Job 37:18

37:18 will you, with him, spread out ¹  the clouds,

solid as a mirror of molten metal?

Job 35:5

35:5 Gaze at the heavens and see;

consider the clouds, which are higher than you! ² 

Job 36:28

36:28 which the clouds pour down

and shower on humankind abundantly.

Job 38:37

38:37 Who by wisdom can count the clouds,

and who can tip over ³  the water jars of heaven,

Job 37:21

37:21 But now, the sun ⁴  cannot be looked at ⁵  –

it is bright in the skies –

after a wind passed and swept the clouds away. ⁶ 

[37:18]  ¹ tn The verb means “to beat out; to flatten,” and the analogy in the next line will use molten metal. From this verb is derived the word for the “firmament” in Gen 1:6-8, that canopy-like pressure area separating water above and water below.

[35:5]  ² tn The preposition is taken here as a comparative min (מִן). The line could also read “that are high above you.” This idea has appeared in the speech of Eliphaz (22:12), Zophar (11:7ff.), and even Job (9:8ff.).

[38:37]  ³ tn The word actually means “to cause to lie down.”

[37:21]  ⁴ tn The light here must refer to the sun in the skies that had been veiled by the storm. Then, when the winds blew the clouds away, it could not be looked at because it was so dazzling. Elihu’s analogy will be that God is the same – in his glory one cannot look at him or challenge him.

[37:21]  ⁵ tn The verb has an indefinite subject, and so should be a passive here.

[37:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “and cleaned them.” The referent is the clouds (v. 18), which has been supplied in the translation for clarity. There is another way of reading this verse: the word translated “bright” means “dark; obscured” in Syriac. In this interpretation the first line would mean that they could not see the sun, because it was darkened by the clouds, but then the wind came and blew the clouds away. Dhorme, Gray, and several others take it this way, as does the NAB.