Job 38:37

Job 38:37 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,
• New International Version (NIV)Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
• English Standard Version (ESV)Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,

Context of Job 38:37

35Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct? 36Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind? Who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven 38when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods? 39“Can you stalk prey for a lioness and satisfy the young lions’ appetites

Job 38:37 word by word

מִֽי־יְסַפֵּ֣ר שְׁחָקִ֣ים בְּחָכְמָ֑ה וְנִבְלֵ֥י שָׁ֝מַ֗יִם מִ֣י יַשְׁכִּֽיב׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Who can numberסָפַרsâphar · to recountH5608
• the cloudsשַׁ֫חַקshachaq · cloudH7834
• in wisdomחׇכְמָהchokmâh · wisdomH2451
• or who can stayשָׁכַבshâkab · to lie down: lay downH7901
• the bottlesנֵ֫בֶלnebel nêbel · bagH5035
• of heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064

Cross-references for Job 38:37

• Genesis 15:5Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”
• Psalms 147:4He counts the stars and calls them all by name.
• Genesis 8:1But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock with him in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the earth, and the floodwaters began to recede.
• Genesis 9:15and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life.

Commentaries on Job 38:37

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 37Who can number the clouds - Perhaps the word ספר saphar, which is commonly rendered to number, may here mean, as in Arabic, to irradiate, as Mr. Good contends; and may refer to those celestial and inimitable tinges which we sometimes behold in the sky. Bottles of heaven - The clouds: it is an allusion to the girbahs, or bottles made of skin, in which they are accustomed to carry their water from wells and tanks.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 37Who can number the clouds? - The word here rendered “clouds” (שׁחקים shachaqiym ) is applied to the clouds as made up of “small particles” - as if they were composed of fine dust, and hence, the word number is applied to them, not as meaning that the clouds themselves were innumerable, but that no one could estimate the number of particles which enter into their formation. In wisdom - By his wisdom. Who has sufficient intelligence to do it? Or who can…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 25-41Verses 25-41 Hitherto God had put questions to Job to show him his ignorance; now God shows his weakness. As it is but little that he knows, he ought not to arraign the Divine counsels; it is but little he can do, therefore he ought not to oppose the ways of Providence. See the all-sufficiency of the Divine Providence; it has wherewithal to satisfy the desire of every living thing. And he that takes care of the young ravens, certainly will not be wanting…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 38:37

• Blessing
• God
• Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Bar
• Bottle
• 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