New English Translation
Job 38:12
12Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, or made the dawn know its place,
Job 38:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;
- New International Version (NIV)“Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place,
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place,
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Have you commanded the morning since your days began, And caused the dawn to know its place,
Context of Job 38:12
10when I prescribed its limits, and set in place its bolts and doors, 11when I said, ‘To here you may come and no farther, here your proud waves will be confined’? Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, or made the dawn know its place, 13that it might seize the corners of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it? 14The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features are dyed like a garment.
Read all of Job 38Job 38:12 word by word
הְֽ֭מִיָּמֶיךָ צִוִּ֣יתָ בֹּ֑קֶר יִדַּ֖עְתָּ הַשַּׁ֣חַר מְקֹמֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 38:12
- Genesis 1:5God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day.
- Psalms 74:16You established the cycle of day and night; you put the moon and sun in place.
- Psalms 136:7to the one who made the great lights, for his loyal love endures,
- Psalms 148:3Praise him, O sun and moon! Praise him, all you shiny stars!
- Job 38:4“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you possess understanding!
- Job 8:9For we were born yesterday and do not have knowledge, since our days on earth are but a shadow.
- Job 15:7“Were you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills?
- Luke 1:78Because of our God’s tender mercy the dawn will break upon us from on high
- 2 Peter 1:19Moreover, we possess the prophetic word as an altogether reliable thing. You do well if you pay attention to this as you would to a light shining in a murky place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Commentaries on Job 38:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Hast thou commanded the morning - This refers to dawn or morning twilight, occasioned by the refraction of the solar rays by means of the atmosphere; so that we receive the light by degrees, which would otherwise burst at once upon our eyes, and injure, if not destroy, our sight; and by which even the body of the sun himself becomes evident several minutes before he rises above the horizon. Caused the dayspring to know his place - This seems to refer to…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days - That is, in thy lifetime hast thou ordered the light of the morning to shine, and directed its beams over the world? God appeals to this as one of the proofs of his majesty and power - and who can look upon the spreading light of the morning and be insensible to the force and beauty of the appeal? The transition from the ocean to the morning may have been partly because the light of the morning is one of…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. 12-1512-15. Passing from creation to phenomena in the existing inanimate world. Hast thou--as God daily does. commanded the morning--to rise. since thy days--since thou hast come into being. his place--It varies in its place of rising from day to day, and yet it has its place each day according to fixed laws.Read the comment
Topics related to Job 38:12
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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries