Psalms 136:25(v31)who gives food to every creature; for his loving kindness endures forever.
Job 37:13(v31)Whether it is for correction, or for his land, or for loving kindness, that he causes it to come.
Acts 14:17(v31)Yet he didn’t leave himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you rains from the sky and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts…
Job 37:16(v29)Do you know the workings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge?
Psalms 104:13-15(v31)He waters the mountains from his rooms. The earth is filled with the fruit of your works. He causes the grass to grow for the livestock,…
Show all 68 cross-references
Psalms 147:8(v27)who covers the sky with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass grow on the mountains.
Proverbs 3:20(v28)By his knowledge, the depths were broken up, and the skies drop down the dew.
Psalms 65:9-13(vv27, 31)You visit the earth, and water it. You greatly enrich it. The river of God is full of water. You provide them grain, for so you have…
Psalms 148:8(vv27, 32)lightning and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling his word;
2 Samuel 22:14(v33)Yahweh thundered from heaven. The Most High uttered his voice.
Job 5:9(v27)who does great things that can’t be fathomed, marvelous things without number;
Job 36:29(v33)Yes, can any understand the spreading of the clouds, and the thunderings of his pavilion?
Job 37:2(v33)Hear, oh, hear the noise of his voice, the sound that goes out of his mouth.
Job 37:2-5(v29)Hear, oh, hear the noise of his voice, the sound that goes out of his mouth. He sends it out under the whole sky, and his lightning to the…
Job 37:15(v32)Do you know how God controls them, and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine?
Job 38:25-28(v27)Who has cut a channel for the flood water, or the path for the thunder storm, to cause it to rain on a land where there is no man, on the…
Job 38:26-27(v31)to cause it to rain on a land where there is no man, on the wilderness, in which there is no man, to satisfy the waste and desolate ground,…
Psalms 18:11(v32)He made darkness his hiding place, his pavilion around him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
Psalms 104:27-28(v31)These all wait for you, that you may give them their food in due season. You give to them; they gather. You open your hand; they are…
Psalms 135:7(v32)He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightnings with the rain. He brings the wind out of his treasuries.
Psalms 147:8-9(v32)who covers the sky with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass grow on the mountains. He provides food for the livestock,…
Genesis 1:9(v30)God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;” and it was so.
Genesis 2:5-6(v27)No plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for Yahweh God had not caused it to rain on the…
Genesis 6:17(v31)I, even I, will bring the flood of waters on this earth, to destroy all flesh having the breath of life from under the sky. Everything that…
Genesis 7:11-12(v28)In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the…
Genesis 7:17-24(v31)The flood was forty days on the earth. The waters increased, and lifted up the ship, and it was lifted up above the earth. The waters rose,…
Genesis 19:24(v31)Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out of the sky.
Exodus 9:23-25(v31)Moses stretched out his rod toward the heavens, and Yahweh sent thunder and hail; and lightning flashed down to the earth. Yahweh rained…
Exodus 10:21-23(v32)Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be…
Exodus 14:22(v30)The children of Israel went into the middle of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand, and on…
Exodus 14:28(v30)The waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even all Pharaoh’s army that went in after them into the sea. There…
Exodus 15:4-5(v30)He has cast Pharaoh’s chariots and his army into the sea. His chosen captains are sunk in the Red Sea. The deeps cover them. They went down…
Deuteronomy 8:2(v31)You shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, to test…
Deuteronomy 8:15(v31)who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with venomous snakes and scorpions, and thirsty ground where there was no water; who…
Joshua 10:11(v31)As they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth Horon, Yahweh hurled down great stones from the sky on them to…
1 Samuel 2:10(v31)Those who strive with Yahweh shall be broken to pieces. He will thunder against them in the sky. “Yahweh will judge the ends of the earth.…
1 Samuel 7:10(v31)As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines came near to battle against Israel; but Yahweh thundered with a great thunder…
1 Samuel 12:18(v31)So Samuel called to Yahweh; and Yahweh sent thunder and rain that day. Then all the people greatly feared Yahweh and Samuel.
1 Kings 18:41-45(v33)Elijah said to Ahab, “Get up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went…
1 Kings 18:44-45(v29)On the seventh time, he said, “Behold, a small cloud, like a man’s hand, is rising out of the sea.” He said, “Go up, tell Ahab, ‘Get ready…
Job 26:9(v32)He encloses the face of his throne, and spreads his cloud on it.
Job 26:14(v29)Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways. How small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?”
Job 36:33(v27)Its noise tells about him, and the livestock also concerning the storm that comes up.
