the Week of Proper 24 / Ordinary 29
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King James Version
Job 28:11
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
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- InternationalParallel Translations
They dam up the trickling streams and bring to light the hidden treasures.
He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
He dams up the sources of the rivers; And the thing that is hid he brings forth to light.
They search for places where rivers begin and bring things hidden out into the light.
He has searched the sources of the rivers and what was hidden he has brought into the light.
He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and [the thing that is] hid he bringeth forth to light.
He binds the streams that they don't trickle; The thing that is hidden he brings forth to light.
"Man dams up the streams from flowing [so that they do not trickle into the mine], And what is hidden he brings out to the light.
He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle, and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.
And he souyte out the depthis of floodis; and he brouyte forth hid thingis in to liyt.
He stops up the sources of the streams to bring what is hidden to light.
They also uncover the sources of rivers and discover secret places.
He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
He keeps back the streams from flowing, and makes the secret things come out into the light.
He dams up streams to keep them from flooding, and brings what was hidden out into the light.
He bindeth the streams that they drip not, and what is hidden he bringeth forth to light.
They even find places where rivers begin. They bring to light what once was hidden.
He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
He bindeth the flouds from ouerflowing, and the thing that is hid, bringeth he foorth to light.
He stops rivers from flowing. And he brings to light what is hidden.
The sources of the rivers they probe; hidden things they bring to light.
He bindeth the floods, that they doe not ouerflowe, and the thing that is hid, bringeth he to light.
He binds up the rivers that they may not overflow; and the thing that is hid, he brings forth to light.
They dig to the sources of rivers And bring to light what is hidden.
From trickling, he restraineth, rivers, and, some hidden thing, is he bringing out to light.
The depths also of rivers he hath searched, and hidden things he hath brought forth to light.
He binds up the streams so that they do not trickle, and the thing that is hid he brings forth to light.
He bindeth the fluddes that they do not ouerflow: and the thing that is hid bringeth he to light.
And he has laid bare the depths of rivers, and has brought his power to light.
He dams up the streams from flowingso that he may bring to light what is hidden.
He binds the streams that they don't trickle; The thing that is hidden he brings forth to light.
He dams up rivers from their sources, and he brings secret things to the light.
He restrains the floods from overflowing; and He brings the hidden thing to light.
From overflowing floods he hath bound, And the hidden thing bringeth out [to] light.
Out of droppes bryngeth he greate floudes together, & the thinge that is hyd bryngeth he to light.
"He dams up the streams from flowing, And brings to light what is hidden.
He dams up the streams from trickling; What is hidden he brings forth to light.
"He dams up the streams from flowing, And what is hidden he brings out to the light.
He dams up the streams from flowing,And what is hidden he brings out to the light.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
bindeth: Job 26:8, Isaiah 37:25, Isaiah 44:27
overflowing: Heb. weeping
and the thing: Isaiah 45:2, Isaiah 45:3, 1 Corinthians 4:5
Reciprocal: Job 41:5 - bind
Cross-References
And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.
And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
He bindeth the floods from overflowing,.... As the miner finds ways and means of cutting through rocks, and draining and carrying off the waters in his mine; so he makes use of other methods of restraining and keeping back the waters from coming into and overflowing his works, and even "from weeping" m, as in the original text; he binds them up so firmly, and stops every avenue and passage so close, that the waters cannot so much as ooze, or distil and drop as a tear from the eye:
and [the thing that is] hid bringeth he forth to light; the several metals and minerals, gems and precious stones, that lay hid in the bosom of the earth, are fetched out, and brought to light by the diligence and labours of the miner; the same that are called stones of darkness, and of the shadow of death, Job 28:3. This verse is likewise by several interpreted of God, and of what is done by him in the things of nature and providence; he it is that at first shut up the sea with doors; made the cloud its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling bands, in which he wrapped and bound it, as an infant, and still sets bars and doors to it, and says, hitherto shalt thou come, and no further, Job 38:8; and, in a spiritual sense, he restrains the floods of affliction from overflowing and overwhelming his people; and, when the temptations of Satan come in like a flood upon them, his Spirit sets up a standard against them, which keeps them from doing them any harm; and, when the wrath of persecutors rises up against them, and threatens them with destruction, he withholds those proud waters from going over their souls and overwhelming them: and so likewise it is he that bringeth hidden things to light, things in nature men had never seen or known before; things in providence, dark and intricate; things in grace, out of the sight of the most penetrating understanding: he reveals the secrets of his love and grace to them that fear him; the glorious scheme of salvation by Christ, which was hid in himself, in the thoughts, purposes, and counsels of his heart; the mysteries of his Gospel, hid from the wise and prudent,
Matthew 11:25; and life and immortality itself, or the way to it, which he has brought to light through the Gospel; yea, he brings to light all the hidden things of a man's heart, and sets them before him, and convinces him of them in a loving way; and if not now, he will hereafter "bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts", 1 Corinthians 4:5; but, as before observed, it is best to understand the whole paragraph of miners; of their sagacity in opening mines, and searching into the bowels of the earth, where none were ever before them; and of their indefatigableness, industry, and labour therein, and of the success that attends them; Job's design being to show, that things rich and valuable, and most remote from the sight of men, may, by diligent application, be investigated and obtained; yet such wisdom is not attainable as to understand the reason of the various dealings of God with the sons of men, both good and bad; and therefore, after all he had said on the above subject, still the question is as follows.
m מבכי "a fletu", Montanus, Bolducius, Junius Tremellius, Michaelis, Schultens so Broughton; "a stillatione", Vatablus, Mercerus, Drusius.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
He bindeth the floods from overflowing - Margin, Weeping The Hebrew also is “from weeping” מבכי mı̂bekı̂y; referring to the water which trickles down the shaft of the mine. The idea is, that even the large streams which break out in such mines, the fountains and springs which the miner encounters in his operations, he so effectually restrains that they do not even trickle down or “weep” on the sides of the shaft, but it is left perfectly dry. This is necessary in opening mines of coal or minerals, and in making tunnels or other excavations. Yet anyone who has passed into a coal mine, through a tunnel, or into any one of the deep natural caves of the earth, will see how difficult it is to close all the places where water would trickle down. It is in fact seldom done; and if done literally in the time of Job, it indicates a very advanced state of the art of mining. In sinking a shaft, it is often necessary to pass at different depths through strata of earth where the water oozes out in abundance, and where the operations would be necessarily suspended if it could not be stopped or drawn off. The machinery necessary for this constitutes a considerable part of the expense of mining operations.
