Job 37:1-7

Elihu Proclaims God's Majesty

1 "At this also my heart trembles and leaps out of its place.
2 Keep listening to the thunder of his voice and the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
3 Under the whole heaven he lets it go, and his 1lightning to the 2corners of the earth.
4 After it 3his voice roars; 4he thunders with his majestic voice, and he does not restrain the lightnings[a] when his voice is heard.
5 God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does 5great things that we cannot 6comprehend.
6 For to 7the snow he says, 'Fall on the earth,' likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour.
7 He 8seals up the hand of every man, that all men whom he made may 9know it.

Job 37:1-7 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 37

Elihu in this chapter proceeds to show the greatness of God as it appears in other of his works of nature, which greatly affected him, and to an attention to which he exhorts others, Job 37:1,2; particularly thunder and lightning, the direction, extent, and order of which he observes, Job 37:3,4; and then suggests that besides these there are other great things done by him, incomprehensible and unknown in various respects; as the snow, and rain, lesser and greater, which come on the earth at his command, and have such effect on men as to seal up their hands, and on the beasts of the field as to cause them to retire to their dens, and there remain, Job 37:5-8; and then he goes on to take notice of wind, and frost, and the clouds, and dispersion of them; their use and ends, whether in judgment or mercy, Job 37:9-13; and then calls on Job to consider these wondrous works of God, and remark how ignorant men are of the disposition of clouds for the rainbow; of the balancing of them; of the heat and quietness that come by the south wind, and of the firmness of the sky, Job 37:14-21; and from all this he concludes the terrible majesty, unsearchable nature of God, the excellency of his power and justice; and that men therefore should and do fear him, who is no respecter of persons, Job 37:21-23.

Cross References 9

  • 1. Job 36:30, 32
  • 2. Job 38:13; [Isaiah 11:12; Ezekiel 7:2]
  • 3. Job 40:9; Psalms 68:33; See Psalms 29:3-9
  • 4. Psalms 18:13
  • 5. See Job 5:9
  • 6. Job 36:26
  • 7. Psalms 147:16, 17
  • 8. Daniel 12:9; [Job 14:17]
  • 9. Psalms 109:27

Footnotes 1

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.