Job 37:11-13(v28)Yes, he loads the thick cloud with moisture. He spreads abroad the cloud of his lightning. It is turned around by his guidance, that they…
Job 37:12(v32)It is turned around by his guidance, that they may do whatever he commands them on the surface of the habitable world,
Job 38:8-11(v30)“Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke out of the womb, when I made clouds its garment, and wrapped it in thick darkness, marked…
Job 38:9(v29)when I made clouds its garment, and wrapped it in thick darkness,
Job 38:22-23(v31)Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, or have you seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble,…
Job 38:25(v30)Who has cut a channel for the flood water, or the path for the thunder storm,
Job 38:34(v27)“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover you?
Job 38:34-35(v30)“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover you? Can you send out lightnings, that they may go? Do they…
Job 38:37(v29)Who can count the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the containers of the sky,
Psalms 18:11-16(v30)He made darkness his hiding place, his pavilion around him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. At the brightness before him his…
Psalms 18:13(v29)Yahweh also thundered in the sky. The Most High uttered his voice: hailstones and coals of fire.
Psalms 29:3-10(v29)Yahweh’s voice is on the waters. The God of glory thunders, even Yahweh on many waters. Yahweh’s voice is powerful. Yahweh’s voice is full…
Psalms 77:16-19(v29)The waters saw you, God. The waters saw you, and they writhed. The depths also convulsed. The clouds poured out water. The skies resounded…
Psalms 104:3(v29)He lays the beams of his rooms in the waters. He makes the clouds his chariot. He walks on the wings of the wind.
Psalms 104:5-9(v30)He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever. You covered it with the deep as with a cloak. The waters stood…
Psalms 104:7(v29)At your rebuke they fled. At the voice of your thunder they hurried away.
Isaiah 5:6(v27)I will lay it a wasteland. It won’t be pruned or hoed, but it will grow briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no…
Jeremiah 14:4-6(v33)Because of the ground which is cracked, because no rain has been in the land, the plowmen are disappointed. They cover their heads. Yes,…
Jeremiah 14:22(v27)Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the sky give showers? Aren’t you he, Yahweh our God? Therefore…
Joel 2:22(v33)Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness spring up, for the tree bears its fruit. The fig tree and the…
Nahum 1:3(v29)Yahweh is slow to anger, and great in power, and will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. Yahweh has his way in the whirlwind and in…
Habakkuk 3:10(v29)The mountains saw you, and were afraid. The storm of waters passed by. The deep roared and lifted up its hands on high.
Acts 27:20(v32)When neither sun nor stars shone on us for many days, and no small storm pressed on us, all hope that we would be saved was now taken away.
Joel 1:18(v33)How the animals groan! The herds of livestock are perplexed, because they have no pasture. Yes, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
Luke 17:24(v30)for as the lightning, when it flashes out of one part under the sky, shines to another part under the sky; so will the Son of Man be in his…
68 distinct cross-references across this passage (70 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33That is, the rain cometh of those drops of…
That is, the rain cometh of those drops of water, which he keepeth in the clouds.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv27–33Job 36:27 For he maketh small the drops of…
Job 36:27 For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:
Ver. 27. For he maketh small the drops of water] Here Elihu beginneth to instance the greatness of God in his works, and particularly in the meteors; many of which Aristotle confesseth he understood not. And this I dare say, saith a learned interpreter here, that there is not extant any poem, either of the Greeks or Latins, which may be compared with this stately eloquence of Elihu in describing those natural effects which are caused in the air; and for the same cause are of the philosophers called meteors, or airy impressions; as namely, clouds, rain, hail, snow, thunder, lightning, and such like; whereof he here discourseth very gravely and learnedly; and first of rain, which he describeth, 1. By the form or manner of producing it, Job 36:27-28 2. By the largeness of the clouds, and their noise, Job 36:29 3. By the sudden succession of fair weather and foul, Job 36:30. And lastly, by the different use thereof in the three last verses of this chapter: God maketh small the drops of water; that is, he raineth by dividing the drops in the cloud, causing them to come down guttatim, piece-meal; and not by whole spouts, or pail fulls. Others read it, Subtrahit Deus, God draweth up drops of water, viz. out of the sea, the rivers, and other moist places, whence those vapours do ascend, of which are generated those drops of rain: Psa 147:8, "He covereth the heaven with clouds, he prepareth rain for the earth," &c.
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They pour down rain according to the vapours thereof] As the vapours are greater or lesser, so is the rain. The rain ascendeth in thin vapours, but descendeth oft in thick showers; so do our poor prayers come down in greatest blessings; and we are sure of as much mercy as we bring faith to carry it away.
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 Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv27–33Having affirmed that God’s works are incomprehensibly great and…
Having affirmed that God’s works are incomprehensibly great and glorious, he now enters upon the proof of it; and he proveth it from the most common and visible works of nature and providence, which if thoroughly considered, are full of wonder, and past the reach of the greatest philosophers, who indeed speak of them only by guess, and by their innumerable disputations about them discover their ignorance in them. And hence he leaves it to Job to consider how incomparably more deep and unconceivable the secret counsels and judgments of God must needs be, and therefore how foolish and presumptuous a thing it was for him to judge and censure them.
