Job 38:34
New International Version
“Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?

New Living Translation
“Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain?

English Standard Version
“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of waters may cover you?

Berean Standard Bible
Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?

King James Bible
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?

New King James Version
“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That an abundance of water may cover you?

New American Standard Bible
“Can you raise your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you?

NASB 1995
“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you?

NASB 1977
“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water may cover you?

Legacy Standard Bible
“Can you raise your voice up to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you?

Amplified Bible
“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you?

Christian Standard Bible
Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?

American Standard Version
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover thee?

Contemporary English Version
Can you order the clouds to send a downpour,

English Revised Version
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Can you call to the clouds and have a flood of water cover you?

Good News Translation
Can you shout orders to the clouds and make them drench you with rain?

International Standard Version
"Can you call out to the clouds, so that abundant water drenches you?

Majority Standard Bible
Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?

NET Bible
Can you raise your voice to the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?

New Heart English Bible
"Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover you?

Webster's Bible Translation
Canst thou lift thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?

World English Bible
“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover you?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Do you lift up your voice to the cloud, "" And abundance of water covers you?

Young's Literal Translation
Dost thou lift up to the cloud thy voice, And abundance of water doth cover thee?

Smith's Literal Translation
Wilt thou lift up thy voice to the cloud, and abundance of waters shall cover thee?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that an abundance of waters may cover thee?

Catholic Public Domain Version
Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that an onslaught of waters will cover you?

New American Bible
Can you raise your voice to the clouds, for them to cover you with a deluge of waters?

New Revised Standard Version
“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that a flood of waters may cover you?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Can you lift up your voice to the clouds? Or can you cover them with abundance of waters?

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Do you lift up your voice over the clouds, and do you cover them with a multitude of waters?
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover thee?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And wilt thou call a cloud with thy voice, and will it obey thee with a violent shower of much rain?
Audio Bible



Context
God Challenges Job
33Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth? 34Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you? 35Can you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?…

Cross References
Psalm 147:8
who covers the sky with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the hills.

Jeremiah 14:22
Can the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies alone send showers? Is this not by You, O LORD our God? So we put our hope in You, for You have done all these things.

1 Kings 8:35-36
When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because You have afflicted them, / then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, so that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance.

Deuteronomy 11:14
then I will provide rain for your land in season, the autumn and spring rains, that you may gather your grain, new wine, and oil.

Isaiah 55:10
For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat,

Zechariah 10:1
Ask 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.

James 5:17-18
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. / Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops.

Matthew 5:45
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Acts 14:17
Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”

Jeremiah 5:24
They have not said in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rains, both autumn and spring, in season, who keeps for us the appointed weeks of harvest.’

Hosea 6:3
So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.

Psalm 65:9-10
You attend to the earth and water it; with abundance You enrich it. The streams of God are full of water, for You prepare our grain by providing for the earth. / You soak its furrows and level its ridges; You soften it with showers and bless its growth.

Amos 4:7
“I also withheld the rain from you when the harvest was three months away. I sent rain on one city but withheld it from another. One field received rain; another without rain withered.

1 Samuel 12:17-18
Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call on the LORD to send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you have committed in the sight of the LORD by asking for a king.” / So 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.

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!”


Treasury of Scripture

Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover you?

1 Samuel 12:18
So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

Amos 5:8
Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:

Zechariah 10:1
Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.

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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














Can you command
The phrase "Can you command" challenges human authority and power. In Hebrew, the word for "command" is "צָוָה" (tsavah), which implies giving orders or decrees. This word is often used in the context of divine authority, as God commands creation and the elements. The rhetorical question posed by God to Job underscores the vast difference between divine omnipotence and human limitations. It serves as a reminder of God's sovereignty over the natural world, emphasizing that only God has the power to command the elements of nature.

the clouds
The "clouds" in this context are symbolic of God's control over the weather and the natural order. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, clouds were often associated with divine presence and power. The Hebrew word "עָב" (av) refers to thick clouds or a mass of water vapor. In the biblical narrative, clouds are frequently depicted as instruments of God's will, whether in providing rain or in manifesting His presence, as seen in the pillar of cloud that guided the Israelites in the wilderness. This imagery reinforces the idea that God alone orchestrates the natural phenomena that sustain life on earth.

so that a flood of water
The phrase "so that a flood of water" highlights the potential for overwhelming abundance or destruction that water can bring. The Hebrew word for "flood" is "שֶׁפֶת" (shefet), which can denote a deluge or an outpouring. Water is a recurring motif in the Bible, symbolizing both life and judgment. In the context of Job, it serves as a metaphor for God's ability to provide sustenance or to execute judgment. This duality reflects the complexity of God's interactions with the world, where His blessings and judgments are both expressions of His divine will.

covers you
The phrase "covers you" suggests a complete and encompassing action. The Hebrew root "כָּסָה" (kasah) means to cover, conceal, or overwhelm. This imagery conveys the idea of being enveloped or surrounded, emphasizing the totality of God's control over creation. In the broader scriptural context, being "covered" by water can symbolize both protection and peril, depending on the divine purpose. For Job, this serves as a humbling reminder of human vulnerability and the need to trust in God's wisdom and providence, recognizing that His ways are higher than our own.

Verse 34. - Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of water may sever thee? Will the clouds take their orders from thee, listen to thee, obey thy voice? None but the "medicine-men" of savage tribes profess to have any such power. Elijah, indeed, "prayed, and the heaven gave rain" (James 5:18); but this was a very different thing from "commanding the clouds of heaven." His prayer was addressed to God, and God gave the rain for which he made his petition.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Can you command
הֲתָרִ֣ים (hă·ṯā·rîm)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 7311: To be high actively, to rise, raise

the clouds
לָעָ֣ב (lā·‘āḇ)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - common singular
Strong's 5645: An envelope, darkness, a, cloud, a copse

so that a flood
וְֽשִׁפְעַת־ (wə·šip̄·‘aṯ-)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 8229: Abundance, quantity

of water
מַ֥יִם (ma·yim)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

covers you?
תְּכַסֶּֽךָּ׃ (tə·ḵas·se·kā)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine singular | second person masculine singular
Strong's 3680: To plump, fill up hollows, to cover


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OT Poetry: Job 38:34 Can you lift up your voice (Jb)
Job 38:33
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