Job 26:9

26:9 He conceals ¹  the face of the full moon, ² 

shrouding it with his clouds.

Job 36:32

36:32 With his hands ³  he covers ⁴  the lightning,

and directs it against its target.

Job 38:25

38:25 Who carves out a channel for the heavy rains,

and a path for the rumble of thunder,

[26:9]  ¹ tn The verb means “to hold; to seize,” here in the sense of shutting up, enshrouding, or concealing.

[26:9]  ² tc The MT has כִסֵּה (khisseh), which is a problematic vocalization. Most certainly כֵּסֶה (keseh), alternative for כֶּסֶא (kese’, “full moon”) is intended here. The MT is close to the form of “throne,” which would be כִּסֵּא (kisse’, cf. NLT “he shrouds his throne with his clouds”). But here God is covering the face of the moon by hiding it behind clouds.

[36:32]  ³ tn R. Gordis (Job, 422) prefers to link this word with the later Hebrew word for “arch,” not “hands.”

[36:32]  ⁴ tn Because the image might mean that God grabs the lightning and hurls it like a javelin (cf. NLT), some commentators want to change “covers” to other verbs. Dhorme has “lifts” (נִשָּׂא [nissa’] for כִּסָּה [kissah]). This fit the idea of God directing the lightning bolts.