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27 He draws up the water vapor
    and then distills it into rain.
28 The rain pours down from the clouds,
    and everyone benefits.
29 Who can understand the spreading of the clouds
    and the thunder that rolls forth from heaven?
30 See how he spreads the lightning around him
    and how it lights up the depths of the sea.
31 By these mighty acts he nourishes[a] the people,
    giving them food in abundance.
32 He fills his hands with lightning bolts
    and hurls each at its target.
33 The thunder announces his presence;
    the storm announces his indignant anger.[b]

37 “My heart pounds as I think of this.
    It trembles within me.
Listen carefully to the thunder of God’s voice
    as it rolls from his mouth.
It rolls across the heavens,
    and his lightning flashes in every direction.
Then comes the roaring of the thunder—
    the tremendous voice of his majesty.
    He does not restrain it when he speaks.
God’s voice is glorious in the thunder.
    We can’t even imagine the greatness of his power.

“He directs the snow to fall on the earth
    and tells the rain to pour down.
Then everyone stops working
    so they can watch his power.
The wild animals take cover
    and stay inside their dens.
The stormy wind comes from its chamber,
    and the driving winds bring the cold.
10 God’s breath sends the ice,
    freezing wide expanses of water.
11 He loads the clouds with moisture,
    and they flash with his lightning.
12 The clouds churn about at his direction.
    They do whatever he commands throughout the earth.
13 He makes these things happen either to punish people
    or to show his unfailing love.

Footnotes

  1. 36:31 Or he governs.
  2. 36:33 Or even the cattle know when a storm is coming. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

27 Indeed, he draws up the drops of water;
he distills the rain into its mist,
28 which the clouds pour down;
they shower abundantly on human beings.
29 “Moreover, can anyone understand[a] the spreading of clouds,
the thundering of his dwelling place?
30 Look, he scatters his lightning around him,
and he covers the roots of the sea.
31 Indeed, he judges people by them;
he gives food in abundance.[b]
32 He covers his hands with lightning,
and he commands it the place at which to strike.
33 His thundering tells about him;
the livestock also tell concerning what rises.[c]

Elihu Extols God’s Majesty

37 “About this also my heart trembles,
and it leaps from its place.
Listen carefully to his voice’s thunder
and the rumbling that goes out from his mouth.
He lets it loose under all the heavens,
and his lightning to the earth’s corners.
After it, his voice roars;
it thunders with his majestic voice,[d]
and he does not restrain it when his voice is heard.
“God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways;
he does great things, and we cannot comprehend.
For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth’;
and the shower of rain, his heavy shower of rain[e]
he stops all human beings from working[f]
so that everyone whom he has made may know it.[g]
Then[h] the animal goes into its den,
and it remains in its den.
The storm wind comes from its chamber
and cold from the north wind.
10 By God’s breath, ice is given,
and the broad waters are frozen.
11 Also, he loads down thick clouds with moisture;
his lightning scatters the clouds.
12 And they[i] turn around by his guidance
to accomplish all that he has commanded them
on the face of the habitable world.[j]
13 Whether as correction[k] or for his land,
or as loyal love, he lets it happen.

Footnotes

  1. Job 36:29 Literally “if he can understand”
  2. Job 36:31 Literally “as far as providing in abundance”
  3. Job 36:33 Literally “about going up”
  4. Job 37:4 Literally “with the voice of his majesty”
  5. Job 37:6 Literally “the shower of rain and the show of rains of his strength”
  6. Job 37:7 Literally “on the hand of all man he seals”
  7. Job 37:7 Literally “to know all men of his work”
  8. Job 37:8 Hebrew “And”
  9. Job 37:12 Collective “clouds” in the first line takes the singular “it” here with the plural meaning
  10. Job 37:12 Literally “world of earth”
  11. Job 37:13 Literally “a rod”