He maketh small the drops of water, i.e. he orders matters so wisely and graciously, that the waters which are in the clouds do not fall down at once in spouts, or rivers, or seas; which would be both unprofitable and pernicious to the earth, and to mankind; but by degrees, and in drops; which is best for men’s safety and comfort, and for the refreshment of the earth. And this he observes as a wonderful work of God, without whose providence herein those waters might constantly or commonly fall in spouts, as sometimes part of them hath done.
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They; either the waters, last mentioned; or the clouds, as it is expressed in the next verse; or the active verb is used impersonally, which is frequent in the Hebrew language, they pour down rain, for the rain is poured down.
Pour down; or, melt or dissolve; which word is borrowed from metallists, who dissolve metals with fire, and then pour them forth by degrees and in parcels; as the clouds are dissolved, and then poured forth in drops, as was now expressed.
According to the vapour thereof, i.e. according to the proportion of vapours which the heat of the sun hath drawn up from the earth or sea into the clouds. Or,
into the vapour thereof. So it notes that great work of God, by which the rain is first made of vapours, and afterwards resolved into vapours, or into the matter of succeeding vapours, by a constant rotation and reciprocation.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv27–33For he maketh small the drops of rain,.... Elihu…
For he maketh small the drops of rain,.... Elihu proceeds to give instances and proofs of the greatness of God, and begins with rain, as Eliphaz does, Job 5:9; a common phenomenon, what is very frequent, and well known in all ages and countries, and by all men, more or less; and yet there are some things relative to it which are beyond the comprehension of men, and show the greatness and incomprehensibleness of God: and the design of this, and all other instances of this kind, is to convince Job of his folly in searching out the causes and reasons of God's works of providence, when the common works of nature lie out of the reach of men; and to reconcile him to them, and bring him patiently to submit to the will of God, whose ways are past finding out; and some render the words, "he restrains the drops of rain" (g); he withholds it from the earth, which causes a drought, and so brings on a famine; others, "he subtracts", or draws out, or draws up, the drops of water (h), which he exhales by the heat of the sun out of the earth and out of the sea; see Psa 135:7, Amo 5:8; and which are drawn up in small particles, but form large bodies of waters in the clouds; and which are let down again upon the earth in small drops, in an easy and gentle manner, and so soak into the earth and make it fruitful; which is what is meant by our version here: this is a wonderful instance of God's power, wisdom, and goodness, and is beyond our comprehension; for no mortal man can tell how the Almighty parts and divides those large quantities of water in the clouds, that sometimes hang over our heads, into millions and ten thousand times ten thousand millions of drops, even innumerable; and causes these waters in such a manner to descend on the earth; lets them not fall at once, or in waterspouts, which would wash away the inhabitants of cities and towns, the cattle of the field, and the produce of the earth, as at the general deluge;
they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: the water, drawn up and formed into large bodies in the heavens, pours down rain in a gentle and plentiful manner, according to the quantity of vapours exhaled out of the earth and sea; if a small quantity is drawn up, a small quantity is let down; and if a large quantity is attracted, a large quantity, or a plentiful shower, is given: some think that a small rain is meant in the preceding clause, and a great rain in this; for there is the small rain and the great rain of his strength, Job 37:6. The word translated "pour" has the signification of liquefying, melting, and dissolving, and of purging and purifying; and which is applicable to clouds which melt and dissolve gradually as they descend in drops upon the earth; and the water which they let down is of all the most clear and pure, as Galen and Hippocrates (i), those eminent physicians, have observed; and a late celebrated one tells us (k), that rain water is so truly distilled by nature, that the chemist, with all his distilling art, cannot produce purer water; for, though it is exhaled out of the dirty earth, out of miry places, bogs, and ditches, yet, being bound up in the clouds as in a garment, and passing through the atmosphere, it comes down to us pure as if it had been percolated or strained through a linen cloth; and though the water as drawn up out of the sea is salt, yet carried up into the air, and there, as in an alembic, distilled, it descends to us sweet and fresh, and has not the least brackishness in it.
