Job 38:8-18

8 Who closed the gates to hold back the sea ¹ when it burst from the womb of the earth?

9 It was I who covered the sea with clouds and wrapped it in darkness.

10 I marked a boundary for the sea and kept it behind bolted gates.

11 I told it, "So far and no farther! Here your powerful waves must stop."

12 Job, have you ever in all your life commanded a day to dawn?

13 Have you ordered the dawn to seize the earth and shake the wicked from their hiding places?

14 Daylight makes the hills and valleys stand out like the folds of a garment, clear as the imprint of a seal on clay.

15 The light of day is too bright for the wicked and restrains them from doing violence.

16 Have you been to the springs in the depths of the sea? Have you walked on the floor of the ocean?

17 Has anyone ever shown you the gates that guard the dark world of the dead?

18 Have you any idea how big the world is? Answer me if you know.

Job 38:8-18 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

• 1. 38.8-11Jeremiah 5.22.

Footnotes

• [a]. to hold back the sea: [See 26.12.]