Job 26:8

8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; And the cloud is not rent under them.

Job 26:8 Meaning and Commentary

Job 26:8

He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds
The clouds are of his making; when he utters his voice, or gives the word of command, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and the vapours he exhales from the ends of the earth and forms them into clouds, and they are his chariots, in which he rides up and down in the heavens, and waters his gardens and plantations on earth; see ( Jeremiah 10:13 ) ( Psalms 104:3 ) ; which may be said to be thick in comparison of the air, in which they are; otherwise they are but thin, and the thinner they are, the greater wonder it is that the waters, and such a heavy body of them, should be bound up in them, as there often is; and which is bound up, held, and retained therein, as anything bound up in a sack or bag, or in a garment, or the skirt of a man's coat; see ( Proverbs 30:4 ) ; and what is still more marvellous:

and the cloud is not rent under them;
under the waters, and through the weight of them; which, if it was, would fall in vast water spouts, and were such to fall upon the earth, as it may be supposed they did at the general deluge, they would destroy man and beast, and wash off and wash away the things of the earth: but God has so ordered it in his infinite wisdom, and by his almighty power, that clouds should not be thus rent, but fall in small drops and gentle showers, as if they passed through a sieve or colander, whereby the earth is refreshed, and made fruitful; see ( Job 36:26-29 ) ( 37:16 ) .

Job 26:8 In-Context

6 Sheol is naked before [God], And Abaddon hath no covering.
7 He stretcheth out the north over empty space, And hangeth the earth upon nothing.
8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; And the cloud is not rent under them.
9 He incloseth the face of his throne, And spreadeth his cloud upon it.
10 He hath described a boundary upon the face of the waters, Unto the confines of light and darkness.
The American Standard Version is in the public domain.