Wesleyan-Arminian · 1810–182640

The linguist of this set. Expect Hebrew and Greek word study, oriental custom, and geography — and an Arminian reading of grace and free will where Gill or Henry would read election. Note one real divergence: Clarke denied the eternal sonship of Christ, a position most of the tradition rejects, so read him closely on the person of Christ.

Why this voice is here: Where you want to know what a word actually says, Clarke is the one who will tell you — with the caveat above on Christ’s sonship.

v. 1

The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind - It is not סופה suphah, as in the preceding chapter, Job 37:9; but סורה searah, which signifies something turbulent, tumultuous, or violently agitated; and here may signify what we call a tempest, and was intended…

v. 2

Who is this that darkeneth counsel - As if he had said, Who art thou who pretendest to speak on the deep things of God, and the administration of his justice and providence, which thou canst not comprehend; and leavest my counsels and designs the darker for…

v. 3

Gird up now thy loins - I will not confound thee with my terrors; dismiss all fearful apprehensions from thy mind; now act like a man, כגבר kegeber, like a hero: stand and vindicate thyself. For I will demand of thee - I will ask thee a series of questions…

Keil & DelitzschGerman Lutheran, conservative-critical · 1861–187510

The technical one, and Old Testament only. Expect Hebrew grammar, textual argument, and direct engagement with nineteenth-century critical scholarship — closer to a scholarly apparatus than a devotional read. Where a modern critic claims a text is late or composite, this is where the conservative counter-argument was made.

Why this voice is here: Old Testament only, and heavy going — but the place to look when someone asserts a passage cannot mean what it appears to.

v. 1–3

1 Then Jehovah answered Job out of the storm, and said: 2 Who then darkeneth counsel With words without knowledge? 3 Gird up now thy loins as a man: I will question thee, and inform thou me! "May the Almighty answer me!" Job has said, Job 31:35; He now really…

v. 4–7

4 Where wast thou when I established the earth? Say, if thou art capable of judging! 5 Who hath determined its measure, if thou knowest it, Or who hath stretched the measuring line over it? 6 Upon what are the bases of its pillars sunk in, Or who hath laid…

v. 8–11

8 And who shut up the sea with doors, When it broke through, issued from the womb, 9 When I put clouds round it as a garment, And thick mist as its swaddling clothes, 10 And I broke for it my bound, And set bars and doors, 11 And said: Hitherto come, and no…

Jamieson, Fausset & BrownScottish Presbyterian / Reformed · 187139

The concise option. Three authors split the canon, so the voice shifts between sections. Expect brief, sober, conservative notes that resolve difficulties rather than dwelling on them — useful for orientation, thinner than Gill or Clarke where a passage is genuinely contested.

Why this voice is here: The quickest way to see what the mainstream Reformed reading of a passage is. Start here, then go to Gill or Clarke when it matters.

v. 2

this--Job. counsel--impugning My divine wisdom in the providential arrangements of the universe. Such "words" (including those of the friends) rather obscure, than throw light on My ways. God is about to be Job's Vindicator, but must first bring him to a…

v. 3

a man--hero, ready for battle (Co1 16:13), as he had wished (Job 9:35; Job 13:22; Job 31:37). The robe, usually worn flowing, was girt up by a girdle when men ran, labored, or fought (Pe1 1:13).

v. 4

To understand the cause of things, man should have been present at their origin. The finite creature cannot fathom the infinite wisdom of the Creator (Job 28:12; Job 15:7-8). hast--"knowest." understanding-- (Pro 4:1).

World English Bible — Public domain