Job 36:33
in Job 36The thunder declares His presence; even the cattle regard the rising storm.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The noise thereof telleth concerning him, The cattle also concerning the storm that cometh up.
KJV
The noise thereof sheweth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapour.
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This verse in Job 36
Commentary
12 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The noise thereof showeth concerning it - The word “noise” here has been inserted by our translators as a version of the Hebrew word (רעו rê‛ô), and if the translators attached any idea to the language which they have used, it seems to have been that the noise attending the lightning, that is, the thunder, furnished an illustration of the power and majesty of God. But it is not possible to educe this idea from the original, and perhaps it is not possible to determine the sense of the passage.
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
even the cattle regard the rising storm
John Wesley reads the cattle as sensing the rising storm and seeking shelter before the rain. Adam Clarke found the older rendering unhappy. He read the line as thunder declaring a store of wrath against iniquity.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church3 voices
One must remember that sensible things are a kind of sign of intelligible things, and so we come to the knowledge of intelligibles through sensible effects. Among all the sensible effects the most spiritual is light. So light leads more efficiently to knowledge of intelligibles, …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book XXVII · Written before 604.
proposed
He declares of it to His friend, that it is his possession, and that he may come up to it. The friend of truth is a lover of upright conduct. Whence the Truth Itself says to Its disciples, Ye are My friends, if ye have done what I command you. [John 15, 14] For a friend is named as 'the keeper of the soul;' and hence he who endeavours to guard the will of God in His precepts is, not undeservedly, called His friend.
The words, "He will cover the light with his hands" [mean] that when he wants to make the rain fall for the sake of earth, he condenses the air as if with his hands and covers the sun with clouds. And the words "he will …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The noise - The thunder gives notice of the approaching rain. Also - And as the thunder, so also the cattle sheweth, concerning the vapor, concerning the coming of the rain, by a strange instinct, seeking for shelter, when a change of weather is near.
The noise thereof, among other things, shows concerning it. Hence we read ( 1 Kings xviii. 41 ) of the sound of abundance of rain, or (as it is in the margin) a sound of a noise of rain, before it came; and a welcome harbinger it was then.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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
The noise thereof showeth concerning it,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
noise--rather, He revealeth it (literally, "announceth concerning it") to His friend (antithesis to adversary, Job 36:32, so the Hebrew is translated, Job 2:11); also to cattle and plants (literally, "that which shooteth up"; As the genial effect of "water" in the growth of food, is mentioned, Job 36:31, so here that of "light" in cherishing cattle and plants [UMBREIT].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
The noise thereof showeth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapor - I think this translation very unhappy. I shall give each hemistich in the original: - יגיד עליו רעו Yaggid alaiv reo מקנה אף על עולה Mikneh aph al oleh. I think this may be translated without any violence to any word in the text: - Its loud noise (or his thunder) shall proclaim concerning him; A magazine of wrath against iniquity. This is literal, and gives, in my opinion, a proper meaning of the passage, and one in strict connection with the context. And it is worthy of remark that every wicked man trembles at the noise of thunder and the flash of lightning, and considers this a treasury of Divine wrath, emphatically called among us the artillery of the skies; and whenever the noise is heard, it is considered the voice of God. Thus the thunder declares concerning him. The next chapter, which is a continuation of the subject here, confirms and illustrates this meaning. For יגיד yaggid, Houbigant reads יניד yanid; and for מקנה mikneh, מקנאת mikkinath; and translates thus: “He agitates with himself his thunder, from the indignation of his wrath against iniquity.”
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יַגִּ֣יד | yagid | it tells | H5046 → | 370 times |
| עָלָ֣יו | ʾalav | on him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רֵע֑וֹ | reo | roar his | H7452 → | |
| מִ֝קְנֶ֗ה | mikneh | livestock | H4735 → | 76 times |
| אַ֣ף | ʾaf | also | H637 → | 134 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עוֹלֶֽה׃ | oleh | [one who] comes up | H5927 → | 890 times |
יַגִּ֣ידit tells
yagidH5046 →370 times
עָלָ֣יוon him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
רֵע֑וֹroar his
reoH7452 →
מִ֝קְנֶ֗הlivestock
miknehH4735 →76 times
אַ֣ףalso
ʾafH637 →134 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
עוֹלֶֽה׃[one who] comes up
olehH5927 →890 times
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 36:29Furthermore, who can understand how the clouds spread out, how the thunder roars from His pavilion?
it leads to
- Job 37:2–5
Listen closely to the thunder of His voice and the rumbling that comes from His mouth.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 37:16
Do you understand how the clouds float, those wonders of Him who is perfect in knowledge?
- Job 37:2–5
Through
2 Samuel 22:14The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
it leads to
- Psalms 29:3–9
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders; the LORD is heard over many waters.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 77:16–19
The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You and swirled; even the depths were shaken.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 29:3–9
Through
Joel 2:22Do not be afraid, O beasts of the field, for the open pastures have turned green, the trees bear their fruit, and the fig tree and vine yield their best.
it leads to
- Zechariah 8:12
“For the seed will be prosperous, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will yield its produce, and the skies will give their dew. To the remnant of this people I will give…
- Psalms 65:12
The pastures of the wilderness overflow; the hills are robed with joy.
- Isaiah 30:23–24
Then He will send rain for the seed that you have sown in the ground, and the food that comes from your land will be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle will…
- Zechariah 8:12
Through
Job 37:2Listen closely to the thunder of His voice and the rumbling that comes from His mouth.
it leads to
- Job 37:5
God thunders wondrously with His voice; He does great things we cannot comprehend.
- Job 37:5
About Job
This page draws on 11 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; Ishodad of Merv, COMMENTARY ON JOB 36:32; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.