Job 38:21 BSB — MannaFest

Job 38:21

Surely you know, for you were already born! And the number of your days is great!

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Doubtless, thou knowest, for thou wast then born, And the number of thy days is great!

KJV

Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?

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Commentary

3 voices

Gregory the Dialogist

Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXIX (604)

Didst thou know then that thou wast about to be born, and didst thou know the number of thy days? As if He were openly saying, What wonder if thou understandest not thine end, since thou dost not comprehend thy beginning? And since thou knowest not with what beginning thou camest hither, what wonder, if thou canst not tell with what end thou art taken away? If therefore it was My work to bring thee forward from secresy to sight at thy beginning, it will be Mine also to bring thee back from sight to secresy.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? - This may either be a question, or it may be spoken ironically. According to the former mode of rendering it, it is the same as asking Job whether he had lived long enough to understand where the abode of light was, or whether he had an existence when it was created, and knew where its home was appointed. According to the latter mode, it is keen sarcasm. “Thou must know all this, for thou art so old.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

"What is the way (to the place wherein) light dwelleth?" The origin of light and darkness. In Ge 1:3-5, 14-18, "light" is created distinct from, and previous to, light-emitting bodies, the luminaries of heaven.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

7 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
יָ֭דַעְתָּ	Ya.da'.ta	you know	H3045 →
כִּי־	ki-	for	H3588 →
אָ֣ז	'az	then	H227 →
תִּוָּלֵ֑ד	ti.va.Led	you were born	H3205 →
וּמִסְפַּ֖ר	u.mis.Par	and [the] number of	H4557 →
יָמֶ֣יךָ	ya.Mei.kha	days your	H3117 →
רַבִּֽים׃	ra.Bim	[is] many	H7227 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Job 38:4
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
leads to
- Psalms 104:5
  He set the earth on its foundations, never to be moved.
- Hebrews 1:10
  And: “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
- Proverbs 30:4
  Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth?…
Through
Job 38:12
In your days, have you commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place,
leads to
- Psalms 74:16
  The day is Yours, and also the night; You established the moon and the sun.
- Psalms 148:3–5
  Praise Him, O sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars.
- Genesis 1:5
  God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
- Job 8:9
  For we were born yesterday and know nothing; our days on earth are but a shadow.
Through
Job 15:7
Were you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills?
leads to
- Psalms 90:2
  Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

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On Job 38:21

The Question of Suffering — Job 1–42

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Ezra's Questions God Answers

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Mazzaroth

Twelve constellation groupings; one biblical word (Job 38:32). Bullinger and Seiss read them as a gospel-arc; modern critics trace their figures to Albumazar, not Adam. The objections below are presented at full strength, and the founder's own slot on the page is his to fill.

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The Star of Bethlehem — Edward Burne-Jones

Walks through Job 38

The Stars

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About Job

Job Hears of His Misfortunes — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Job: the study guide →Read chapter 38 →The featured study →

Continue: Job 38 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Job

Where the connections lead

The record, by era

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Job