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(g) "aufert stillas pluviae et prohibebit", Pagninus; so Vatablus, Tigurine version, Targum, & Ben Gersom. (h) "Attrahit", Codurcus; "subtrahit", i.e. "a mare", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schultens. (i) Apud Pinedam in loc. (k) Boerhaav. Elem. Chem. p. 600. apud Schultens in loc.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33For - Having affirmed that God's works are incomprehensibly…
For - Having affirmed that God's works are incomprehensibly great and glorious, he now proves it from the most common works of nature and providence. And hence he leaves it to Job to consider how much more deep and inconceivable the secret counsels of God must be. Water - He orders matters so wisely, that the waters which are in the clouds, do not fall down at once in spouts, which would be pernicious to the earth and to mankind; but by degrees, and in drops. According - According to the proportion of vapors which the heat of the sun hath drawn up by the earth or sea. So it notes that great work of God by which the rain is first made of vapors, and afterwards resolved into vapors, or into the matter of succeeding vapors, by a constant rotation.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv27–33Verse 27. He maketh small the drops of water]…
Verse 27. He maketh small the drops of water] This appears simply to refer to evaporation, and perhaps it would be better to translate יגרע yegara, "he exhales;" detaches the smallest particles of the aqueous mass from the surface in order to form clouds, as reservoirs for the purpose of furnishing rain for the watering of the earth. God is seen in little things, as well as great things; and the inconceivably little, as well as the stupendously great, are equally the work of Omnipotence.
They pour down rain] These exceedingly minute drops or vapour become collected in clouds; and then, when agitated by winds, &c. many particles being united, they become too heavy to be sustained by the air in which they before were suspended, and so fall down in rain, which is either a mist, a drizzle, a shower, a storm, or a waterspout, according to the influence of different winds, or the presence and quantum of the electric fluid. And all this is proportioned, לאדו le-edo, "to its vapour," to the quantity of the fluid evaporated and condensed into clouds.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv27, 29, 31Job 36:27-28. For he maketh small, &c. — Having…
Job 36:27-28. For he maketh small, &c. — Having affirmed that God’s works are incomprehensibly great and glorious, he now proves it from the most common works of nature and providence. And hence he leaves it to Job to consider how much more deep and inconceivable the secret counsels of God must be. The drops of water — He orders matters so wisely, that the waters which are in the clouds do not fall down at once in spouts, which would be pernicious to the earth and to mankind, but by degrees and in drops. According to the vapour thereof — According to the proportion of vapours which the heat of the sun hath drawn up from the earth or sea. So it denotes that great work of God by which the rain is first made of vapours, and afterward resolved into vapours, or into the matter of succeeding vapours, by a constant rotation. Which the clouds distil abundantly — In such plenty as the necessities of the earth require; which also is a wonderful work of God.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv27–33For he maketh small the drops of water -…
For he maketh small the drops of water - Elihu now appeals, as he proposed to do, to the works of God, and begins with what appeared so remarkable and inexplicable, the wisdom of God in the rain and the dew, the tempest and the vapor. That which excited his wonder was, the fact in regard to the suspension of water in the clouds, and the distilling of it on the earth in the form of rain and dew. This very illustration had been used by Eliphaz for a similar purpose (Notes, Job 5:9-10), and whether we regard it as it “appears” to people without the light which science has thrown upon it, or look at the manner in which God suspends water in the clouds and sends it down in the form of rain and dew, with all the light which has been furnished by science, the fact is one that evinces in an eminent degree the wisdom of God. The word which is rendered “maketh small” (גרע gâra‛), means properly “to scrape off, to detract, to diminish, to take away from.” In the Piel, the form used here, it means, according to Gesenius, “to take to one’s self, to attract;” and the sense here, according to this, is, that God attracts, or draws upward the drops of water. So it is rendered by Herder, Noyes, Umbreit, and Rosenmuller. The idea is, that he “draws up” the drops of the water to the clouds, and then pours them down in rain. If the meaning in our common version be retained, the idea would be, that it was proof of great wisdom in God that the water descended in “small drops,” instead of coming down in a deluge; compare the notes at Job 26:8.
They pour down rain - That is, the clouds pour down the rain.
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According to the vapour thereof - - לאדו le'êdô. The idea seems to be, that the water thus drawn up is poured down again in the form of a “vapory rain,” and which does not descend in torrents. The subject of admiration in the mind of Elihu was, that water should evaporate and ascend to the clouds, and be held there, and then descend again in the form of a gentle rain or fine mist. The reason for admiration is not lessened by becoming more fully acquainted with the laws by which it is done than Elihu can be supposed to have been.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33Floods. God causes the water on the earth to…
Floods. God causes the water on the earth to evaporate, (Calmet) to form the clouds, (Haydock) which afterwards fall in torrents. (Menochius) --- Theodotion, "the drops of rain are numbered by him," &c., chap. xxvi. 8.
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 Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv27–33The marvellous formation of rain (so Job 5:9-10).
The marvellous formation of rain (so Job 5:9-10).
maketh small--Rather, "He draweth (up) to Him, He attracts (from the earth below) the drops of water; they (the drops of water) pour down rain, (which is) His vapor." "Vapor" is in apposition with "rain," marking the way in which rain is formed; namely, from the vapor drawn up by God into the air and then condensed into drops, which fall (Psa 147:8). The suspension of such a mass of water, and its descent not in a deluge, but in drops of vapory rain, are the marvel. The selection of this particular illustration of God's greatness forms a fit prelude to the storm in which God appears (Job 40:1).
