Job 12:15
New International Version
If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.

New Living Translation
If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If he releases the waters, they flood the earth.

English Standard Version
If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.

Berean Standard Bible
If He holds back the waters, they dry up, and if He releases them, they overwhelm the land.

King James Bible
Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.

New King James Version
If He withholds the waters, they dry up; If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.

New American Standard Bible
“Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; And He sends them out, and they inundate the earth.

NASB 1995
“Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; And He sends them out, and they inundate the earth.

NASB 1977
“Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; And He sends them out, and they inundate the earth.

Legacy Standard Bible
Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; And He sends them out, and they overturn the earth.

Amplified Bible
“Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; Again, He sends the waters out, and they overwhelm and devastate the earth.

Christian Standard Bible
When he withholds water, everything dries up, and when he releases it, it destroys the land.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When He withholds the waters, everything dries up, and when He releases them, they destroy the land.

American Standard Version
Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up; Again, he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.

Contemporary English Version
God can hold back the rain or send a flood,

English Revised Version
Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up; again, he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When he holds back the waters, there is a drought. When he releases them, they flood the earth.

Good News Translation
Drought comes when God withholds rain; floods come when he turns water loose.

International Standard Version
When he withholds water, rivers dry up; when he lets them loose, they'll flood the land.

Majority Standard Bible
If He holds back the waters, they dry up, and if He releases them, they overwhelm the land.

NET Bible
If he holds back the waters, then they dry up; if he releases them, they destroy the land.

New Heart English Bible
Look, he withholds the waters, and they dry up. Again, he sends them out, and they overturn the earth.

Webster's Bible Translation
Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.

World English Bible
Behold, he withholds the waters, and they dry up. Again, he sends them out, and they overturn the earth.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Behold, He keeps in the waters, and they are dried up, "" And He sends them forth, "" And they overturn the land.

Young's Literal Translation
Lo, He keepeth in the waters, and they are dried up, And he sendeth them forth, And they overturn the land.

Smith's Literal Translation
Behold, he will hold back upon the waters, and they will dry up: and he will send them forth and they will overturn the earth.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
If he withhold the waters, all things shall be dried up: and if he send them out, they shall overturn the earth.

Catholic Public Domain Version
If he restrains the waters, everything will dry up; and if he sends them forth, they will subdue the land.

New American Bible
He holds back the waters and there is drought; he sends them forth and they overwhelm the land.

New Revised Standard Version
If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he releases them they ruin the land.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
If he rebukes the waters, they dry up, and if he sends them out, they overturn the land
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Behold, He withholdeth the waters, and they dry up; Also He sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
If he should withhold the water, he will dry the earth: and if he should let it loose, he overthrows and destroys it.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job Responds to Zophar
14What He tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man He imprisons cannot be released. 15If He holds back the waters, they dry up, and if He releases them, they overwhelm the land. 16True wisdom and power belong to Him. The deceived and the deceiver are His.…

Cross References
Genesis 7:11-12
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. / And the rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.

Exodus 14:21-22
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided, / and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.

Psalm 104:6-9
You covered it with the deep like a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. / At Your rebuke the waters fled; at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away— / the mountains rose and the valleys sank to the place You assigned for them— ...

Isaiah 50:2
Why was no one there when I arrived? Why did no one answer when I called? Is My hand too short to redeem you? Or do I lack the strength to deliver you? Behold, My rebuke dries up the sea; I turn the rivers into a desert; the fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.

Isaiah 44:27
who says to the depths of the sea, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your currents,’

Jeremiah 5:22
Do you not fear Me?” declares the LORD. “Do you not tremble before Me, the One who set the sand as the boundary for the sea, an enduring barrier it cannot cross? The waves surge, but they cannot prevail. They roar but cannot cross it.

Amos 9:6
He builds His upper rooms in the heavens and founds His vault upon the earth. He summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth. The LORD is His name.

Nahum 1:4
He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts.

Matthew 8:26-27
“You of little faith,” Jesus replied, “why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm. / The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!”

Mark 4:39-41
Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm. / “Why are you so afraid?” He asked. “Do you still have no faith?” / Overwhelmed with fear, they asked one another, “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

Luke 8:24-25
The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters, and they subsided, and all was calm. / “Where is your faith?” He asked. Frightened and amazed, they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him!”

