Job 36:27
in Job 36For He draws up drops of water which distill the rain from the mist,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For he draweth up the drops of water, Which distil in rain from his vapor,
KJV
For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:
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This verse in Job 36
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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 site's exposition
He draws up drops of water
on Job 36:27-33
The rain cycle opens a weather catalogue running into chapter 37. Delitzsch reads “by these He judges the nations” as rain doing double duty, feeding and disciplining. Gill takes “The thunder declares His presence” as the speech overtaken by the storm it describes, the whirlwind heard before it speaks.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
He shows next the magnitude of the works of God which exceed human reason, listing different changes in the air which is sometimes disposed to dryness. Concerning this he says, "He bears the drops of rain," by preventing it from raining. Sometimes, however, the air …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book XXVII · Written before 604.
proposed
Who taketh away the stars of rain, and poureth forth showers like whirlpools. There are two kinds of just persons in this life; one, namely, of those who live uprightly, but teach nothing; another, of those who live uprightly, and teach accordingly. As in the face of heaven some stars come forth, which no storms succeed: and others come forth, which water the thirsty earth with great showers.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
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.
So just the heavens are to the earth, but the earth is not so in the return it makes. (7.) The produce of the clouds is sometimes a great terror, and at other times a great favour, to the earth,
1 Elihu also proceeded, and said, 2 Suffer me a little, and I will show thee that I have yet to speak on God's behalf. 3 I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. 4 For truly my words shall not be false: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:89%@v2-4
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
For he maketh small the drops of rain,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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 vapor become collected in clouds; and then, when agitated by winds, etc. 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 vapor,” to the quantity of the fluid evaporated and condensed into clouds.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֭י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְגָרַ֣ע | yegara' | he draws up | H1639 → | 22 times |
| נִטְפֵי־ | nitfei- | drops of | H5198 → | |
| מָ֑יִם | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| יָזֹ֖קּוּ | yazoku | they refine | H2212 → | |
| מָטָ֣ר | matar | rain | H4306 → | 38 times |
| לְאֵדֽוֹ׃ | leedo | to mist its | H108 → |
כִּ֭יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יְגָרַ֣עhe draws up
yegara'H1639 →22 times
נִטְפֵי־drops of
nitfei-H5198 →
מָ֑יִםwater
mayimH4325 →581 times
יָזֹ֖קּוּthey refine
yazokuH2212 →
מָטָ֣רrain
matarH4306 →38 times
לְאֵדֽוֹ׃to mist its
leedoH108 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Job 5:9the One who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.
it leads to
- Psalms 40:5
Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, and the plans You have for us— none can compare to You— if I proclaim and declare them, they are more than I…
- Job 9:10
He does great things beyond searching out, and wonders without number.
- Psalms 72:18
Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.
- Psalms 86:10
For You are great and perform wonders; You alone are God.
- Job 11:7–9
Can you fathom the deep things of God or discover the limits of the Almighty?
- Psalms 40:5
Through
Psalms 148:8lightning and hail, snow and clouds, powerful wind fulfilling His word,
it leads to
- Psalms 147:15–18
He sends forth His command to the earth; His word runs swiftly.
- Psalms 147:15–18
Through
Psalms 147:8who covers the sky with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the hills.
it leads to
- Job 5:10
He gives rain to the earth and sends water upon the fields.
- Psalms 65:9–13
You attend to the earth and water it; with abundance You enrich it. The streams of God are full of water, for You prepare our grain by providing for the earth.
- Job 5:10
About Job
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXVII; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.