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. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 3327. Maketh small — Rather, draweth up; exhaleth (Dr.…
27. Maketh small — Rather, draweth up; exhaleth (Dr. Clarke) through the process of evaporation.
According to the vapour thereof — Through his vapour-cloud, (Furst,) or from its vapour, (Gesenius,) which Dr. T. Lewis renders in place of mist, in allusion to Gen_2:6. Science still uses the same term “vapour-cloud” to designate the mysterious birthplace of the rain. The ancients looked upon rain not only as coming from their deity, (Aratus,) but as the special gift of God. (Herodotus, Job_2:13.) The Talmud (in Taanith, ch. i) records an ancient saying of the Jews, that there be three keys which God hath reserved in his own hand, and hath not delivered to any minister or substitute, namely, the keys of life, and of rain, and of the resurrection of the dead. See notes on Job_5:10-11; Job_26:8.
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Man abundantly — Or the multitude of men, so widespread is the fall of rain.
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 Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv27–3327, 28. The wonder of the rain-drops.
27, 28. The wonder of the rain-drops.
27. For he maketh small the rain-drops;
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They distil the rain of his vapour;
28. Which the clouds pour down,
And drop upon the multitude of mankind.
27. he maketh small] lit. he draweth away, the reference being probably to the formation of the rain, which God draweth away in drops from the great mass of waters above. Others render, he draweth up, supposing the reference to be to the ascent of the rain in the form of vapour, as it then comes down in rain-drops. But this is rather scientific and complete; neither does the word mean to draw up.
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 Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33(27) The drops of water.—The origin and first beginnings…
(27) The drops of water.—The origin and first beginnings of the tempest are described. “He maketh small,” or draweth up by exhalation. “They pour down rain,” or “they distil in rain from His vapour,” or “belonging to the vapour thereof.” The rain is first absorbed, and then distilled and poured down.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv27–33For he maketh small the drops of water; rather,…
For he maketh small the drops of water; rather, he drawth up the drops of water; i.e. by the heat of his sun he causes exhalations to arise from the sea and the moist earth, and draws them up into the higher regions of the atmosphere, where they are condensed into clouds, that hang suspended in the air. They pour down rain according to the vapour thereof; literally, they flow down as rain for his mist. The water collected in the clouds flows down in the shape of rain for the purpose of watering the earth. (see Gen_2:6, where the same word (da) occurs)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv27, 30, 32that he distills as rain from his vapor
that he distills as rain from his vapor
The word "distills" can also mean "refine" or "filter." Elihu describes how God turns the drops of water, or vapor, that he draws up into rain. AT: "that he turns into rain" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
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can anyone understand the extensive spread of the clouds and the thunder from his hut?
Elihu asks this rhetorical question to emphasize that no one can do these things. AT: "no one can understand the extensive spread of the clouds and the thunder from his hut." (See: Rhetorical Question)
the extensive spread of the clouds
The phrase "the extensive spread" can be translated with a verbal phrase. AT: "how the clouds spread across the sky" (See: Abstract Nouns)
from his hut
Elihu speaks of the sky as if it were a "hut" in which God lives. AT: "from the sky, where God lives" (See: Metaphor)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v3136:31 The Hebrew yadin can mean he governs or…
36:31 The Hebrew yadin can mean he governs or he nourishes, which parallels food in abundance (38:26; Pss 65:9-13; 104:13-15, 27-28). The more common meaning for yadin is “judge,” which would mean that God does all things to bless his people and judge his enemies (Job 37:11-13; 38:22-23; see Gen 6:17; 19:24; Exod 9:23-25; Josh 10:11-14; 1 Sam 12:18).
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 That is, the rain cometh of those drops of…
That is, the rain cometh of those drops of water, which he keepeth in the clouds.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv27–33 Job 36:27 For he maketh small the drops of…
Job 36:27 For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:
Ver. 27. For he maketh small the drops of water] Here Elihu beginneth to instance the greatness of God in his works, and particularly in the meteors; many of which Aristotle confesseth he understood not. And this I dare say, saith a learned interpreter here, that there is not extant any poem, either of the Greeks or Latins, which may be compared with this stately eloquence of Elihu in describing those natural effects which are caused in the air; and for the same cause are of the philosophers called meteors, or airy impressions; as namely, clouds, rain, hail, snow, thunder, lightning, and such like; whereof he here discourseth very gravely and learnedly; and first of rain, which he describeth, 1. By the form or manner of producing it, Job 36:27-28 2. By the largeness of the clouds, and their noise, Job 36:29 3. By the sudden succession of fair weather and foul, Job 36:30. And lastly, by the different use thereof in the three last verses of this chapter: God maketh small the drops of water; that is, he raineth by dividing the drops in the cloud, causing them to come down guttatim, piece-meal; and not by whole spouts, or pail fulls. Others read it, Subtrahit Deus, God draweth up drops of water, viz. out of the sea, the rivers, and other moist places, whence those vapours do ascend, of which are generated those drops of rain: Psa 147:8, "He covereth the heaven with clouds, he prepareth rain for the earth," &c.
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They pour down rain according to the vapours thereof] As the vapours are greater or lesser, so is the rain. The rain ascendeth in thin vapours, but descendeth oft in thick showers; so do our poor prayers come down in greatest blessings; and we are sure of as much mercy as we bring faith to carry it away.
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 vv27–33 Having affirmed that God’s works are incomprehensibly great and…
Having affirmed that God’s works are incomprehensibly great and glorious, he now enters upon the proof of it; and he proveth it from the most common and visible works of nature and providence, which if thoroughly considered, are full of wonder, and past the reach of the greatest philosophers, who indeed speak of them only by guess, and by their innumerable disputations about them discover their ignorance in them. And hence he leaves it to Job to consider how incomparably more deep and unconceivable the secret counsels and judgments of God must needs be, and therefore how foolish and presumptuous a thing it was for him to judge and censure them.
He maketh small the drops of water, i.e. he orders matters so wisely and graciously, that the waters which are in the clouds do not fall down at once in spouts, or rivers, or seas; which would be both unprofitable and pernicious to the earth, and to mankind; but by degrees, and in drops; which is best for men’s safety and comfort, and for the refreshment of the earth. And this he observes as a wonderful work of God, without whose providence herein those waters might constantly or commonly fall in spouts, as sometimes part of them hath done.
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They; either the waters, last mentioned; or the clouds, as it is expressed in the next verse; or the active verb is used impersonally, which is frequent in the Hebrew language, they pour down rain, for the rain is poured down.
Pour down; or, melt or dissolve; which word is borrowed from metallists, who dissolve metals with fire, and then pour them forth by degrees and in parcels; as the clouds are dissolved, and then poured forth in drops, as was now expressed.
According to the vapour thereof, i.e. according to the proportion of vapours which the heat of the sun hath drawn up from the earth or sea into the clouds. Or,
into the vapour thereof. So it notes that great work of God, by which the rain is first made of vapours, and afterwards resolved into vapours, or into the matter of succeeding vapours, by a constant rotation and reciprocation.
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 vv27–33 For he maketh small the drops of rain,.... Elihu…
For he maketh small the drops of rain,.... Elihu proceeds to give instances and proofs of the greatness of God, and begins with rain, as Eliphaz does, Job 5:9; a common phenomenon, what is very frequent, and well known in all ages and countries, and by all men, more or less; and yet there are some things relative to it which are beyond the comprehension of men, and show the greatness and incomprehensibleness of God: and the design of this, and all other instances of this kind, is to convince Job of his folly in searching out the causes and reasons of God's works of providence, when the common works of nature lie out of the reach of men; and to reconcile him to them, and bring him patiently to submit to the will of God, whose ways are past finding out; and some render the words, "he restrains the drops of rain" (g); he withholds it from the earth, which causes a drought, and so brings on a famine; others, "he subtracts", or draws out, or draws up, the drops of water (h), which he exhales by the heat of the sun out of the earth and out of the sea; see Psa 135:7, Amo 5:8; and which are drawn up in small particles, but form large bodies of waters in the clouds; and which are let down again upon the earth in small drops, in an easy and gentle manner, and so soak into the earth and make it fruitful; which is what is meant by our version here: this is a wonderful instance of God's power, wisdom, and goodness, and is beyond our comprehension; for no mortal man can tell how the Almighty parts and divides those large quantities of water in the clouds, that sometimes hang over our heads, into millions and ten thousand times ten thousand millions of drops, even innumerable; and causes these waters in such a manner to descend on the earth; lets them not fall at once, or in waterspouts, which would wash away the inhabitants of cities and towns, the cattle of the field, and the produce of the earth, as at the general deluge;
they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: the water, drawn up and formed into large bodies in the heavens, pours down rain in a gentle and plentiful manner, according to the quantity of vapours exhaled out of the earth and sea; if a small quantity is drawn up, a small quantity is let down; and if a large quantity is attracted, a large quantity, or a plentiful shower, is given: some think that a small rain is meant in the preceding clause, and a great rain in this; for there is the small rain and the great rain of his strength, Job 37:6. The word translated "pour" has the signification of liquefying, melting, and dissolving, and of purging and purifying; and which is applicable to clouds which melt and dissolve gradually as they descend in drops upon the earth; and the water which they let down is of all the most clear and pure, as Galen and Hippocrates (i), those eminent physicians, have observed; and a late celebrated one tells us (k), that rain water is so truly distilled by nature, that the chemist, with all his distilling art, cannot produce purer water; for, though it is exhaled out of the dirty earth, out of miry places, bogs, and ditches, yet, being bound up in the clouds as in a garment, and passing through the atmosphere, it comes down to us pure as if it had been percolated or strained through a linen cloth; and though the water as drawn up out of the sea is salt, yet carried up into the air, and there, as in an alembic, distilled, it descends to us sweet and fresh, and has not the least brackishness in it.
