Job 38:36
New International Version
Who gives the ibis wisdom or gives the rooster understanding?

New Living Translation
Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind?

English Standard Version
Who has put wisdom in the inward parts or given understanding to the mind?

Berean Standard Bible
Who has put wisdom in the heart or given understanding to the mind?

King James Bible
Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?

New King James Version
Who has put wisdom in the mind? Or who has given understanding to the heart?

New American Standard Bible
“Who has put wisdom in the innermost being, Or given understanding to the mind?

NASB 1995
“Who has put wisdom in the innermost being Or given understanding to the mind?

NASB 1977
“Who has put wisdom in the innermost being, Or has given understanding to the mind?

Legacy Standard Bible
Who has given wisdom in the innermost being Or given understanding to the mind?

Amplified Bible
“Who has put wisdom in the innermost being [of man, or in the layers of clouds] Or given understanding to the mind [of man, or to the heavenly display]?

Christian Standard Bible
Who put wisdom in the heart or gave the mind understanding?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Who put wisdom in the heart or gave the mind understanding?

American Standard Version
Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who hath given understanding to the mind?

Contemporary English Version
Did you teach birds to know that rain or floods are on their way?

English Revised Version
Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the mind?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Who put wisdom in the heart or gave understanding to the mind?

Good News Translation
Who tells the ibis when the Nile will flood, or who tells the rooster that rain will fall?

International Standard Version
"Who sets wisdom within you, or imbues your mind with understanding?

Majority Standard Bible
Who has put wisdom in the heart or given understanding to the mind?

NET Bible
Who has put wisdom in the heart, or has imparted understanding to the mind?

New Heart English Bible
Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the mind?

Webster's Bible Translation
Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?

World English Bible
Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the mind?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the covered part?

Young's Literal Translation
Who hath put in the inward parts wisdom? Or who hath given To the covered part understanding?

Smith's Literal Translation
Who put wisdom in the reins? or who gave understanding to the mind?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Who hath put wisdom in the heart of man? or who gave the cock understanding?

Catholic Public Domain Version
Who placed discernment in the guts of man, or who gave the rooster intelligence?

New American Bible
Who gives wisdom to the ibis, and gives the rooster understanding?

New Revised Standard Version
Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, or given understanding to the mind?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given vision to understanding?

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Who set wisdom in a hiding place, or who gave vision to discernment?
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who hath given understanding to the mind?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And who has given to women skill in weaving, or knowledge of embroidery?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
God Challenges Job
35Can you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’? 36Who has put wisdom in the heart or given understanding to the mind? 37Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of the heavens…

Cross References
Proverbs 2:6
For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

James 1:5
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

Proverbs 8:14
Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have insight and strength.

Daniel 2:21
He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

1 Corinthians 1:30
It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

Isaiah 11:2
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.

Colossians 2:3
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Ecclesiastes 2:26
To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Ephesians 1:17
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.

Proverbs 3:13-14
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who acquires understanding, / for she is more profitable than silver, and her gain is better than fine gold.

Romans 11:33
O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!

1 Kings 3:12
behold, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been another like you, nor will there ever be.

Luke 21:15
For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

Psalm 51:6
Surely You desire truth in the inmost being; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

1 Corinthians 2:6-7
Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. / No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began.


Treasury of Scripture

Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? or who has given understanding to the heart?

Who hath put

Job 32:8
But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

Psalm 51:6
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Proverbs 2:6
For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

who hath given

Exodus 31:3
And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,

Exodus 36:1,2
Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded…

Isaiah 28:26
For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.

