He puts his hand on the flinty rock, and he overturns the mountains by the roots.
He cuts out channels among the rocks. His eye sees every precious thing.
He binds the streams that they don’t trickle. The thing that is hidden he brings out to light.
Parallel Translations
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He puts his hand on the flinty rock, and he overturns the mountains by the roots.
He cuts out channels among the rocks. His eye sees every precious thing.
He binds the streams that they don’t trickle. The thing that is hidden he brings out to light.
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He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.
He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.
He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
Show all 3 translations
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He putteth forth his hand upon the flinty rock; He overturneth the mountains by the roots.
He cutteth out channels among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing.
He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
Cross-references (9)
- Isaiah 45:2-3 (v11) “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth. I will break the doors of bronze in pieces and cut apart the bars of iron. I will…
- 1 Corinthians 4:5 (v11) Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the…
- Job 26:8 (v11) He binds up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not burst under them.
- Isaiah 37:25 (v11) I have dug and drunk water, and with the sole of my feet I will dry up all the rivers of Egypt.”
- Isaiah 44:27 (v11) who says to the deep, ‘Be dry,’ and ‘I will dry up your rivers;’
Show all 9 cross-references
- Nahum 1:4-6 (v9) He rebukes the sea, and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers. Bashan languishes, and Carmel; and the flower of Lebanon languishes. The…
- Proverbs 14:23 (v10) In all hard work there is profit, but the talk of the lips leads only to poverty.
- Proverbs 24:4 (v10) by knowledge the rooms are filled with all rare and beautiful treasure.
- Habakkuk 3:9 (v10) You uncovered your bow. You called for your sworn arrows. You split the earth with rivers.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v9 After that he hath declared the wisdom of God…
After that he hath declared the wisdom of God in the secrets of nature he describeth his power.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Job 28:9 He putteth forth his hand upon the…
Job 28:9 He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots.
Ver. 9. He putteth forth his hand upon the rock] "He," that is, mortal man, the miner, Job 28:4 (not God, as Mercer would have it), "putteth forth his hand"; sc. to dig down these rocks, that he may come at that treasure, and make himself master of that spoil that is hidden in their entrails.
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Nil tam difficile est, quod non sollertia vincit.
Alexander the Great being asked, How he so soon overran the universe? answered, I never held anything impossible to be achieved. When he had heard of anything dangerous to be done, or unlikely, he would the rather set upon it, and say, Iam periculum par animo Alexandri, This is an enterprise fit for an Alexander. So of Julius Caesar (who had in his time taken a thousand towns, conquered three hundred nations, taken prisoners a million of men, and slain as many) sings the poet (Lucan),
- Caesar in omnia praeceps,
Nil actum credens, dum quid superesset agendum,
Fertur atrox. -
Difficulty doth but whet on heroic spirits; it wakeneth, but not any way weakeneth, the courageous and industrious. Hannibal made his way through the Alps by breaking down a huge rock putrefied with fire, and vinegar poured thereon. Hence Juvenal,
Opposuit natura Alpemque nivemque
Deduxit scopulos, et montem rupit aceto.
He overturneth the mountains by the roots] Or, he turneth it up at the roots of the mountains; sc. which he mineth, by the obstinace of his labour.
- Labor improbus omnia vincit.
Dεινος και παντολμος της φιλοχρηματιας ερως, saith Isidore, the love of money is daring and desperate.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv9–11 This and the two next verses are meant either,
This and the two next verses are meant either,
1. Of other eminent and considerable works of God, who sometimes overturneth rocks, and produceth new rivers in unlikely places. Or rather,
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2. Of the same work of mining and digging for gold, or other precious things of the earth, and of other effects of man’s art and wisdom in that work. The miners resolve to break through all opposition, and by iron tools, or fire, or other ways, dig through the hardest rocks. He undermineth the very mountains to find out the metals lying at the bottom of them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv9–11 He putteth forth his hand upon the rock,.... The…
He putteth forth his hand upon the rock,.... The discourse is carried on concerning the miner, and digger in the earth for metals and precious stones; who meeting with a rock or flint, and a ridge of them, is not discouraged, but goes to work therewith, and with his hammer in his hand lays upon the rock or flint, and beats it to pieces, and with proper instruments cuts through it; and using fire and vinegar, as Pliny (g) observes, makes his way into it, and oftentimes by splitting it discovers gold (h) or silver, or precious stones, in it:
he overturneth the mountains by the roots; or turns them up from the roots; he roots them up, he undermines them; he turns up the earth at the roots of them, to get what is hid at the bottom, or in the bowels of them. Some understand this, and what is said in the following verses, of God, and of wonderful things done by him; so Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and others; and to whom indeed such things are sometimes ascribed in Scripture: he touches the hills, and they smoke, Psa 104:32; lays his hand on the rock, and removes it out of its place, Job 14:18; it was he that smote and opened the rock at Horeb, and the waters gushed out, Exo 17:6; yea, turned the rock into standing water, and the flint into a fountain of water, Psa 114:8, and he, in a figurative sense, has laid his hand on the rock Christ, and smote him with the rod of justice, whereby the blessings of grace come flowing down upon his people; and he it is that puts forth his hand of powerful and efficacious grace upon the rocky hearts of men, and with the hammer of his word breaks them to pieces, Jer 23:29, and takes away the stony heart, and gives an heart of flesh, Eze 11:19, and he also, in a literal sense, overturns hills and mountains by their roots, through storms, and tempests, and earthquakes; and figuratively, kingdoms and states, that lie in the way of his interest; for what are these mountains before the great Zerubbabel? they soon and easily become a plain; and so breaks through all difficulties, which proverbially may be signified by removing mountains, that seem to obstruct and hinder the conversion and salvation of his people; he makes those mountains a way, and his highways are exalted; see Sol 2:8; but the former sense is best, and most agreeable to the context.
