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Wednesday, April 30th, 2025
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Easy-to-Read Version

Job 37:11

He fills the clouds with water and scatters his lightning through them.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - God;   God Continued...;   Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena;   Religion;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Clouds;   Providence of God, the;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Cloud, Cloud of the Lord;   Nature, Natural;   Testimony;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Elihu;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He saturates clouds with moisture;he scatters his lightning through them.
Hebrew Names Version
Yes, he loads the thick cloud with moisture. He spreads abroad the cloud of his lightning.
King James Version
Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud:
English Standard Version
He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning.
New Century Version
He fills the clouds with water and scatters his lightning through them.
New English Translation
He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through the clouds.
Amplified Bible
"He loads the thick cloud with moisture; He disperses the cloud of His lightning.
New American Standard Bible
"He also loads the clouds with moisture; He disperses the cloud of His lightning.
World English Bible
Yes, he loads the thick cloud with moisture. He spreads abroad the cloud of his lightning.
Geneva Bible (1587)
He maketh also the cloudes to labour, to water the earth, and scattereth the cloude of his light.
Legacy Standard Bible
Also with moisture He loads the thick cloud;He scatters the cloud of His lightning.
Berean Standard Bible
He loads the clouds with moisture; He scatters His lightning through them.
Contemporary English Version
Rain clouds filled with lightning appear at God's command,
Complete Jewish Bible
He weighs the clouds down with moisture, and they flash forth his lightning.
Darby Translation
Also with plentiful moisture he loadeth the thick clouds, his light dispels the cloud;
George Lamsa Translation
The clouds are stretched out greatly; he spreads the clouds by his light.
Good News Translation
Lightning flashes from the clouds,
Lexham English Bible
Also, he loads down thick clouds with moisture; his lightning scatters the clouds.
Literal Translation
Yea, He loads the cloud with moisture; He scatters His lightning cloud;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The cloudes do their laboure in geuynge moystnesse, the cloudes poure downe their rayne.
American Standard Version
Yea, he ladeth the thick cloud with moisture; He spreadeth abroad the cloud of his lightning:
Bible in Basic English
The thick cloud is weighted with thunder-flame, and the cloud sends out its light;
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Yea, He ladeth the thick cloud with moister, He spreadeth abroad the cloud of His lightning;
King James Version (1611)
Also by watring he wearieth the thicke cloud: hee scattereth his bright cloud.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
He maketh the cloudes to labour in geuing moystnesse, and againe with his light he dryueth away the cloude.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And if a cloud obscures what is precious to him, his light will disperse the cloud.
English Revised Version
Yea, he ladeth the thick cloud with moisture; he spreadeth abroad the cloud of his lightning:
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Whete desirith cloudis, and cloudis spreeden abrood her liyt.
Update Bible Version
Yes, he loads the thick cloud with moisture; He spreads abroad the cloud of his lightning:
Webster's Bible Translation
Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud:
New King James Version
Also with moisture He saturates the thick clouds; He scatters His bright clouds.
New Living Translation
He loads the clouds with moisture, and they flash with his lightning.
New Life Bible
He loads the heavy clouds with water and they send out His lightning.
New Revised Standard
He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Also, with moisture, burdeneth he the thick cloud, He disperseth his lightning-cloud;
Douay-Rheims Bible
Corn desireth clouds, and the clouds spread their light:
Revised Standard Version
He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning.
Young's Literal Translation
Yea, by filling He doth press out a cloud, Scatter a cloud doth His light.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Also with moisture He loads the thick cloud; He disperses the cloud of His lightning.

Contextual Overview

6 He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth.' And he says to the rain, ‘Pour down on the earth.' 7 God does this to stop everyone's work and to show the people he made what he can do. 8 The animals run into their dens and stay there. 9 Whirlwinds come from the south. The cold winds come from the north. 10 God's breath makes ice and freezes even large bodies of water. 11 He fills the clouds with water and scatters his lightning through them. 12 He orders the clouds to be blown all around the earth. The clouds do whatever he commands. 13 He causes the clouds to punish people with floods or to water his earth and show his love.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

he wearieth: Job 36:27, Job 36:28

he scattereth: Job 36:30, Job 36:32, Isaiah 18:4, Matthew 17:5

his bright cloud: Heb. the cloud of his light

Reciprocal: Genesis 1:6 - Let there Genesis 7:4 - For Genesis 8:2 - the rain Leviticus 26:4 - Then I Deuteronomy 11:14 - General 2 Chronicles 6:27 - send rain Job 7:9 - the cloud Job 26:8 - thick clouds Job 37:15 - the light Isaiah 44:22 - as a thick

