Job 37:7

37:7 He causes everyone to stop working, ¹ 

so that all people ²  may know ³  his work.

Job 38:12-15

38:12 Have you ever in your life ⁴  commanded the morning,

or made the dawn know ⁵  its place,

38:13 that it might seize the corners of the earth, ⁶ 

and shake the wicked out of it?

38:14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; ⁷ 

its features ⁸  are dyed ⁹  like a garment.

38:15 Then from the wicked the light is withheld,

and the arm raised in violence ¹⁰  is broken. ¹¹ 

Job 38:19-20

38:19 “In what direction ¹²  does light reside,

and darkness, where is its place,

38:20 that you may take them to their borders

and perceive the pathways to their homes? ¹³ 

Isaiah 13:10

13:10 Indeed the stars in the sky and their constellations

no longer give out their light; ¹⁴ 

the sun is darkened as soon as it rises,

and the moon does not shine. ¹⁵ 

Ezekiel 32:7

32:7 When I extinguish you, I will cover the sky;

I will darken its stars.

I will cover the sun with a cloud,

and the moon will not shine. ¹⁶ 

Luke 21:25-26

The Arrival of the Son of Man

21:25 “And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, ¹⁷  and on the earth nations will be in distress, ¹⁸  anxious ¹⁹  over the roaring of the sea and the surging waves. 21:26 People will be fainting from fear ²⁰  and from the expectation of what is coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²¹ 

[37:7]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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].”

[38:12]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew idiom is “have you from your days?” It means “never in your life” (see 1 Sam 25:28; 1 Kgs 1:6).

[38:12]  ⁵ tn The verb is the Piel of יָדַע (yada’, “to know”) with a double accusative.

[38:13]  ⁶ sn The poetic image is that darkness or night is like a blanket that covers the earth, and at dawn it is taken by the edges and shaken out. Since the wicked function under the cover of night, they are included in the shaking when the dawn comes up.

[38:14]  ⁷ sn The verse needs to be understood in the context: as the light shines in the dawn, the features of the earth take on a recognizable shape or form. The language is phenomenological.

[38:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the objects or features on the earth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[38:14]  ⁹ tc The MT reads “they stand up like a garment” (NASB, NIV) or “its features stand out like a garment” (ESV). The reference could be either to embroidered decoration on a garment or to the folds of a garment (REB: “until all things stand out like the folds of a cloak”; cf. J. E. Hartley, Job [NICOT], 497, “the early light of day makes the earth appear as a beautiful garment, exquisite in design and glorious in color”). Since this is thought to be an odd statement, some suggest with Ehrlich that the text be changed to תִּצָּבַּע (titsabba’, “is dyed [like a garment]”). This reference would be to the colors appearing on the earth’s surface under daylight. The present translation follows the emendation.

[38:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the raised arm.” The words “in violence” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation to clarify the metaphor.

[38:15]  ¹¹ sn What is active at night, the violence symbolized by the raised arm, is broken with the dawn. G. R. Driver thought the whole verse referred to stars, and that the arm is the navigator’s term for the line of stars (“Two astronomical passages in the Old Testament,” JTS 4 [1953]: 208-12).

[38:19]  ¹² tn The interrogative with דֶרֶךְ (derekh) means “in what road” or “in what direction.”

[38:20]  ¹³ tn The suffixes are singular (“that you may take it to its border…to its home”), referring to either the light or the darkness. Because either is referred to, the translation has employed plurals, since singulars would imply that only the second item, “darkness,” was the referent. Plurals are also employed by NAB and NIV.

[13:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “do not flash forth their light.”

[13:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “does not shed forth its light.”

[32:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “will not shine its light.” For similar features of cosmic eschatology, see Joel 2:10; 4:15; Amos 5:18-20; Zeph 1:5.

[21:25]  ¹⁷ sn Signs in the sun and moon and stars are cosmic signs that turn our attention to the end and the Son of Man’s return for the righteous. OT imagery is present: See Isa 13:9-10; 24:18-20; 34:4; Ezek 32:7-8; Joel 2:1, 30-31; 3:15.

[21:25]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “distress of nations.”

[21:25]  ¹⁹ tn Or “in consternation” (L&N 32.9).

[21:26]  ²⁰ tn According to L&N 23.184 this could be mainly a psychological experience rather than actual loss of consciousness. It could also refer to complete discouragement because of fear, leading people to give up hope (L&N 25.293).

[21:26]  ²¹ sn An allusion to Isa 34:4. The heavens were seen as the abode of heavenly forces, so their shaking indicates distress in the spiritual realm. Although some take the powers as a reference to bodies in the heavens (like stars and planets, “the heavenly bodies,” NIV) this is not as likely.