Job 38:20

Job 38:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?
• New International Version (NIV)Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
• English Standard Version (ESV)that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home?
• New King James Version (NKJV)That you may take it to its territory, That you may know the paths to its home?

Context of Job 38:20

18Hath thine understanding compassed the breadths of the earth? Declare if thou knowest it all. 19Where is the way to where light dwelleth? and the darkness, where is its place, That thou shouldest take it to its bound, and that thou shouldest know the paths to its house? 21Thou knowest, for thou wast then born, and the number of thy days is great! 22Hast thou entered into the storehouses of the snow, and hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail,

Job 38:20 word by word

כִּ֣י תִ֭קָּחֶנּוּ אֶל־גְּבוּל֑וֹ וְכִֽי־תָ֝בִ֗ין נְתִיב֥וֹת בֵּיתֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

• takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• pathsנְתִיבָהnâthîyb nethîybâh nethibâh · pathH5410
• houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004

Commentaries on Job 38:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Shouldest take it to the bound thereof? - Or, as Mr. Good, translates, "That thou shouldest lay hold of it in its boundary." That thou shouldest go to the very spot where light commences, and where darkness ends; and see the house where each dwells. Here darkness and light are personified, each as a real intelligent being, having a separate existence and local dwelling. But poetry animates everything. It is the region of fictitious existence. I believe…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20That thou shouldest take it to the bounds thereof - Margin, “or, at.” The sense seems to be this: God asks Job whether he was so well acquainted with the sources of light, and the place where it dwelt, that he could take it under his guidance and reconduct it to its place of abode. And that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof? - The same idea is repeated here. Light has a home; a place of abode. It was far distant - in some region unknown…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-24Verses 12-24 The Lord questions Job, to convince him of his ignorance, and shame him for his folly in prescribing to God. If we thus try ourselves, we shall soon be brought to own that what we know is nothing in comparison with what we know not. By the tender mercy of our God, the Day-spring from on high has visited us, to give light to those that sit in darkness, whose hearts are turned to it as clay to the seal, 2Co 4:6. God's way in the government of…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. 19-3819-38. The marvels in heaven. "What is the way (to the place wherein) light dwelleth?" The origin of light and darkness. In Ge 1:3-5, 14-18, "light" is created distinct from, and previous to, light-emitting bodies, the luminaries of heaven.Read the comment

Topics related to Job 38:20

• Blessing
• God

In the dictionaries

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

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