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Clouds Covered Endowed Heart High Innermost Inward Lights Mind Mists North Part Parts Understanding Wisdom
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Clouds Covered Endowed Heart High Innermost Inward Lights Mind Mists North Part Parts Understanding Wisdom
Job 38
1. God challenges Job to answer
4. God, by his mighty works, convinces Job of ignorance
31. and weakness














Who has put wisdom
The phrase "Who has put wisdom" invites us to consider the divine source of wisdom. In Hebrew, the word for wisdom is "חָכְמָה" (chokmah), which encompasses not only knowledge but also the skillful application of knowledge in life. This wisdom is not self-generated but is a gift from God, emphasizing His sovereignty and the dependency of human beings on divine insight. In the context of Job, God is reminding Job of His ultimate authority and the mystery of His creation, which is beyond human comprehension.

in the heart
The "heart" in Hebrew is "לֵב" (lev), which in ancient Near Eastern thought is the center of not only emotions but also intellect and will. It is the seat of understanding and decision-making. By placing wisdom in the heart, God is depicted as the one who enables humans to discern and make choices that align with His will. This highlights the intimate relationship between God and humanity, where God imparts wisdom directly into the core of our being.

or given understanding
The word "understanding" in Hebrew is "בִּינָה" (binah), which refers to the ability to discern or perceive. It is closely related to wisdom but focuses more on the process of thinking and reasoning. Understanding is portrayed as a divine endowment, suggesting that true comprehension of the world and our place in it comes from God. This reinforces the idea that human intellect and reasoning are gifts from the Creator, meant to be used in accordance with His purposes.

to the mind?
The "mind" in this context is translated from the Hebrew word "שֶׂכְוִי" (sekvi), which is a rare term in the Old Testament and is often interpreted as "inner parts" or "innermost being." This suggests a depth of understanding that goes beyond surface-level knowledge. It implies a profound, God-given insight that penetrates to the very essence of a person. In the broader narrative of Job, this challenges the reader to recognize that human understanding is limited and that ultimate knowledge and insight belong to God alone.

(36) Wisdom in the inward parts.--The mention of the inward parts and the heart here, in the midst of natural phenomena, perplexes every one; but it is a natural solution to refer them to the lightnings personified: "Who hath put such understanding in their inward parts?"

Verse 36. - Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Some refer this to human wisdom, and understand the Almighty as asking - Who has put man's wisdom into his inward parts? literally, into his kidneys, or as our idiom would express it, "into his heart." But there is great difficulty in supposing a sudden transition from clouds and lightning in vers. 34, 35 to the human understanding in ver. 36, with a return to clouds and rain in ver. 37. Hence many of the best critics understand ver. 36 of the purpose and intelligence that may be regarded as existing in the clouds and rain and lightning themselves, which are God's ministers, and run to and fro at his command, and execute his pleasure. (So Schultens, Rosenmuller, Professor Lee, and Professer Stanley Leathes.) To obtain this result, we must translate the word טוּחות By "tempest" or "thunder-belts," and the word שׂכוי, in the next clause, by "storm n or something similar (see the Revised Version, where "dark clouds" is suggested as an alternative for "inward parts'" and "meteor" as an alternative for "heart"). The whole passage will then run thus: Who hath put wisdom in the thunderbolts? or who hath given understanding to the tempest?

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Who
מִי־ (mî·šā-)
Interrogative
Strong's 4310: Who?, whoever, in oblique construction with prefix, suffix

has put
שָׁ֭ת (ṯ)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7896: To put, set

wisdom
חָכְמָ֑ה (ḥāḵ·māh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2451: Wisdom

in the heart
בַּטֻּח֣וֹת (baṭ·ṭu·ḥō·wṯ)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 2910: The kidneys, the inmost thought

or
א֤וֹ (’ōw)
Conjunction
Strong's 176: Desire, if

given
נָתַ֖ן (nā·ṯan)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

understanding
בִינָֽה׃ (ḇî·nāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 998: An understanding

to the mind?
לַשֶּׂ֣כְוִי (laś·śeḵ·wî)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7907: Perhaps appearance, phenomenon


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OT Poetry: Job 38:36 Who has put wisdom in the inward (Jb)
Job 38:35
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