And the thing that is hid he bringeth forth to light - The concealed treasures; the gold and gems that are buried deep in the earth. He brings them out of their darkness, and converts them to ornament and to use. This ends the description which Job gives of the operations of mining in his time. We may remark in regard to this description:
(1) That the illustration was admirably chosen. His object was to show that true wisdom was not to be found by human science, or by mere investigation. He selects a case, therefore, where man had shown the most skill and wisdom, and where he had penetrated farthest into darkness. He penetrated the earth; drove his shaft through rocks; closed up gushing fountains, and laid bare the treasures that had been buried for generations in the regions of night. Yet all this did not enable him fully to explain the operations of the divine government.
(2) The art of mining was carried to a considerable degree of perfection in the time of Job. This is shown by the fact that his description would apply very well to that art even as it is practiced now. Substantially the same things were done then which are done now, though we cannot suppose with the same skill, or to the same extent, or with the same perfection of machinery.
(3) The time when Job lived was in a somewhat advanced period of society. The art of working metals to any considerable extent indicates such an advance. It is not found among barbarous tribes, and even where the art is to a considerable extent known, it is long before men learn to sink shafts in the earth, or to penetrate rocks, or to draw off water from mines.
(4) We see the wisdom and goodness which God has shown in regard to the things that are most useful to man. Those things which are necessary to his being, or which are very desirable for his comfort, are easily accessible; those which are less necessary, or whose use is dangerous, are placed in deep, dark, and almost inaccessible places. The fruits of the earth are near to man; water flows every where, and it is rare that he has to dig deep for it; and when found by digging, it is a running fountain, not soon exhausted like a mine of gold; and iron, also, the most valuable of the metals, is usually placed near the surface of the earth. But the pearl is at the bottom of the ocean; diamonds and other precious stones are in remote regions or imbedded in rocks; silver runs along in small veins, often in the fissures of rocks, and extending far into the bowels of the earth. The design of placing the precious metals in these almost inaccessible fissures of the rocks, it is not difficult to understand. Had they been easily accessible, and limited in their quantity, they would long since have been exhausted - causing at one time a glut in the market, and at others absolute want. As they are now, they exercise the utmost ingenuity of man, first to find them, and then to procure them; they are distributed in small quantities, so that their value is always great; they furnish a convenient circulating medium in all countries; they afford all that is needful for ornament.
(5) There is another proof of wisdom in regard to their arrangement in the earth, which was probably unknown in the time of Job. It is the fact that the most useful of the metals are found in immediate connection with the fuel required for their reduction, and the limestone which facilitates that reduction. This is now perfectly understood by mineralogists, and it is an instance of the goodness of God, and of the wisdom of his arrangements, which ought not to be disregarded or overlooked. They who wish to examine this subject more at length, may find some admirable views in Buckland’s Geology and Mineralogy (Bridgewater Treatises), vol. i. pp. 392-415.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Job 28:11. He bindeth the floods — Prevents the risings of springs from drowning the mines; and conducts rivers and streams from their wonted course, in order to bring forth to light what was hidden under their beds. The binding or restraining the water, which, at different depths, annoys the miner, is both difficult and expensive: in some cases it may be drawn off by pipes or canals into neighbouring water courses; in others, it is conducted to one receptacle or reservoir, and thence drawn off. In Europe it is generally done by means of steam-engines. What method the ancients had in mining countries, we cannot tell; but they dug deep in order to find out the riches of the earth. PLINY says, nervously, Imus in viscera terrae; et in sede manium opes quaerimus. "We descend into the bowels of the earth; and seek for wealth even in the abodes of departed spirits." The manes or ghosts of the dead, or spirits presiding over the dead, were supposed to have their habitation in the centre of the earth; or in the deepest pits and caves. OVID, speaking of the degeneracy of men in the iron age, Met. lib. i., ver. 137, says: -
Nec tantum segetes alimentaque debita dives
Poscebatur humus; sed itum est in viscera terrae:
Quasque recondiderat, Stygiisque admoverat umbris,
Effodiuntur opes, irritaenenta malorum.
Jamque nocens ferrum, ferroque nocentius aurum
Prodierat: prodit bellum, quod pugnat utroque;
Sanguineaque manu crepitantia concutit arma.
"Nor was the ground alone required to bear
Her annual income to the crooked share:
But greedy mortals, rummaging her store,
Digg'd from her entrails first the precious ore;
And that alluring ill to sight display'd,
Which, next to hell, the prudent gods had laid.
Thus cursed steel, and more accursed gold,
Gave mischief birth, and made that mischief bold;
And double death did wretched man invade,
By steel assaulted, and by gold betray'd."
DRYDEN.
By binding the floods from overflowing, some have supposed that there is an allusion to the flux and reflux of the sea. In its flowing it is so bound, has its bounds assigned by the Most High, that it does not drown the adjacent country; and in its ebbing the parts which are ordinarily covered with the water are brought to view.