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(g) Nat. Hist. l. 33. c. 4. "----Montem rumpit aceto", Juvenal. Sat. 10. v. 153. (h) lbid.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv9–10 He, &c. - This and the two next verses…
He, &c. - This and the two next verses mention other eminent works of God, who overturneth rocks, and produceth new rivers.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Verse 9. He putteth forth his hand upon the…
Verse 9. He putteth forth his hand upon the rock,] Still there appears to be a reference to mining. Man puts his hand upon the rock, he breaks that to pieces, in order to extract the metals which it contains.
He overturneth the mountains] He excavates, undermines, or digs them away, when in search of the metals contained in them: this is not only poetically, but literally, the case in many instances.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v9 Job 28:9-11. He putteth forth his hand upon the…
Job 28:9-11. He putteth forth his hand upon the rock, &c. — He digs through the hardest rocks by his obstinate labour; and undermines mountains, that he may find the treasures hid in their bowels. He cutteth out rivers among the rocks — If he meets with waters in his mining, which hinder his work, he cuts a channel through the rocks to convey them away; or, if he wants water, to wash the ore, he, with incredible industry, cuts channels to bring it into the mines. And his eye seeth every precious thing — Having with great art, and indefatigable industry, broke through all difficulties, he at last arrives at the wished-for object, and finds those precious treasures which he sought for. He bindeth the floods from overflowing — He restraineth them, and, as it were, bindeth them to their good behaviour, that they may not overflow the mine. Or, by his industry and skill he confineth the rivers, so that they cannot overflow. And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light — Those metals, or precious stones, which lie hid in the secret parts of the earth, he discovers to himself and others.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv9–11 He putteth forth his hand - That is, the…
He putteth forth his hand - That is, the miner in securing the precious metals and gems.
Upon the rock - Margin, “flint.” The word used here (חלמישׁ challâmı̂ysh) occurs also in Psa 104:8. Deu 8:15; Deu 32:13. It means “flint, silex;” and the idea is, that the miner approaches the hardest substances. He penetrates even the flint in searching for precious stones. Dr. Good renders it, “Sparry ore.” Michaelis renders the same word in Deu 7:15, porphyry, or red granite. The idea is that nothing, however difficult, not even cutting down the hardest rocks, deters the miner from pursuing his work.
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He overturneth the mountains by the roots - That is, he digs under them, and they fall. The root of a mountain means its base or foundation. The following passage from Pliny (Hist. Nat. xxxiii. c. iv. 21) furnishes an admirable illustration of this passage: Tamen in silice facilior existimatur labor. Est namque terra ex quodam argillae genere glarae mixta, Candidam vocant, prope inexpugnabilis. Cuneis earn ferreis aggrediuntur, et iisdem mallets; nihilque durius putant, nisi quod inter omnia auri lama durissima est. Peracto opere cervices fornicum ab ultimo caedunt, dantque signun ruinrae, eamque solus intelligit in cacumine montis pervigil. Hic voce, ictuque, repente operarios revocari jubet, pariterque ipse devolat. Mons fractus cadit in scse Iongo fragore, qui concipi humana mente non possit, et flatu incredibili. Spectant victores ruinam naturae.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv9–11 Roots, in quest of precious metals. (Menochius) --- "Imus…
Roots, in quest of precious metals. (Menochius) --- "Imus in viscera terræ et in sede Marium opes quærimus." (Pliny, [Natural History?] xxxiii. pref.) Effodiuntur opes, irritamenta malorum. (Ovid, Met. i.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv9–11 rock--flint. He puts forth his hand to cleave the…
rock--flint. He puts forth his hand to cleave the hardest rock.
