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Easy-to-Read Version

Job 37:3

He sends his lightning to flash across the whole sky. It lights up the earth from one end to the other.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - God;   God Continued...;   Lightning;   Religion;   Thompson Chain Reference - Lightning;   Meteorology;  

Dictionaries:

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

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Deluge of Noah, the;   Earth, Corners of the;   End;   Lightning;   World (Cosmological);   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Providence;   Suspended Letters;   Symbol;   Thunder;   West;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He lets it loose beneath the entire sky;his lightning to the ends of the earth.
Hebrew Names Version
He sends it forth under the whole sky, And his lightning to the ends of the eretz.
King James Version
He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth.
English Standard Version
Under the whole heaven he lets it go, and his lightning to the corners of the earth.
New Century Version
He turns his lightning loose under the whole sky and sends it to the farthest parts of the earth.
New English Translation
Under the whole heaven he lets it go, even his lightning to the far corners of the earth.
Amplified Bible
"He lets it loose under the whole heaven, And His lightning to the ends of the earth.
New American Standard Bible
"Under the whole heaven He lets it loose, And His lightning travels to the ends of the earth.
World English Bible
He sends it forth under the whole sky, And his lightning to the ends of the earth.
Geneva Bible (1587)
He directeth it vnder the whole heauen, and his light vnto the endes of the world.
Legacy Standard Bible
Under the whole heaven He lets it loose,And His lightning to the ends of the earth.
Berean Standard Bible
He unleashes His lightning beneath the whole sky and sends it to the ends of the earth.
Contemporary English Version
and when I see his lightning flash across the sky.
Complete Jewish Bible
He sends it out under all of heaven, his lightning to the ends of the earth.
Darby Translation
He sendeth it forth under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth.
George Lamsa Translation
Under the whole of heaven the people shall praise him, and his light shines upon the ends of the earth.
Good News Translation
He sends the lightning across the sky, from one end of the earth to the other.
Lexham English Bible
He lets it loose under all the heavens, and his lightning to the earth's corners.
Literal Translation
He lets it loose under the whole heavens, and His lightning to the wings of the earth.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
He gouerneth euery thinge vnder the heauen, and his light reacheth vnto the ende of the worlde.
American Standard Version
He sendeth it forth under the whole heaven, And his lightning unto the ends of the earth.
Bible in Basic English
He sends it out through all the heaven, and his thunder-flame to the ends of the earth.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
He sendeth it forth under the whole heaven, and His lightning unto the ends of the earth.
King James Version (1611)
Hee directeth it vnder the whole heauen, and his lightning vnto the ends of the earth.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
He directeth it vnder the whole heauen, and his light vnto the endes of the worlde.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
His dominion is under the whole heaven, and his light is at the extremities of the earth.
English Revised Version
He sendeth it forth under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
He biholdith ouere alle heuenes; and his liyt is ouere the termes of erthe.
Update Bible Version
He sends it forth under the whole heaven, And his lightning to the ends of the earth.
Webster's Bible Translation
He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning to the ends of the earth.
New King James Version
He sends it forth under the whole heaven, His lightning to the ends of the earth.
New Living Translation
It rolls across the heavens, and his lightning flashes in every direction.
New Life Bible
He lets it loose under the whole heaven. He lets His lightning go to the ends of the earth.
New Revised Standard
Under the whole heaven he lets it loose, and his lightning to the corners of the earth.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Under the whole heavens, he letteth it loose, His lightning also, unto the wings of the earth;
Douay-Rheims Bible
He beholdeth under all the heavens, and his light is upon the ends of the earth.
Revised Standard Version
Under the whole heaven he lets it go, and his lightning to the corners of the earth.
Young's Literal Translation
Under the whole heavens He directeth it, And its light [is] over the skirts of the earth.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Under the whole heaven He lets it loose, And His lightning to the ends of the earth.

