Job 38:23-33

23 which I save for times of trouble, for days of battle and war?

24 "By what path is light dispersed, or the east wind poured out on the land?

25 Who cut a channel for the downpours, or a way for the lightning and thunder,

26 causing it to rain where no one is, in a desert without anyone there,

27 drenching the waste and desolate [ground], till the tender grass sprouts?

28 Does the rain have a father? Who is the father of dewdrops?

29 From whose womb does ice come? Who gives birth to the frost of heaven,

30 when water becomes as hard as stone, and the surface of the deep freezes solid?

31 "Can you tie up the cords of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion?

32 Can you lead out the constellations of the zodiac in their season or guide the Great Bear and its cubs?

33 Do you know the laws of the sky? Can you determine how they affect the earth?

Job 38:23-33 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.