Job 38:25

25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,

Job 38:25 in Other Translations

KJV
25 Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;
ESV
25 "Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain and a way for the thunderbolt,
NLT
25 “Who created a channel for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the lightning?
MSG
25 Who do you suppose carves canyons for the downpours of rain, and charts the route of thunderstorms
CSB
25 Who cuts a channel for the flooding rain or clears the way for lightning,

Job 38:25 Meaning and Commentary

Job 38:25

Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters,
&c.] For a very large shower of rain, as the Vulgate Latin version: for this is not to be understood of an aqueduct, channel, or canal made on earth, either for the draining of waters off of land overflowed thereby, or for the conveyance of it to different parts to overflow it; such as were cut out of the Nile in Egypt, for the overflowing of the land, to make it fruitful; such may be and have been made by men: but of a watercourse in the air or atmosphere, as a canal or channel, for the rain to come down upon the earth; and this is the work of God, and him only, who directs and steers the course of rain, that it falls regularly and gently, not in spouts and floods, but in drops larger or lesser, on what spot of ground, or part of the earth, he pleases: and if what Jarchi says true, that every drop has its course, its canal, through which it passes, it is still more wonderful;

or a way for the lightning of thunder:
which generally go together, and are of God. His fire and voice, and for which he makes a way, by which they burst and break forth out of the cloud, and their course is directed by him under the whole heavens; see ( Job 28:26 ) ( 37:3 ) . So the Gospel, compared to rain and lightning, has its direction and its course steered to what part of the world, he pleases; see ( Psalms 19:4 ) ( Acts 13:46 Acts 13:47 ) ( 16:6-10 ) .

Job 38:25 In-Context

23 which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,
26 to water a land where no one lives, an uninhabited desert,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?

Cross References 1

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