Job 38:9

Job 38:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
• New International Version (NIV)when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,
• English Standard Version (ESV)when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band,
• New King James Version (NKJV)When I made the clouds its garment, And thick darkness its swaddling band;

Context of Job 38:9

7When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God (angels) shouted for joy? 8“Or who enclosed the sea with doors When it burst forth and went out of the womb; When I made the clouds its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band, 10And marked for it My [appointed] boundary And set bars and doors [defining the shorelines], 11And said, ‘This far you shall come, but no farther; And here your proud waves shall stop’?

Job 38:9 word by word

בְּשׂוּמִ֣י עָנָ֣ן לְבֻשׁ֑וֹ וַ֝עֲרָפֶ֗ל חֲתֻלָּתֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• When I madeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
• the cloudעָנָן‛ânân · cloudH6051
• the garmentלְבוּשׁlebûsh lebûsh · clothingH3830
• thereof, and thick darknessעֲרָפֶל‛ărâphel · cloudH6205
• a swaddlingbandחֲתֻלָּהchăthûllâh · swaddlingH2854

Cross-references for Job 38:9

• Genesis 1:2The earth was formless and void or a waste and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep [primeval ocean that covered the unformed earth]. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.

Commentaries on Job 38:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9When I make the cloud the garment - Alluding to the cloth in which the new-born infant is first received. The cloud was the same to the newly raised vapor, as the above recipient to the new-born child. And thick darkness a swaddlingband for it - Here is also an allusion to the first dressings of the new-born child: it is swathed in order to support the body, too tender to bear even careful handling without some medium between the hand of the nurse and the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9When I made the cloud the garment thereof - Referring to the garment in which the new-born infant is wrapped up. This image is one of great beauty. It is that of the vast ocean just coming into being, with a cloud resting upon it and covering it. Thick darkness envelopes it, and it is swathed in mists; compare Genesis 1:2,” And darkness was upon the face of the deep.” The time here referred to is that before the light of the sun arose upon the earth…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-11Verses 4-11 For the humbling of Job, God here shows him his ignorance, even concerning the earth and the sea. As we cannot find fault with God's work, so we need not fear concerning it. The works of his providence, as well as the work of creation, never can be broken; and the work of redemption is no less firm, of which Christ himself is both the Foundation and the Corner-stone. The church stands as firm as the earth.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-41God challenges Job. Job admits he cannot judge the moral world. God shows Job's ignorance of the natural world's elements related to the realm of heaven, weather, animals, and birds (38:4–21; 22–38; 39–39:30).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-41Job 38:1-41. 1. Jehovah appears unexpectedly in a whirlwind (already gathering Job 37:1, 2), the symbol of "judgment" (Psa 50:3, 4, &c.), to which Job had challenged Him. He asks him now to get himself ready for the contest. Can he explain the phenomena of God's natural government? How can he, then, hope to understand the principles of His moral government? God thus confirms Elihu's sentiment, that submission to, not reasonings on, God's ways is man's…Read the comment

Topics related to Job 38:9

• Blessing
• Continents
• Darkness
• God
• Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena
• Swaddle

In the dictionaries

• Bar
• Birth
• Consume
• Covert
• Dark
• Hitherto
• Loose
• Reserve
• Satisfy
• Spring

Commentaries on Job 38

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings