Yes, he loads the thick cloud with moisture. He spreads abroad the cloud of his lightning.
Parallel Translations
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Yes, he loads the thick cloud with moisture. He spreads abroad the cloud of his lightning.
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Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud:
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Yea, He ladeth the thick cloud with moister, He spreadeth abroad the cloud of His lightning;
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Job 37:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Job 36:27-30 For he draws up the drops of water, which distill in rain from his vapor, which the skies pour down and which drop on man abundantly. Yes, can any understand the spreading of the clouds, and the thunderings of his pavilion? Behold, he spreads his light around him. He covers the bottom of the sea.
- Job 36:32 He covers his hands with the lightning, and commands it to strike the mark.
- Isaiah 18:4 For Yahweh said to me, “I will be still, and I will see in my dwelling place, like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
- Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Gather the vapors and move to and fro to…
Gather the vapors and move to and fro to water the earth.
That is, the cloud that hath lightning in it.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Job 37:11 Also by watering he wearieth the thick…
Job 37:11 Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud:
Ver. 11. Also by watering he wearieth the thick clouds] That is, by showering down of much rain he disburdeneth and dissipateth them, seem they never so thick and large. These seem to be troubled and tired out when, as they are watering the earth, they are wasted and drawn dry by the heat of the sun.
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He scattereth his bright cloud] Heb. the cloud of his light; that is, the cloud by dissolving whereof he restoreth light and fair weather, or the cloud which was covered over with lightning before, Job 36:30.
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 By watering, to wit, the earth; by causing them…
By watering, to wit, the earth; by causing them first to receive and return, and then to pour forth abundance of water.
He wearieth the thick cloud, by filling and burdening them with much water, and making them to go long journeys to water remote parts, and at last to spend and empty themselves there; all which things make men weary; and therefore are here said to make the clouds weary by a common figure called prosopopoeia.
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He scattereth his bright cloud: as for the white and lightsome clouds, (which are opposed to the thick and black clouds in the former clause,) he scattereth and dissolveth them by the wind or sun. Or, he scattereth other clouds by his light, i.e. by the beams of the sun. So he gathereth some, and scattereth others, as he pleaseth, causing either clear, or dark and rainy weather.
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 Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud,.... By…
Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud,.... By filling it with a multitude of water, it is as it were loaded and made weary with it; and especially by sending it about thus loaded from place to place before discharged, when it becomes as a weary traveller; and then by letting down the water in it, whereby it spends itself like one that is weary; an emblem of ministers that spend and are spent for the good of men: some render it by serenity or fair weather, and so Mr. Broughton,
"by clearness he wearieth the thick vapours;''
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by causing a clear sky he dispels them;
he scattereth his bright cloud; thin light clouds that have nothing in them, and are soon dispersed and come to nothing, and are seen no more; all emblem of such as are clouds without water, Jde 1:12; see Zac 11:17; or "he scatters the cloud by his light" (s); by the sun, which dispels clouds and makes a clear sky; an emblem of the blotting out and forgiveness of sins, and of restoring the manifestations of divine love, and the joys of salvation; see Isa 44:22.
(s) "dispellit nubem luce sua", Munster.
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 Watering - The earth. They spend themselves and are…
Watering - The earth. They spend themselves and are exhausted watering the earth, until they are weary. Wearieth - Them with much water, and making them to go long journeys to water remote parts, and at last to empty themselves there: all which things make men weary; and therefore are here said to make the clouds weary by a common figure. Scattereth - As for the white and lightsome clouds, he scatters and dissolves them by the wind or sun.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 11. By watering he wearieth the thick cloud]…
Verse 11. By watering he wearieth the thick cloud] Perhaps it would be better to say, The brightness beri, dissipates the cloud; or, if we follow our version, By watering the earth he wearieth, wearieth out or emptieth, the thick cloud - causes it to pour down all its contents upon the earth, that they may cause it to bring forth and bud. The Vulgate understood it differently: Frumentum desiderat nubes, et nubes spargunt lumen suum. "The grain desireth the clouds; and the clouds scatter abroad their light."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Job 37:11-12. Also by watering — The earth; by…
Job 37:11-12. Also by watering — The earth; by causing the clouds first to receive, and then to convey to distant parts, and afterward to pour forth, abundance of water; he wearieth the thick clouds — Alluding to men’s being wearied with carrying burdens, travelling, and labour. By filling and burdening them with much water, and making them go long journeys to water remote countries, and, at last, to spend and empty themselves there, he, as it were, wearies and fatigues them. He scattereth his bright cloud — As for the white and lightsome clouds, he scattereth and dissolveth them by the wind or sun. But here also the Hebrew will easily admit a different translation. If we consider ברי, beri, here rendered by watering, as being one word, derived from barah, signifying serenity, the meaning is, Fair weather also disperseth the cloud; his sun scattereth the cloud abroad. It is turned round about — The cloud, now mentioned, is carried about to this or that place; by his counsels — Not by chance, (though nothing seems more casual than the motions of the clouds,) but by his order and governance. That they way do whatsoever he commandeth them — Either be dispersed and pass away without effect, to the disappointment of the husbandman’s hopes, or be dissolved in sweet and fertilizing showers.
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 Also by watering - Very various interpretations have been…
Also by watering - Very various interpretations have been given of this phrase. Herder renders it, “His brightness rendeth the clouds.” Umbreit, Und Heiterkeit vertreibt die Wolke - “and serenity or clearness drives away the clouds.” Prof. Lee, “For irrigation is the thick cloud stretched out.” Rosenmuller, “Splendor dispels the clouds.” Luther, “The thick clouds divide themselves that it may be clear.” Coverdale, “The clouds do their labor in giving moistness.” The Vulgate, “The grain desires the clouds,” and the Septuagint, “The cloud forms the chosen” - ἐκλεκτον eklekton. This variety of interpretation arises from the uncertainty of the meaning of the original word - ברי berı̂y. According to the Chaldee and the rabbis, this word means “clearness, serenity” of the heavens, and then the whole clause is to be rendered, “serenity dispelleth the cloud.” Or the word may be formed of the preposition ב (be), and רי rı̂y, meaning “watering” or “rain,” the same as רוי reviy. The word does not occur elsewhere in Hebrew, and hence, it is not easy to determine its meaning. The weight of authority is in favor of serenity, or clearness - meaning that the thick, dark cloud is driven away by the serenity or clearness of the atmosphere - as where the clear sky seems to light up the heavens and to drive away the clouds. This idea seems, also, to be demanded by the parallelism, and is also more poetical than that in the common version.
Wearieth - Or removes, or scatters. The verb used here (טרח ṭârach) occurs nowhere else in the Scriptures, though nouns derived from the verb are found in Isa 1:14, rendered “trouble,” and Deu 1:12, rendered “cumbrance.” In Arabic it means “to cast down, to project,” and hence, to lay upon as a burden. But the word may mean to impel, drive forward, and hence, the idea that the dark thick cloud is propelled or driven forward by the serenity of the sky. This “appears” to be so, and hence, the poetic idea as it occurred to Elihu.
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He scattereth his bright cloud - Margin, “the cloud of his light.” The idea seems to be, that “his light,” that is, the light which God causes to shine as the tempest passes off, seems to scatter or disperse the cloud. The image before the mind of Elihu probably was, that of a departing shower, when the light seems to rise behind it, and as it were to expel the cloud or to drive it away. We are not to suppose that this is philosophically correct, but Elihu represents it as it appeared, and the image is wholly poetical.
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 Corn requires rain. (Haydock) --- Light. As they are…
Corn requires rain. (Haydock) --- Light. As they are transparent, they do not hinder the sun from appearing. Hebrew, "the brightness of the sky disperses the clouds, and the clouds shed their light" in the rainbow, (ver. 15.; Grotius) or lightning. (Junius; Calmet; Menochius) --- Protestants, "Also by watering, he wearieth the thick cloud, he scattereth his bright cloud, (12) and it is turned round about by his counsels, that they may do whatsoever," &c. God prohibits or gives rain. (Haydock) --- Nothing is left to chance. (Calmet) --- He directeth the clouds as a master does his ship. (Worthington)
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 How the thunderclouds are dispersed, or else employed by…
How the thunderclouds are dispersed, or else employed by God, either for correction or mercy.
by watering--by loading it with water.
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wearieth--burdeneth it, so that it falls in rain; thus "wearieth" answers to the parallel "scattereth" (compare, see on Job 37:9); a clear sky resulting alike from both.
bright cloud--literally, "cloud of his light," that is, of His lightning. UMBREIT for "watering," &c., translates; "Brightness drives away the clouds, His light scattereth the thick clouds"; the parallelism is thus good, but the Hebrew hardly sanctions it.
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 Strophe f — The constantly-flashing lightning, and the ever-changing…
Strophe f — The constantly-flashing lightning, and the ever-changing and revolving clouds, lead Elihu to again speak of lightning and of cloud, and show that even these are under the guidance of God, Job_37:11-13.
“The storm in its magnificent approach drifts victoriously before all the senses of Elihu, so that from all other images, brought forward, as they are, with a certain haste, he ever recurs to that of the storm.” — Schlottmann.
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11. By watering… cloud — Literally, with moisture he loadeth the cloud. While yet the burdened and wearied cloud discharges itself upon the earth, God spreadeth abroad the cloud of his light, which some regard as a lightning cloud.
Scattereth — For import of Hebrew word, compare Job_38:24.
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 11–13. The wonderful movements of the clouds directed by…
11–13. The wonderful movements of the clouds directed by the guidance of God, and fulfilling His several behests.
These verses read,
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11. Also he ladeth the thick cloud with moisture,
He spreadeth his lightning-cloud abroad;
12. And it is turned round about by his guidance,
That it may do whatsoever he commandeth it
Upon the face of the whole earth;
13. Whether it be for correction, or for his earth,
Or for mercy that he causeth it to come.
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 (11) He wearieth the thick cloud.—Also He ladeth the…
(11) He wearieth the thick cloud.—Also He ladeth the thick cloud with moisture, maketh it to be charged with rain. “He scattereth the cloud of His lightning,” that is, which containeth His lightning. Others render, “Yea, the bright sun weareth out (disperseth) the thick cloud; it scattereth the cloud that holds His lightning. And it (the cloud) is turned round about by His counsels, that they may do His purpose, even all which He commandeth them, upon the face of the habitable world.” Whether for correction, or for His land generally, or whether He causeth the rain to come as a special mercy:—these are the various purposes for which God reserves His showers.
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 Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud; rather,…
Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud; rather, also with moisture he ladeth the thick cloud. Elihu returns from his description of the winter season to the more ordinary condition of things. Rain is the chief necessity of Eastern countries; and God is ever providing it, causing moisture to be drawn up from earth and sea, and safely lodged in the clouds, whence it descends, as needed, and as commanded by God, upon the fields and plains that man cultivates. He scattereth his bright cloud. Most commentators see a reference to lightning here; and it is possible, no doubt, that such a reference is intended. "His bright cloud literally, "the cloud of his light may mean "the cloud in which his lightning is stored." But perhaps no more is meant than that God spreads abroad over the earth the clouds on which his sunlight rests. The genial showers of spring fall generally from clouds that are, in part at any rate, steeped in the sun"s rays.
Vers. 11-13. The rainstorm.
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I ITS SOURCE. It is produced by God, and it is directed by God. He brings it about, and he guides it.
1. It comes from God. Now, this is most certainly an integral part of nature. We have seen that the thunder belongs to nature. That was not always apparent to men; there seemed to be something so weird and awful about it that men attributed it to supernatural agencies. But the rain is manifestly in the order of natural phenomena. Yet this is as Divine as the thunder. God is in all nature, and as much in its quiet, normal occurrences as in what is startling and exceptional.
2. It is piloted by God. The clouds seem to pass over the heavens in wild confusion. We can see no reins to hold them in, nor any whip to drive them on. The science of meteorology is about the most backward of all the sciences, because it is so difficult to reduce the phenomena of the weather to their place in an orderly scheme, on account of their ceaseless variations and apparently boundless irregularities. But we are already seeing that there are laws behind the weather, and some of them are already known. Hence our weather prognostications in the newspapers. Now, the Scripture view of the weather, as much as that of the most orderly and changless phenomena, attributes all its movements to the will of God. God is in what looks to us most conflicting and purposeless. If he is steering it, we can trust to him to bring it to a happy end.
II ITS PURPOSE.
1. This is determined by God. The march of the clouds is commanded by their great Captain. In nature as well as in human life God works with a purpose, and the end is with him.
2. It is obscure. We cannot tell whether the rain is for one particular purpose which we have in mind, or for another that has never occurred to us. In all life God works out many purposes quite beyond the reach of our thoughts.
3. It may be "for a scourge." God sends what we regard as untimely rain rain in harvest; or too much rain floods that devastate fields, drown crops, and invade houses. For God sometimes looks very stern in his actions, whatever his thoughts may be. In other ways God chastises his people by natural calamities. Let us not be amazed when these things happen to us. They are predicted, and therefore they should be expected.
4. It may be in mercy. "For the good of his land." The dry soil needs rain. Thirsty crops are refreshed by the downpour that is distressing to the traveller. What looks like a calamity may be a blessing. Instead of complaining of the inconvenience of what happens to us, let us look round us and see if it is bringing good in some other direction.
5. In any case it is for a blessing. The scourge is a blessing in disguise. Though various results may issue from God"s various actions, in so far as they are designed by God they all make for righteousness and the welfare of his children. Thunder and rain bless even by their calamities. Sorrow and loss, pain and tears, scourges and thorns, are instruments of discipline that bless when they hurt. W.F.A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.