Christian Standard Bible
Job 38:4
4Where were you when I established the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.
Job 38:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
- New International Version (NIV)“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
Context of Job 38:4
2Who is this who obscures my counsel with ignorant words? 3Get ready to answer me like a man; when I question you, you will inform me. Where were you when I established the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? 6What supports its foundations? Or who laid its cornerstone
Read all of Job 38Job 38:4 word by word
אֵיפֹ֣ה הָ֭יִיתָ בְּיָסְדִי־אָ֑רֶץ הַ֝גֵּ֗ד אִם־יָדַ֥עְתָּ בִינָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 38:4
- Proverbs 8:22“The Lord acquired me at the beginning of his creation, before his works of long ago.
- Proverbs 30:4Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his hands? Who has bound up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son — if you know?
- Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
- Psalms 102:25Long ago you established the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
- Psalms 104:5He established the earth on its foundations; it will never be shaken.
- Hebrews 1:2In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him.
Commentaries on Job 38:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? - Thou hast a limited and derived being; thou art only of yesterday; what canst thou know? Didst thou see me create the world?Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? - The first appeal is to the creation. The question here, “Where wast thou?” implies that Job was not present. He had not then an existence. He could not, therefore, have aided God, or counselled him, or understood what he was doing. How presumptuous, therefore, it was in one so short-lived to sit in judgment on the doings of him who had formed the world! How little could he expect to be able to…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. 44. 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; 15:7, 8). hast--"knowest." understanding--(Pr 4:1).Read the comment
Topics related to Job 38:4
In the dictionaries
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
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