EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Job 38:4
4Were you with me when I made the world? If you think you are so clever, tell me all about it!
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
2‘Who do you think you are? Why do you ask questions about my wisdom? You speak many words, but you do not understand anything. 3Prepare yourself for a difficult job! I will ask you some questions and you must answer them. Were you with me when I made the world? If you think you are so clever, tell me all about it! 5It was me who decided the size of the world. You surely must know that! I measured it as I made it. 6Tell me how I fixed the foundations of the earth. Who made it stay in its right place? I did!
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 8:22The Lord created me as the first thing that he did. That was the first of his acts long ago.
- Proverbs 30:4No one has gone up to heaven and then come back. No one has held the wind in his hands. No one has tied his coat around the seas. No one has fixed the borders of the earth. If anyone has done this, tell me his name. Tell me his son's name. Tell me, if you know.
- Genesis 1:1In the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth.
- Psalms 102:25Long ago, you built the world on a strong foundation. You created the heavens with your own hands.
- Psalms 104:5You, Lord, built the earth on its strong foundations. Nothing will ever shake it from its place.
- Hebrews 1:2But in these last days, he has spoken to us in his Son. In the beginning, God worked through his Son to make the whole universe. He decided that everything should belong to his Son.
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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