Job 38:1
New International Version
Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

New Living Translation
Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:

English Standard Version
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

Berean Standard Bible
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

King James Bible
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

New King James Version
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

New American Standard Bible
Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind and said,

NASB 1995
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

NASB 1977
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

Amplified Bible
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

Christian Standard Bible
Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind. He said:

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind. He said:

American Standard Version
Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

Contemporary English Version
From out of a storm, the LORD said to Job:

English Revised Version
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm.

Good News Translation
Then out of the storm the LORD spoke to Job.

International Standard Version
The LORD responded to Job from the whirlwind and said:

Majority Standard Bible
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

NET Bible
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:

New Heart English Bible
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind,

Webster's Bible Translation
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

World English Bible
Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind,
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And YHWH answers Job out of the whirlwind and says:

Young's Literal Translation
And Jehovah answereth Job out of the whirlwind, and saith: --

Smith's Literal Translation
And Jehovah will answer Job from the whirlwind, and he will say,
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Then the Lord answered Job out of a whirlwind, and said :

Catholic Public Domain Version
But the Lord, responding to Job from a whirlwind, said:

New American Bible
Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm and said:

New Revised Standard Version
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
THEN the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And LORD JEHOVAH answered and said to Job from a hurricane:
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And after Elius had ceased from speaking, the Lord spoke to Job through the whirlwind and clouds, saying,
Audio Bible



Context
God Challenges Job
1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: 2“Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?…

Cross References
Exodus 19:9
The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in you.” And Moses relayed to the LORD what the people had said.

Exodus 33:11
Thus the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young assistant Joshua son of Nun would not leave the tent.

1 Kings 19:11-13
Then the LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Behold, the LORD is about to pass by.” And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. / After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice. / When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Psalm 18:13
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded—hailstones and coals of fire.

Psalm 29:3-9
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders; the LORD is heard over many waters. / The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic. / The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD shatters the cedars of Lebanon. ...

Psalm 104:3
laying the beams of His chambers in the waters above, making the clouds His chariot, walking on the wings of the wind.

Isaiah 66:6
Hear the uproar from the city; listen to the voice from the temple! It is the voice of the LORD, repaying His enemies what they deserve!

Ezekiel 1:4
I looked and saw a whirlwind coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire was a gleam like amber,

Ezekiel 10:5
The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.

Nahum 1:3
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.

Matthew 17:5
While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”

Mark 9:7
Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him!”

Luke 9:34-35
While Peter was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. / And a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to Him!”

John 12:28-29
Father, glorify Your name!” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” / The crowd standing there heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said that an angel had spoken to Him.

Acts 9:3-4
As Saul drew near to Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. / He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”


Treasury of Scripture

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

Job 37:1,2,9,14
At this also my heart trembleth, and is moved out of his place…

Exodus 19:16-19
And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled…

Deuteronomy 4:11,12
And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness…

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Job 38
1. God challenges Job to answer
4. God, by his mighty works, convinces Job of ignorance
31. and weakness














Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind
Then
The word "Then" signifies a pivotal moment in the narrative of the Book of Job. After a lengthy discourse among Job and his friends, and Job's own lamentations and questions, this word marks the transition to divine intervention. It indicates God's perfect timing, reminding us that God’s responses come at the precise moment they are needed, according to His divine wisdom and purpose.

the LORD
The term "LORD" is translated from the Hebrew "YHWH," the sacred and personal name of God, often rendered as Yahweh. This name emphasizes God's eternal, self-existent nature and His covenant relationship with His people. In the context of Job, it underscores the personal nature of God's engagement with Job, highlighting that the Creator of the universe is also intimately involved in the lives of individuals.

answered
The word "answered" suggests a response to Job's previous speeches and questions. It implies that God is not indifferent to human suffering and inquiries. In the Hebrew context, this word can also mean to testify or to speak in a judicial sense, indicating that God is about to provide clarity and truth to Job's situation, addressing the deeper questions of justice and righteousness.

Job
Job is the central human figure in this narrative, a man described as blameless and upright. His name, in Hebrew, can mean "persecuted" or "hated," reflecting his intense suffering and the trials he endures. The mention of his name here personalizes the divine response, showing that God is addressing Job directly, acknowledging his struggles and the sincerity of his quest for understanding.

out of the whirlwind
The "whirlwind" is a powerful natural phenomenon, often associated with divine presence and revelation in the Old Testament. In Hebrew, the word can also be translated as "storm" or "tempest," symbolizing God's majesty and power. This imagery conveys the awe-inspiring and sometimes terrifying nature of God's presence. It serves as a reminder of God's sovereignty over creation and His ability to bring order out of chaos. The whirlwind signifies that God's ways and thoughts are higher than human understanding, yet He chooses to reveal Himself to humanity.

XXXVIII.

(1) Then the Lord answered Job.--This chapter brings the grand climax and catastrophe of the poem. Unless all was to remain hopelessly uncertain and dark, there could be no solution of the questions so fiercely and obstinately debated but by the intervention of Him whose government was the matter in dispute. And so the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, or tempest: that is to say, the tempest which had been long gathering, and which had been the subject of Elihu's remarks. The one argument which is developed in the remaining chapters is drawn from man's ignorance. There is so much in nature that man knows not and cannot understand, that it is absurd for him to suppose that he can judge aright in matters touching God's moral government of the world. Though Job is afterwards (Job 42:8) justified by God, yet the tone of all that God says to him is more or less mingled with reproach.

Verse 1. - Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind. It is remarked, with reason, that the special mention of Job as the person answered "implies that another speaker had intervened" (Wordsworth); while the attachment of the article to the word "whirlwind" implies some previous mention of that phenomenon, which is only to be found in the discourse of Elihu (Job 37:9). Both points have an important bearing on the genuineness of the disputed section, ch. 32- 37. And said. The question whether there was an objective utterance of human words out of the whirlwind, or only a subjective impression of the thoughts recorded on the minds of those present, is unimportant. In any case, there was a revelation direct from God, which furnished an authoritative solution of the questions debated to all who had been engaged in the debate.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Then the LORD
יְהוָ֣ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

answered
וַיַּֽעַן־ (way·ya·‘an-)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6030: To answer, respond

Job
אִ֭יּוֹב (’î·yō·wḇ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 347: Job -- a patriarch

out of
מִ֥ן ׀ (min)
Preposition
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

the whirlwind
הַסְּעָרָ֗ה (has·sə·‘ā·rāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5591: A hurricane

and said:
וַיֹּאמַֽר׃ (way·yō·mar)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say


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OT Poetry: Job 38:1 Then Yahweh answered Job out (Jb)
Job 37:24
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