by the roots--from their foundations, by undermining them.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv9–11 9. Upon the rock — Against the flint, (the…
9. Upon the rock — Against the flint, (the hardest rock,) as in margin. Pliny’s words furnish a fitting comment. “They attack the flint with iron wedges and hammer’s.… The mountain, fractured, falls off at a great distance.… The victors gaze upon nature’s downfall.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–11 9. upon the rock] Or, the flinty rock; man…
9. upon the rock] Or, the flinty rock; man puts forth his hand upon the rock either to break it or pierce a way through it. His force makes the hardest obstacle give way before him.
9–11. Some further touches regarding the irresistible force and the skilful ingenuity with which man conducts his operations, with the result at last of bringing that which is hidden forth to light.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v9 (9) He putteth forth his hand upon the rock.—The…
(9) He putteth forth his hand upon the rock.—The process described is that of tunnelling and excavating, and that of making canals and lining them with stone; and in the course of such works many precious things would be discovered. The canals and cisterns were made so accurately that they retained the water, and did not even weep or trickle.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv9–11 He putteth forth his hand upon the rock. Our…
He putteth forth his hand upon the rock. Our Revisers translate, upon the flinty rock; while Canon Cook maintains that "the word used means either granite or quartz." Probably Job meant no more than that man does not shrink from attacking any even the hardest rock; but will subdue it, and cut Iris way through it, if he has occasion so to do. He overturneth the mountains by the roots. Herodotus, in describing what he had seen of the Phoenician mining operations in the island of Thasos, observes, "a huge, mountain has been turned upside down in the search for ores" (Herod., 6:47). Pliny says of the process employed for detaching huge masses from the metalliferous hills in Spain, "They attack the rock with iron wedges and hammers. When this work is complete, they destroy the supports, and notify by signal that the fall is about to take place. A watchman, stationed on the mountain-top, alone understands the signal; and he proceeds at once to have all the workmen called in, and himself makes a hurried retreat. Then the mountain falls m upon itself with a crash that cannot be imagined, and an incredible concussion of the air. The successful engineers contemplate the ruin which they have achieved" ("Hist. Nat.," 33:4.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv10–11 His eye seeth every precious thing.
Job_28:10
His eye seeth every precious thing.
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Every precious thing
These words refer to the miner who digs for the treasure hidden in the earth. He finds the vein of silver, and the place for the gold. But if mans eye sees the precious things, let us think how God sees them.
I. He sees the promise and possibility. There are many things of which, at a glance, men can see the worth; things that proclaim themselves loudly. Some things only the genius can see. The gold is in the quartz, but invisible. And what a poor thing is humanity! How hard it is to find in many people any promise of any goodness, any possibility of any worth. But lo! our God bends over us, and to Him this humanity is infinitely precious. To Him it is a pearl of great price, for which He hath given all, that He may purchase it for His own. This is the glory of our God; this is the meaning of His salvation--that He sees in humanity an infinite worth, that which He can uplift and beautify and transform into His own very image and likeness.
II. He sees the effort and will, where others see only the poor result. God does not measure what we bring to Him, He weighs it. He knows what it cost.
III. He sees the great result, where we see but the process. God sees for Joseph the throne of Egypt; the sceptre of that great nation is in his hand. But what does Joseph see when carried off by the Midianites? Thus is it ever that God sees the glorious result when we see but the dreary processes. He hears the joyous shout of harvest home, where we have only the chill earth and the darkness of the grave. This is our safety and our blessedness--to give ourselves to Him who knows how to turn us to the beat account, and to let Him have His own way with us perfectly. (Mark Guy Pearse.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v9 lays his hand on the flinty rock
lays his hand on the flinty rock
This represents breaking up the rock. AT: "digs into the flinty rock" (See: Metonymy)
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flinty rock
"hard rock"
he overturns mountains by their roots
Digging up the mountains and the ground underneath them is a metaphor from digging out weeds or trees, an exaggeration that represents digging minerals out of the ground. AT: "he turns the mountains upside down by pulling out their roots" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization and Metaphor)
his eye sees
Here "his eye" represents him. AT: "he sees" (See: Synecdoche)
He ties up the streams so they do not run
Here "ties up the streams" means damming or blocking the streams. AT: "He blocks the streams so they do not flow" (See: Metaphor)
what is hidden there
This refers to things that people normally do not see because they are in the ground or underwater.
translationWords
light
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.