Contextual Overview

1 "The thunder and lightning frighten me; my heart pounds in my chest. 2 Listen to God's thundering voice! Listen to the sound coming from his mouth. 3 He sends his lightning to flash across the whole sky. It lights up the earth from one end to the other. 4 After the flashes of lightning you can hear his roaring voice. He thunders with his wonderful voice! And while his voice thunders, the lightning flashes continue. 5 God's thundering voice is amazing! He does great things that we cannot understand.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

He: Psalms 77:13, Psalms 97:4, Matthew 24:27, Revelation 11:19

lightning: Heb. light

ends: Heb. wings, Job 38:13, Isaiah 11:12, *marg.

Reciprocal: Job 28:26 - a way Job 38:25 - General Psalms 29:7 - flames Luke 17:24 - as

Cross-References

Genesis 37:13
Jacob said to Joseph, "Go to Shechem. Your brothers are there with my sheep." Joseph answered, "I will go."
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 37:20
We should kill him now while we can. We could throw his body into one of the empty wells and tell our father that a wild animal killed him. Then we will show him that his dreams are useless."
Genesis 37:22
We can put him into a well without hurting him." Reuben planned to save Joseph and send him back to his father.
Genesis 37:23
When Joseph came to his brothers, they attacked him and tore off his long and beautiful coat.
Genesis 37:30
Reuben went to the brothers and said, "The boy is not in the well! What will I do?"
Genesis 37:32
Then the brothers showed the coat to their father. And the brothers said, "We found this coat. Is this Joseph's coat?"
Judges 5:30
‘I'm sure they won the war, and they are now taking things from the people they defeated. They are dividing those things among themselves. Each soldier is taking a girl or two. Maybe Sisera found a piece of dyed cloth. That's it! Sisera found a piece of fancy cloth, or maybe two, to wear around his neck in victory.'
2 Samuel 13:18
So Amnon's servant led Tamar out of the room and locked the door. Tamar was wearing a long robe with many colors. The king's virgin daughters wore robes like this.
Ezekiel 16:16
You took your beautiful clothes and used them to decorate your places for worship. And you acted like a prostitute there. You gave yourself to every man who came by!

Gill's Notes on the Bible

He directeth it under the whole heaven,.... His voice of thunder, which rolls from one end of the heaven to the other: he charges the clouds with it, and directs both it and them where they shall go and discharge; what tree, house, or man, it shall strike; and where the rain shall fall when the clouds burst: yet Pliny x atheistically calls thunder and lightning chance matters. Thus the ministers of the word, who are compared to clouds, Isaiah 5:6, are charged with it by the Lord: they are directed by him what they shall say, where they shall go and declare it, and he directs where it shall fall with power and weight; yea, he directs it into the very hearts of men, where it pierces and penetrates, and is a discerner and discoverer of their thoughts and intents;

and his lightning unto the ends of the earth: it cometh out of the east, and shineth to the west, Matthew 24:27; and swiftly move to the further parts of the earth: and such a direction, motion, and extent, has the Gospel had; the glorious light of it, comparable to lightning, it first broke forth in the east, where Christ, his forerunner and his disciples, first preached it, and Christian churches were formed; and from thence it spread into the western parts of the world, and before the destruction of Jerusalem it was preached unto all nations; it had a free course, ran, and was glorified; the sound of the voice of it went into all the earth, and the words and doctrines of the apostles unto the ends of the world.

x Nat. Hist. l. 2. c. 43.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

He directeth it under the whole heaven - It is under the control of God, and he directs it where he pleases. It is not confined to one spot, but seems to be complaining from every part of the heavens.

And his lightning - Margin, as in Hebrew “light.” There can be no doubt that the lightning is intended.

Unto the ends of the earth - Margin, as in Hebrew “wings.” The word wings is given to the earth from the idea of its being spread out or expanded like the wings of a bird; compare Job 38:13; Ezekiel 7:2. The earth was spoken of as an expanse or plain that had corners or boundaries (see Isaiah 11:12, note; Isaiah 24:16, note; Isaiah 42:5, note), and the meaning here is, that God spread the lightning at pleasure over the whole of that vast expanse.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 37:3. He directeth it under the whole heaven — He directeth it (the lightning) under the whole heaven, in the twinkling of an eye from east to west; and its light-the reflection of the flash, not the lightning, unto the ends of the earth, so that a whole hemisphere seems to see it at the same instant.


 
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