Job 36:28
in Job 36which the clouds pour out and shower abundantly on mankind.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Which the skies pour down And drop upon man abundantly.
KJV
Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.
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This verse in Job 36
Commentary
9 notes on this verseWhich the clouds do drop - In proportion to the evaporation will be the clouds or masses of volatilized and suspended vapor; and in proportion to this will be the quantum of rain which in different forms will fall upon the earth. There is a remarkable addition to this verse in the Septuagint.
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.
This site's exposition
shower abundantly on mankind
God sends rain even where no man lives, says Matthew Henry. Here the clouds pour it out on mankind, and mankind owes Him praise for it. Albert Barnes calls the rise of the mist and the shower of rain beautiful to see.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book XXVII · Written before 604.
proposed
Which flow from the clouds. Which cover all things above. For these whirlpools do indeed flow from the clouds; because, if the power of understanding did not begin with the holy Apostles, it would not flow more fully through the mouths of teachers. For by 'clouds' in Holy Scripture, sometimes fickle men, sometimes Prophets, sometimes Apostles, are designated. By clouds the fickleness of the human mind is expressed; as Solomon says, He that observeth the wind, doth not sow, and he that regardeth the clouds, doth never reap. [Eccles.
Such an abundance of rain seems wonderful if the origin of rain is considered, because so much water bursts forth from the clouds which have no solidity, and as to this he says, "which," the torrents "flow from the clouds" not because such rain exists …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
); for, though indeed God causes it to rain in the wilderness where no man is ( ch. xxxviii. 11 ), yet special respect is had to man herein, to whom the inferior creatures are all made serviceable and from whom the actual return of the tribute of praise is required.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
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
Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Upon man abundantly - That is, upon many people. The clouds having received the ascending vapor, retain it, and pour it down copiously for the use of man. The arrangement, to the eye even of one who did not understand the scientific principles by which it is done, is beautiful and wonderful; the beauty and wonder are increased when the laws by which it is accomplished are understood. Elihu does not attempt to explain the mode by which this is done. The fact was probably all that was then understood, and that was sufficient for his purpose. The Septuagint has given a translation of this verse which cannot be well accounted for, and which is certainly very unlike the original. It is, “But when the clouds east a shade over the dumb creation, he impresseth a care on beasts, and they know the order for retiring to rest - κοίτης τάξιν koitēs taxin. At all these things is not their understanding confounded? And is not thy heart starting from thy body?”
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֲשֶֽׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִזְּל֥וּ | yizelu | they flow | H5140 → | |
| שְׁחָקִ֑ים | shechakim | [the] clouds | H7834 → | 21 times |
| יִ֝רְעֲפ֗וּ | yirafu | they drip | H7491 → | |
| עֲלֵ֤י׀ | ʾalei | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אָדָ֬ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| רָֽב׃ | rav | numerous | H7227 → | 454 times |
אֲשֶֽׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יִזְּל֥וּthey flow
yizeluH5140 →
שְׁחָקִ֑ים[the] clouds
shechakimH7834 →21 times
יִ֝רְעֲפ֗וּthey drip
yirafuH7491 →
עֲלֵ֤י׀on
ʾaleiH5921 →5755 times
אָדָ֬םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
רָֽב׃numerous
ravH7227 →454 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Proverbs 3:20By His knowledge the watery depths were broken open, and the clouds dripped with dew.
it leads to
- Genesis 7:11
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.
- Psalms 65:9–12
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 38:8–11
Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
- Job 38:26–28
to bring rain on a barren land, on a desert where no man lives,
- Genesis 1:9
And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear.” And it was so.
- Genesis 7:11
About Job
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); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.