Cross-References

Genesis 24:31
Laban said, "Sir, you are welcome to come in! You don't have to stand outside here. I have prepared a room for you to sleep in and a place for your camels."
Genesis 37:14
His father said, "Go and see if your brothers are safe. Come back and tell me if my sheep are all fine." So Joseph's father sent him from the Valley of Hebron to Shechem.
Genesis 37:16
Joseph answered, "I am looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are with their sheep?"
Psalms 106:16
The people became jealous of Moses. They became jealous of Aaron, the Lord 's holy priest.
Ecclesiastes 4:4
Then I thought, "Why do people work so hard?" I saw people try to succeed and be better than other people. They do this because they are jealous. They don't want other people to have more than they have. This is senseless. It is like trying to catch the wind.
Isaiah 11:13
Then Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will have no enemies left. And Judah will not cause trouble for Ephraim.
Isaiah 26:11
Lord , your arm is raised to punish them, but they don't see it. Show them how strong your love is for your people. Then those who are evil will be ashamed. Yes, your fire will destroy your enemies.
Daniel 7:28
"And that was the end of the dream. I, Daniel, was very afraid. My face became very white from fear, and I did not tell the other people what I saw and heard."
Matthew 27:18
Pilate knew that they had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous of him.
Mark 15:10
Pilate knew that the leading priests had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous of him.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud,.... By filling it with a multitude of water, it is as it were loaded and made weary with it; and especially by sending it about thus loaded from place to place before discharged, when it becomes as a weary traveller; and then by letting down the water in it, whereby it spends itself like one that is weary; an emblem of ministers that spend and are spent for the good of men: some render it by serenity or fair weather, and so Mr. Broughton,

"by clearness he wearieth the thick vapours;''

by causing a clear sky he dispels them;

he scattereth his bright cloud; thin light clouds that have nothing in them, and are soon dispersed and come to nothing, and are seen no more; all emblem of such as are clouds without water, Judges 1:12; see

Zechariah 11:17; or "he scatters the cloud by his light" s; by the sun, which dispels clouds and makes a clear sky; an emblem of the blotting out and forgiveness of sins, and of restoring the manifestations of divine love, and the joys of salvation; see Isaiah 44:22.

s יפיץ ענן אורו "dispellit nubem luce sua", Munster.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Also by watering - Very various interpretations have been given of this phrase. Herder renders it, “His brightness rendeth the clouds.” Umbreit, Und Heiterkeit vertreibt die Wolke - “and serenity or clearness drives away the clouds.” Prof. Lee, “For irrigation is the thick cloud stretched out.” Rosenmuller, “Splendor dispels the clouds.” Luther, “The thick clouds divide themselves that it may be clear.” Coverdale, “The clouds do their labor in giving moistness.” The Vulgate, “The grain desires the clouds,” and the Septuagint, “The cloud forms the chosen” - ἐκλεκτον eklekton. This variety of interpretation arises from the uncertainty of the meaning of the original word - ברי berı̂y. According to the Chaldee and the rabbis, this word means “clearness, serenity” of the heavens, and then the whole clause is to be rendered, “serenity dispelleth the cloud.” Or the word may be formed of the preposition ב (be), and רי rı̂y, meaning “watering” or “rain,” the same as רוי reviy. The word does not occur elsewhere in Hebrew, and hence, it is not easy to determine its meaning. The weight of authority is in favor of serenity, or clearness - meaning that the thick, dark cloud is driven away by the serenity or clearness of the atmosphere - as where the clear sky seems to light up the heavens and to drive away the clouds. This idea seems, also, to be demanded by the parallelism, and is also more poetical than that in the common version.

Wearieth - Or removes, or scatters. The verb used here (טרח ṭârach) occurs nowhere else in the Scriptures, though nouns derived from the verb are found in Isaiah 1:14, rendered “trouble,” and Deuteronomy 1:12, rendered “cumbrance.” In Arabic it means “to cast down, to project,” and hence, to lay upon as a burden. But the word may mean to impel, drive forward, and hence, the idea that the dark thick cloud is propelled or driven forward by the serenity of the sky. This “appears” to be so, and hence, the poetic idea as it occurred to Elihu.

He scattereth his bright cloud - Margin, “the cloud of his light.” The idea seems to be, that “his light,” that is, the light which God causes to shine as the tempest passes off, seems to scatter or disperse the cloud. The image before the mind of Elihu probably was, that of a departing shower, when the light seems to rise behind it, and as it were to expel the cloud or to drive it away. We are not to suppose that this is philosophically correct, but Elihu represents it as it appeared, and the image is wholly poetical.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 37:11. By watering he wearieth the thick cloud — Perhaps it would be better to say, The brightness beri, dissipates the cloud; or, if we follow our version, By watering the earth he wearieth, wearieth out or emptieth, the thick cloud - causes it to pour down all its contents upon the earth, that they may cause it to bring forth and bud. The Vulgate understood it differently: Frumentum desiderat nubes, et nubes spargunt lumen suum. "The grain desireth the clouds; and the clouds scatter abroad their light."


 
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