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(g) "aufert stillas pluviae et prohibebit", Pagninus; so Vatablus, Tigurine version, Targum, & Ben Gersom. (h) "Attrahit", Codurcus; "subtrahit", i.e. "a mare", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schultens. (i) Apud Pinedam in loc. (k) Boerhaav. Elem. Chem. p. 600. apud Schultens in loc.
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 vv27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 For - Having affirmed that God's works are incomprehensibly…
For - Having affirmed that God's works are incomprehensibly great and glorious, he now proves it from the most common works of nature and providence. And hence he leaves it to Job to consider how much more deep and inconceivable the secret counsels of God must be. Water - He orders matters so wisely, that the waters which are in the clouds, do not fall down at once in spouts, which would be pernicious to the earth and to mankind; but by degrees, and in drops. According - According to the proportion of vapors which the heat of the sun hath drawn up by the earth or sea. So it notes that great work of God by which the rain is first made of vapors, and afterwards resolved into vapors, or into the matter of succeeding vapors, by a constant rotation.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv27–33 Verse 27. He maketh small the drops of water]…
Verse 27. He maketh small the drops of water] This appears simply to refer to evaporation, and perhaps it would be better to translate יגרע yegara, "he exhales;" detaches the smallest particles of the aqueous mass from the surface in order to form clouds, as reservoirs for the purpose of furnishing rain for the watering of the earth. God is seen in little things, as well as great things; and the inconceivably little, as well as the stupendously great, are equally the work of Omnipotence.
They pour down rain] These exceedingly minute drops or vapour become collected in clouds; and then, when agitated by winds, &c. many particles being united, they become too heavy to be sustained by the air in which they before were suspended, and so fall down in rain, which is either a mist, a drizzle, a shower, a storm, or a waterspout, according to the influence of different winds, or the presence and quantum of the electric fluid. And all this is proportioned, לאדו le-edo, "to its vapour," to the quantity of the fluid evaporated and condensed into clouds.
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 vv27, 29, 31 Job 36:27-28. For he maketh small, &c. — Having…
Job 36:27-28. For he maketh small, &c. — Having affirmed that God’s works are incomprehensibly great and glorious, he now proves it from the most common works of nature and providence. And hence he leaves it to Job to consider how much more deep and inconceivable the secret counsels of God must be. The drops of water — He orders matters so wisely, that the waters which are in the clouds do not fall down at once in spouts, which would be pernicious to the earth and to mankind, but by degrees and in drops. According to the vapour thereof — According to the proportion of vapours which the heat of the sun hath drawn up from the earth or sea. So it denotes that great work of God by which the rain is first made of vapours, and afterward resolved into vapours, or into the matter of succeeding vapours, by a constant rotation. Which the clouds distil abundantly — In such plenty as the necessities of the earth require; which also is a wonderful work of God.
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 vv27–33 For he maketh small the drops of water -…
For he maketh small the drops of water - Elihu now appeals, as he proposed to do, to the works of God, and begins with what appeared so remarkable and inexplicable, the wisdom of God in the rain and the dew, the tempest and the vapor. That which excited his wonder was, the fact in regard to the suspension of water in the clouds, and the distilling of it on the earth in the form of rain and dew. This very illustration had been used by Eliphaz for a similar purpose (Notes, Job 5:9-10), and whether we regard it as it “appears” to people without the light which science has thrown upon it, or look at the manner in which God suspends water in the clouds and sends it down in the form of rain and dew, with all the light which has been furnished by science, the fact is one that evinces in an eminent degree the wisdom of God. The word which is rendered “maketh small” (גרע gâra‛), means properly “to scrape off, to detract, to diminish, to take away from.” In the Piel, the form used here, it means, according to Gesenius, “to take to one’s self, to attract;” and the sense here, according to this, is, that God attracts, or draws upward the drops of water. So it is rendered by Herder, Noyes, Umbreit, and Rosenmuller. The idea is, that he “draws up” the drops of the water to the clouds, and then pours them down in rain. If the meaning in our common version be retained, the idea would be, that it was proof of great wisdom in God that the water descended in “small drops,” instead of coming down in a deluge; compare the notes at Job 26:8.
They pour down rain - That is, the clouds pour down the rain.
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According to the vapour thereof - - לאדו le'êdô. The idea seems to be, that the water thus drawn up is poured down again in the form of a “vapory rain,” and which does not descend in torrents. The subject of admiration in the mind of Elihu was, that water should evaporate and ascend to the clouds, and be held there, and then descend again in the form of a gentle rain or fine mist. The reason for admiration is not lessened by becoming more fully acquainted with the laws by which it is done than Elihu can be supposed to have been.
