Job 38:4
New International Version
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.

New Living Translation
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much.

English Standard Version
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

Berean Standard Bible
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.

King James Bible
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

New King James Version
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.

New American Standard Bible
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding,

NASB 1995
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding,

NASB 1977
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding,

Legacy Standard Bible
Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you know understanding,

Amplified Bible
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you know and have understanding.

Christian Standard Bible
Where were you when I established the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Where were you when I established the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.

American Standard Version
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.

Contemporary English Version
How did I lay the foundation for the earth? Were you there?

English Revised Version
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have [such] insight.

Good News Translation
Were you there when I made the world? If you know so much, tell me about it.

International Standard Version
"Where were you when I laid the foundation of my earth? Tell me, since you're so informed!

Majority Standard Bible
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.

NET Bible
"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you possess understanding!

New Heart English Bible
"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.

Webster's Bible Translation
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

World English Bible
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Where were you when I founded the earth? Declare, if you have known understanding.

Young's Literal Translation
Where wast thou when I founded earth? Declare, if thou hast known understanding.

Smith's Literal Translation
Where wert thou in my founding the earth? Announce, if thou knewest understanding.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Where wast thou when I laid up the foundations of the earth ? tell me if thou hast understanding.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Where were you, when I set the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

New American Bible
Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

New Revised Standard Version
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Where were you when I was laying the foundations of the Earth? Show me, if you know understanding
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast the understanding.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Where wast thou when I founded the earth? tell me now, if thou hast knowledge,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
God Challenges Job
3Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me. 4Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 5Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched a measuring line across it?…

Cross References
Proverbs 8:27-29
I was there when He established the heavens, when He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, / when He established the clouds above, when the fountains of the deep gushed forth, / when He set a boundary for the sea, so that the waters would not surpass His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth.

Psalm 104:5
He set the earth on its foundations, never to be moved.

Isaiah 40:21-22
Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth? / He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

Hebrews 11:3
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Genesis 1:1-10
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. / Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. / And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ...

Jeremiah 10:12
The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.

Psalm 33:6-9
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the stars by the breath of His mouth. / He piles up the waters of the sea; He puts the depths into storehouses. / Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere Him. ...

Isaiah 45:12
It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. It was My hands that stretched out the heavens, and I ordained all their host.

Colossians 1:16-17
For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. / He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Psalm 102:25
In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.

Isaiah 44:24
Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by Myself spread out the earth,

John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. / He was with God in the beginning. / Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.

Nehemiah 9:6
You alone are the LORD. You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all things, and the host of heaven worships You.

Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.

Psalm 89:11
The heavens are Yours, and also the earth. The earth and its fullness You founded.


Treasury of Scripture

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if you have understanding.

Where

Proverbs 8:22,29,30
The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old…

Proverbs 30:4
Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?

I

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Psalm 102:25
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.

Psalm 104:5
Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.

hast.

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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














Where were you
This phrase initiates a divine interrogation, emphasizing human limitations in contrast to God's omnipotence and omniscience. The Hebrew word for "where" (אֵיפֹה, 'eipho) is a rhetorical device, not seeking information but highlighting Job's absence during creation. It underscores the vast chasm between human and divine knowledge, inviting humility and reflection on our finite understanding.

when I laid
The act of laying suggests intentionality and precision, akin to a master builder. The Hebrew verb (יָסַד, yasad) conveys the establishment of something firm and enduring. This imagery of construction reflects God's orderly and purposeful creation, contrasting with the chaos and disorder often perceived in human suffering and experience.

the foundations of the earth
The "foundations" (מוֹסְדוֹת, mosdot) symbolize stability and permanence. In ancient Near Eastern cosmology, the earth's foundations were seen as secure and unshakeable, a testament to divine craftsmanship. This metaphor illustrates God's sovereign control over creation, reinforcing His authority and the reliability of His promises.

Tell Me
This imperative (הַגֵּד, haged) is a challenge to Job, inviting him to speak if he possesses the knowledge. It is a call to recognize the limits of human wisdom. The tone is not merely confrontational but pedagogical, urging Job to acknowledge his dependence on divine revelation for true understanding.

if you have understanding
The Hebrew word for "understanding" (בִּינָה, binah) implies discernment and insight. This condition highlights the gap between human perception and divine reality. It serves as a reminder that true wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 9:10), and that human comprehension is always partial and dependent on God's gracious self-disclosure.

(4) Where wast thou?--The comparison of the creation of the world to the building of an edifice is such a concession to the feebleness of man as serves of itself to heighten the effect of the inevitable answer to the question preferred.

Verse 4. - Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Wast thou present? Didst thou witness it? If not, what canst thou know concerning it? And if thou knowest nothing of creation, what canst thou know of deeper things? The metaphor, by which the creation of the earth is compared to the foundation of an edifice, is a common one (Psalm 102:25; Psalm 104:5; Proverbs 8:29: Isaiah 48:13; Isaiah 51:13, 16; Zechariah 12:1; Hebrews 1:10, etc.), and is to be viewed as a concession to human weakness, creation itself, as it actually took place, being inconceivable. Declare, if thou hast understanding. That is, if thou hast any knowledge on the subject (comp. ver. 18).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Where
אֵיפֹ֣ה (’ê·p̄ōh)
Interrogative
Strong's 375: What place?, when?, how?

were you
הָ֭יִיתָ (hā·yî·ṯā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

when I laid the foundations
בְּיָסְדִי־ (bə·yā·sə·ḏî-)
Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | first person common singular
Strong's 3245: To set, to found, to sit down together, settle, consult

of the earth?
אָ֑רֶץ (’ā·reṣ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

Tell [Me],
הַ֝גֵּ֗ד (hag·gêḏ)
Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 5046: To be conspicuous

if
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

you have understanding.
יָדַ֥עְתָּ (yā·ḏa‘·tā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 3045: To know


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OT Poetry: Job 38:4 Where were you when I laid (Jb)
Job 38:3
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