Job 38:13
in Job 38that it might spread to the ends of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?
KJV
That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
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This verse in Job 38
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
That it might take hold of the ends of the earth - Margin, as in Hebrew “wings.” Wings are in the Scriptures frequently given to the earth, because it seems to be spread out, and the expression refers to its extremities. The language is derived from the supposition that the earth was a plain, and had limits or bounds. The idea here is, that God causes the light of the morning suddenly to spread to the remotest parts of the world, and to reveal everything which was there.
This site's exposition
have you commanded the morning
on Job 38:12-15
“In your days, have you commanded the morning” asks whether Job has set one day in motion. “The earth takes shape like clay under a seal” pictures the dawn stamping the world each day. Delitzsch reads “Light is withheld from the wicked” as the revealing daylight exposing what darkness covered.
This site's exposition
the ends of the earth
The ends of the earth are its wings in Hebrew, Barnes notes, the edges of the land spread out. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take the wicked as those of Job 24:13, who hate the light and work in the dark. Henry calls the light a servant of God's justice.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
After the Lord has enumerated the principle parts of corporeal creatures, that is, earth, sea, and sky, he begins here with the marvels of divine works which appear in the ordering of these three parts of the world just mentioned. He begins with the earth …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book XXIX · Written before 604.
proposed
Hast Thou held and shaken the ends of the earth, and hast Thou shaken the wicked out of it? [ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION] The Lord 'held the ends of the earth,' because He came in the end of the world to the synagogue which was now forsaken and subject to foreign kings: and He shook the wicked out of it, because He cast out even from the glory of the carnal sacrifice, those who denied the spiritual preaching of the faith. Or He certainly held the ends of the earth, because He chose out of Judaea a few abject and humble men.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The constant and regular succession of day and night was no contrivance of ours; it is the glory of God that it shows, and his handy work, not ours, Ps. xix. It is quite out of our power to alter this course: " Hast thou countermanded the morning since thy days?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,....
But God here observes how unwelcome it is to those that do evil, and therefore hate the light. God makes the light a minister of his justice as well as of his mercy. It is designed to shake the wicked out of the earth, and for that purpose it takes hold of the ends of it, as we take hold of the ends of a garment to shake the dust and moths out of it.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Passing from creation to phenomena in the existing inanimate world. Hast thou--as God daily does. commanded the morning--to rise. since thy days--since thou hast come into being. his place--It varies in its place of rising from day to day, and yet it has its place each day according to fixed laws.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
take hold of the ends, &c.--spread itself over the earth to its utmost bounds in a moment. wicked--who hate the light, and do their evil works in the dark (Job 24:13). shaken out of it--The corners (Hebrew, "wings" or "skirts") of it, as of a garment, are taken hold of by the dayspring, so as to shake off the wicked.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
That the wicked might be shaken out of it? - The meaning appears to be this: as soon as the light begins to dawn upon the earth, thieves, assassins, murderers, and adulterers, who all hate and shun the light, fly like ferocious beasts to their several dens and hiding places; for such do not dare to come to the light, lest their works be manifest, which are not wrought in God. To this verse the fifteenth appears to belong, as it connects immediately with it, which connection the introduction of the fourteenth verse disturbs. “And from the wicked,” such as are mentioned above “their light is withholden;” they love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil; and as they prowl after their prey in the night-season, they are obliged to sleep in the day, and thus its “light is withholden” from them. “And the high arm shall be broken;” or, as Mr. Good translates, “The roving of wickedness is broken off.” They can no longer pursue their predatory and injurious excursions.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
To grasp the corners of the earth Moreover, in all your days, did you command [anyone] to grasp the corners of the earth like a man who grasps the corners of a garment and shakes it?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֶ֭אֱחֹז | leechoz | to take hold | H270 → | 67 times |
| בְּכַנְפ֣וֹת | bekhanfot | on [the] corners of | H3671 → | 109 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְיִנָּעֲר֖וּ | veyinaaru | so they may be shaken | H5287 → | |
| רְשָׁעִ֣ים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| מִמֶּֽנָּה׃ | mimenah | from it | H4480 → | 1188 times |
לֶ֭אֱחֹזto take hold
leechozH270 →67 times
בְּכַנְפ֣וֹתon [the] corners of
bekhanfotH3671 →109 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וְיִנָּעֲר֖וּso they may be shaken
veyinaaruH5287 →
רְשָׁעִ֣יםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
מִמֶּֽנָּה׃from it
mimenahH4480 →1188 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
Psalms 104:35May sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, O my soul. Hallelujah!
it leads to
- Psalms 103:22
Bless the LORD, all His works in all places of His dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul!
- Psalms 106:48
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Hallelujah!
- Revelation 19:1–2
After this I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!
- Psalms 68:1–2
God arises. His enemies are scattered, and those who hate Him flee His presence.
- Proverbs 2:22
but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be uprooted.
- Psalms 103:22
Through
Exodus 14:27So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal state. As the Egyptians were retreating, the LORD swept them into the sea.
it leads to
- Joshua 4:18
When the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD came up out of the Jordan and their feet touched the dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned to their course…
- Joshua 4:18
Through
Job 37:3He unleashes His lightning beneath the whole sky and sends it to the ends of the earth.
it leads to
- Matthew 24:27
For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
- Isaiah 11:12
He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will collect the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
- Matthew 24:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
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 XXIX; 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); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.