Job 37:1-13

37:1 At this also my heart pounds

and leaps from its place.

37:2 Listen carefully ¹  to the thunder of his voice,

to the rumbling ²  that proceeds from his mouth.

37:3 Under the whole heaven he lets it go,

even his lightning to the far corners ³  of the earth.

37:4 After that a voice roars;

he thunders with an exalted voice,

and he does not hold back his lightning bolts ⁴ 

when his voice is heard.

37:5 God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways; ⁵ 

he does great things beyond our understanding. ⁶ 

37:6 For to the snow he says, ‘Fall ⁷  to earth,’

and to the torrential rains, ⁸  ‘Pour down.’ ⁹ 

37:7 He causes everyone to stop working, ¹⁰ 

so that all people ¹¹  may know ¹²  his work.

37:8 The wild animals go to their lairs,

and in their dens they remain.

37:9 A tempest blows out from its chamber,

icy cold from the driving winds. ¹³ 

37:10 The breath of God produces ice,

and the breadth of the waters freeze solid.

37:11 He loads the clouds with moisture; ¹⁴ 

he scatters his lightning through the clouds.

37:12 The clouds ¹⁵  go round in circles,

wheeling about according to his plans,

to carry out ¹⁶  all that he commands them

over the face of the whole inhabited world.

37:13 Whether it is for punishment ¹⁷  for his land,

or whether it is for mercy,

he causes it to find its mark. ¹⁸ 

[37:2]  ¹ tn The imperative is followed by the infinitive absolute from the same root to express the intensity of the verb.

[37:2]  ² tn The word is the usual word for “to meditate; to murmur; to groan”; here it refers to the low building of the thunder as it rumbles in the sky. The thunder is the voice of God (see Ps 29).

[37:3]  ³ tn Heb “wings,” and then figuratively for the extremities of garments, of land, etc.

[37:4]  ⁴ tn The verb simply has the pronominal suffix, “them.” The idea must be that when God brings in all the thunderings he does not hold back his lightning bolts either.

[37:5]  ⁵ tn The form is the Niphal participle, “wonders,” from the verb פָּלָא (pala’, “to be wonderful; to be extraordinary”). Some commentators suppress the repeated verb “thunders,” and supply other verbs like “shows” or “works,” enabling them to make “wonders” the object of the verb rather than leaving it in an adverbial role. But as H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 236) notes, no change is needed, for one is not surprised to find repetition in Elihu’s words.

[37:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “and we do not know.”

[37:6]  ⁷ tn The verb actually means “be” (found here in the Aramaic form). The verb “to be” can mean “to happen, to fall, to come about.”

[37:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “and [to the] shower of rain and shower of rains, be strong.” Many think the repetition grew up by variant readings; several Hebrew mss delete the second pair, and so many editors do. But the repetition may have served to stress the idea that the rains were heavy.

[37:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “Be strong.”

[37:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “by the hand of every man he seals.” This line is intended to mean with the heavy rains God suspends all agricultural activity.

[37:7]  ¹¹ tc This reading involves a change in the text, for in MT “men” is in the construct. It would be translated, “all men whom he made” (i.e., all men of his making”). This is the translation followed by the NIV and NRSV. Olshausen suggested that the word should have been אֲנָשִׁים (’anashim) with the final ם (mem) being lost to haplography.

[37:7]  ¹² tn D. W. Thomas suggested a meaning of “rest” for the verb, based on Arabic. He then reads אֱנוֹשׁ (’enosh) for man, and supplies a ם (mem) to “his work” to get “that every man might rest from his work [in the fields].”

[37:9]  ¹³ tn The “driving winds” reflects the Hebrew “from the scatterers.” This refers to the north winds that bring the cold air and the ice and snow and hard rains.

[37:11]  ¹⁴ tn The word “moisture” is drawn from רִי (ri) as a contraction for רְוִי (rÿvi). Others emended the text to get “hail” (NAB) or “lightning,” or even “the Creator.” For these, see the various commentaries. There is no reason to change the reading of the MT when it makes perfectly good sense.

[37:12]  ¹⁵ tn The words “the clouds” are supplied from v. 11; the sentence itself actually starts: “and it goes round,” referring to the cloud.

[37:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “that it may do.”

[37:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “rod,” i.e., a rod used for punishment.

[37:13]  ¹⁸ tn This is interpretive; Heb “he makes find it.” The lightning could be what is intended here, for it finds its mark. But R. Gordis (Job, 429) suggests man is the subject – let him find what it is for, i.e., the fate appropriate for him.