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 vv27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Floods. God causes the water on the earth to…
Floods. God causes the water on the earth to evaporate, (Calmet) to form the clouds, (Haydock) which afterwards fall in torrents. (Menochius) --- Theodotion, "the drops of rain are numbered by him," &c., chap. xxvi. 8.
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 vv27–33 The marvellous formation of rain (so Job 5:9-10).
The marvellous formation of rain (so Job 5:9-10).
maketh small--Rather, "He draweth (up) to Him, He attracts (from the earth below) the drops of water; they (the drops of water) pour down rain, (which is) His vapor." "Vapor" is in apposition with "rain," marking the way in which rain is formed; namely, from the vapor drawn up by God into the air and then condensed into drops, which fall (Psa 147:8). The suspension of such a mass of water, and its descent not in a deluge, but in drops of vapory rain, are the marvel. The selection of this particular illustration of God's greatness forms a fit prelude to the storm in which God appears (Job 40:1).
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 vv27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 27. Maketh small — Rather, draweth up; exhaleth (Dr.…
27. Maketh small — Rather, draweth up; exhaleth (Dr. Clarke) through the process of evaporation.
According to the vapour thereof — Through his vapour-cloud, (Furst,) or from its vapour, (Gesenius,) which Dr. T. Lewis renders in place of mist, in allusion to Gen_2:6. Science still uses the same term “vapour-cloud” to designate the mysterious birthplace of the rain. The ancients looked upon rain not only as coming from their deity, (Aratus,) but as the special gift of God. (Herodotus, Job_2:13.) The Talmud (in Taanith, ch. i) records an ancient saying of the Jews, that there be three keys which God hath reserved in his own hand, and hath not delivered to any minister or substitute, namely, the keys of life, and of rain, and of the resurrection of the dead. See notes on Job_5:10-11; Job_26:8.
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Man abundantly — Or the multitude of men, so widespread is the fall of rain.
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 vv27–33 27, 28. The wonder of the rain-drops.
27, 28. The wonder of the rain-drops.
27. For he maketh small the rain-drops;
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They distil the rain of his vapour;
28. Which the clouds pour down,
And drop upon the multitude of mankind.
27. he maketh small] lit. he draweth away, the reference being probably to the formation of the rain, which God draweth away in drops from the great mass of waters above. Others render, he draweth up, supposing the reference to be to the ascent of the rain in the form of vapour, as it then comes down in rain-drops. But this is rather scientific and complete; neither does the word mean to draw up.
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 vv27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 (27) The drops of water.—The origin and first beginnings…
(27) The drops of water.—The origin and first beginnings of the tempest are described. “He maketh small,” or draweth up by exhalation. “They pour down rain,” or “they distil in rain from His vapour,” or “belonging to the vapour thereof.” The rain is first absorbed, and then distilled and poured down.
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 vv27–33 For he maketh small the drops of water; rather,…
For he maketh small the drops of water; rather, he drawth up the drops of water; i.e. by the heat of his sun he causes exhalations to arise from the sea and the moist earth, and draws them up into the higher regions of the atmosphere, where they are condensed into clouds, that hang suspended in the air. They pour down rain according to the vapour thereof; literally, they flow down as rain for his mist. The water collected in the clouds flows down in the shape of rain for the purpose of watering the earth. (see Gen_2:6, where the same word (da) occurs)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv27, 30, 32 that he distills as rain from his vapor
that he distills as rain from his vapor
The word "distills" can also mean "refine" or "filter." Elihu describes how God turns the drops of water, or vapor, that he draws up into rain. AT: "that he turns into rain" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
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can anyone understand the extensive spread of the clouds and the thunder from his hut?
Elihu asks this rhetorical question to emphasize that no one can do these things. AT: "no one can understand the extensive spread of the clouds and the thunder from his hut." (See: Rhetorical Question)
the extensive spread of the clouds
The phrase "the extensive spread" can be translated with a verbal phrase. AT: "how the clouds spread across the sky" (See: Abstract Nouns)
from his hut
Elihu speaks of the sky as if it were a "hut" in which God lives. AT: "from the sky, where God lives" (See: Metaphor)
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v31 36:31 The Hebrew yadin can mean he governs or…
36:31 The Hebrew yadin can mean he governs or he nourishes, which parallels food in abundance (38:26; Pss 65:9-13; 104:13-15, 27-28). The more common meaning for yadin is “judge,” which would mean that God does all things to bless his people and judge his enemies (Job 37:11-13; 38:22-23; see Gen 6:17; 19:24; Exod 9:23-25; Josh 10:11-14; 1 Sam 12:18).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.