Job 38:23-33

23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, Against the day of battle and war?

24 By what way is the lightning distributed, Or the east wind scattered on the earth?

25 Who has cut a channel for the flood water, Or the path for the thunderstorm;

26 To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; On the wilderness, in which there is no man;

27 To satisfy the waste and desolate ground, To cause the tender grass to spring forth?

28 Does the rain have a father? Or who fathers the drops of dew?

29 Out of whose womb came the ice? The gray frost of the sky, who has given birth to it?

30 The waters become hard like stone, When the surface of the deep is frozen.

31 "Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loosen the cords of Orion?

32 Can you lead forth the constellations in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs?

33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you establish the dominion of it over 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.