Job 38:34
in Job 38Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover thee?
KJV
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?
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This verse in Job 38
Commentary
10 notes on this verseCanst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds - Canst thou produce lightning and thunder, that water may be formed, and poured down upon the earth? Thunder is called קלות koloth, voices; for it is considered the voice of God: here then Job’s voice, קולך kolecha, is opposed to the voice of Jehovah!
This site's exposition
Can you command the clouds
on Job 38:34-36
“Who has put wisdom in the heart” turns the questions inward for the first time, wisdom as a gift placed in the heart. Henry reads the turn as preparing for the living creatures that follow, moving from sky and sea to the wisdom built into life.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Up to this point God divides the heavenly realities in terms of those through which he punishes us, as distinguished from those through which he benefits us. Notice how the lightnings answer. They do not really mean, "What do you want?" The text wants to signify that all creatures, as though they were living creatures, bend their ear to God. Every time he wants to show the difference in their formation, God talks about "begetting" and "maternal womb." Every time, on the other hand, he wants to show their docility and perfection, he depicts them as if they bent their ear to his call. Why did he present himself not only as a craftsman but as a father as well? This is because the art that presides over nature is quite superior to any manual art, for it is, so to speak, divine.
The Medieval Church2 voices
True, the effects of divine power just discussed are very great; yet the greatness is known by the vast majority of ordinary men in them so much as in thunder and lightning, and so he places these effects last. So as to thunder he says, …
1. Blessed Job is asked by God, Who questions him, whether he has done such things as man is surely unable to do; in order that, when he discovers that he cannot do them, he may fly for refuge to Him, Whom he understands to be the only One Who is able to do them, and that he may appear more powerful before the eyes of his Judge, if he learns more truly his own infirmities.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
1 ); but if we lift up our voice to the clouds, to demand it, they will soon tell us they are not at our beck, and we shall go without it, Jer. xiv. The heavens will not her the earth unless God hear them, Hos. ii. See what poor, indigent, depending creatures we are; we cannot do without rain, nor can we have it when we will.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
The sense is, who was it that built this goodly fabrick, and established it so firmly that it cannot be moved. Stars - The angels, who may well be called morning-stars, because of their excellent lustre and glory. Sons of God - The angels called the sons of God, because they had their whole being from him, and because they were made partakers of his Divine and glorious image.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
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.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee? - That is, canst thou command the clouds so that they shall send down abundant rain? Bouillier supposes that there is an allusion here to the incantations which were pretended to be practiced by the Magi, by which they claimed the power of producing rain at pleasure; compare Jer 14:22, “Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles (the idols that they worship) that can cause rain? Art not thou he, O Lord our God?” The idea is, that it is God only who can cause rain, and that the control of the clouds from which rain descends is wholly beyond the reach of man.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲתָרִ֣ים | hatarim | ¿ will you lift up | H7311 → | 190 times |
| לָעָ֣ב | laav | to the cloud[s] | H5645 → | 31 times |
| קוֹלֶ֑ךָ | kolecha | voice your | H6963 → | 506 times |
| וְֽשִׁפְעַת־ | veshifat- | and an abundance of | H8229 → | |
| מַ֥יִם | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| תְּכַסֶּֽךָּ׃ | tekhaseka | will you cover? yourself | H3680 → | 152 times |
הֲתָרִ֣ים¿ will you lift up
hatarimH7311 →190 times
לָעָ֣בto the cloud[s]
laavH5645 →31 times
קוֹלֶ֑ךָvoice your
kolechaH6963 →506 times
וְֽשִׁפְעַת־and an abundance of
veshifat-H8229 →
מַ֥יִםwater
mayimH4325 →581 times
תְּכַסֶּֽךָּ׃will you cover? yourself
tekhasekaH3680 →152 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
Zechariah 10:1Ask the LORD for rain in springtime; the LORD makes the storm clouds, and He will give everyone showers of rain and crops in the field.
it leads to
- James 5:16–18
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
- Matthew 7:7–8
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
- Isaiah 44:3
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
- Deuteronomy 28:23
The sky over your head will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron.
- John 16:23
In that day you will no longer ask Me anything. Truly, truly, I tell you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
- James 5:16–18
Through
James 5:18Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 18:42–45
So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the summit of Carmel, bent down on the ground, and put his face between his knees.
- 1 Kings 18:42–45
Through
1 Samuel 12:18So Samuel called to the LORD, and on that day the LORD sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.
it leads to
- Exodus 14:31
When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.
- Exodus 14:31
Through
Job 22:11it is so dark you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you.
it leads to
- Lamentations 3:54
The waters flowed over my head, and I thought I was going to die.
- Lamentations 3:54
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About Job
This page draws on 10 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); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXX; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON JOB 38:35A-B; 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.