Job 38:31-35

31 “Can you bind the chains[a] of the Pleiades? Can you loosen Orion’s belt?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons[b]or lead out the Bear[c] with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s[d] dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

Job 38:31-35 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 38

In this chapter the Lord takes up the controversy with Job; calls upon him to prepare to engage with him in it, and demands an answer to posing questions he puts to him, concerning the earth and the fabric of it, Job 38:1-7; concerning the sea, compared to an infant in embryo, at its birth, in its swaddling bands and cradle, Job 38:8-11; concerning the morning light, its spread and influence, Job 38:12-15; concerning the springs of the sea, the dark parts of the earth, the place both of light and darkness, Job 38:16-21; concerning the various meteors, snow, hail, rain, thunder, lightning, and the influences of the stars, Job 38:22-38; and concerning provision for lions and ravens, Job 38:40,41.

Cross References 7

  • 1. Job 9:9; Amos 5:8
  • 2. 2 Kings 23:5; Isaiah 13:10; Isaiah 40:26; Isaiah 45:12; Jeremiah 19:13
  • 3. S Genesis 1:16
  • 4. Psalms 148:6; Jeremiah 31:36
  • 5. S Genesis 1:16
  • 6. S Job 5:10; S Job 22:11; Job 36:27-28
  • 7. S Job 36:32; Job 37:3

Footnotes 4

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