John 2:7-9
Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. / “Now draw some out,” He said, “and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, / and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not know where it was from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside

John 4:14
But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”

John 7:38
Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”

John 9:7
Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.


Treasury of Scripture

Behold, he withholds the waters, and they dry up: also he sends them out, and they overturn the earth.

Behold

Job 12:10
In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

Genesis 8:1,2
And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged; …

1 Kings 8:35,36
When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: …

he sendeth

Genesis 6:13,17
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth…

Genesis 7:11,23
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened…

Psalm 104:7-9
At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away…

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Devastate Dried Drought Dry Earth Forth Holds Keepeth Keeps Lets Overturn Overturned Overwhelm Restrains Sends Waters Withholdeth Withholds
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Devastate Dried Drought Dry Earth Forth Holds Keepeth Keeps Lets Overturn Overturned Overwhelm Restrains Sends Waters Withholdeth Withholds
Job 12
1. Job maintains himself against his friends that reprove him
7. He acknowledges the doctrine of God's omnipotence














If He holds back the waters
The phrase "holds back" in Hebrew is "עָצַר" (atsar), which conveys the idea of restraining or withholding. In the ancient Near Eastern context, water was a symbol of life and sustenance, essential for agriculture and survival. The imagery here reflects God's sovereign control over creation. Just as God restrained the waters during the creation narrative in Genesis, He continues to exercise authority over the natural world. This highlights God's omnipotence and the belief that all elements of nature are subject to His will.

they dry up
The drying up of waters signifies desolation and judgment. In the Hebrew Bible, droughts were often seen as divine punishment or a call to repentance. The historical context of the Ancient Near East, where water scarcity could lead to famine and suffering, underscores the severity of this action. This phrase serves as a reminder of human dependence on God's provision and the consequences of His withholding grace.

if He releases them
The Hebrew root "שָׁלַח" (shalach) means to send forth or let go. This action is the opposite of holding back, indicating a deliberate and purposeful release. In biblical history, the release of waters is reminiscent of the Flood narrative in Genesis, where God unleashed the waters as a form of judgment. This duality of holding back and releasing emphasizes God's control over both blessing and judgment.

they overwhelm the land
The word "overwhelm" comes from the Hebrew "שָׁטַף" (shataph), meaning to flood or inundate. This imagery of overwhelming waters conveys destruction and chaos, reminiscent of the Flood. In the biblical worldview, such overwhelming forces are not random but are under God's command, serving His purposes. The land, often representing stability and order, becomes a stage for demonstrating God's power and the consequences of human actions.

Verse 15. - Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up. God, at his pleasure, causes great droughts, which are among the worst calamities that can happen. He withholds the blessed rain from heaven (Deuteronomy 11:17; 1 Kings 8:35; 1 Kings 17:1), and the springs shrink, and the rivers dry up, and a fruitful land is turned into a desert, and famine stalks through the land, and men perish by thousands. Also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth; i.e. he causes floods and inundations. Once upon a time he overwhelmed the whole earth, and destroyed almost the entire race of mankind, by a deluge of an extraordinary character, which so fixed itself in the human consciousness, that traces of it are to be found in the traditions of almost all the various races of men. But, beside this great occasion, he also in ten thousand other cases, causes, by means of floods, tremendous ruin and devastation, sweeping away crops and cattle, and even villages and cities, sometimes even "overturning the earth," causing lakes to burst, rivers to change their course, vast tracts of land to be permanently submerged, and the contour of coasts to be altered.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
If
הֵ֤ן (hên)
Interjection
Strong's 2005: Lo! behold!

He holds back
יַעְצֹ֣ר (ya‘·ṣōr)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6113: To inclose, to hold back, to maintain, rule, assemble

the waters,
בַּמַּ֣יִם (bam·ma·yim)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

they dry up,
וְיִבָ֑שׁוּ (wə·yi·ḇā·šū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3001: To be ashamed, confused, disappointed, to dry up, wither

and if He releases them,
וִֽ֝ישַׁלְּחֵ֗ם (wî·šal·lə·ḥêm)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

they overwhelm
וְיַ֖הַפְכוּ (wə·ya·hap̄·ḵū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 2015: To turn about, over, to change, overturn, return, pervert

the land.
אָֽרֶץ׃ (’ā·reṣ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land


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OT Poetry: Job 12:15 Behold he withholds the waters and they (Jb)
Job 12:14
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