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Monday, October 21st, 2024
the Week of Proper 24 / Ordinary 29
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Read the Bible

King James Version

Job 37:21

And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds: but the wind passeth, and cleanseth them.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - God;   God Continued...;   Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena;   Religion;   Wind;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Light;   Wind, the;  

Dictionaries:

- Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Providence;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Elihu;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Sky;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Bahir;  

Parallel Translations

New Living Translation
We cannot look at the sun, for it shines brightly in the sky when the wind clears away the clouds.
English Revised Version
And now men see not the light which is bright in the skies: but the wind passeth, and cleanseth them.
Update Bible Version
And now men don't see the light which is bright in the skies; But the wind passes, and clears them.
New Century Version
No one can look at the sun when it is bright in the sky after the wind has blown all the clouds away.
New English Translation
But now, the sun cannot be looked at— it is bright in the skies— after a wind passed and swept the clouds away.
Webster's Bible Translation
And now [men] see not the bright light which [is] in the clouds: but the wind passeth, and cleanseth them.
World English Bible
Now men don't see the light which is bright in the skies, But the wind passes, and clears them.
Amplified Bible
"Now people cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies [without being blinded], When the wind has passed and cleared them.
English Standard Version
"And now no one looks on the light when it is bright in the skies, when the wind has passed and cleared them.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And now men seen not liyt; the eir schal be maad thicke sudenli in to cloudis, and wynd passynge schal dryue awei tho.
Berean Standard Bible
Now no one can gaze at the sun when it is bright in the skies after the wind has swept them clean.
Contemporary English Version
No one can stare at the sun after a breeze has blown the clouds from the sky.
American Standard Version
And now men see not the light which is bright in the skies; But the wind passeth, and cleareth them.
Bible in Basic English
And now the light is not seen, for it is dark because of the clouds; but a wind comes, clearing them away.
Complete Jewish Bible
Now people don't see the light, which is bright in the sky; but then the wind blows and clears [the clouds] away.
Darby Translation
And now [men] see not the light as it gleameth, it is [hidden] in the skies. But the wind passeth by and cleareth them.
Easy-to-Read Version
A person cannot look at the sun. It is too bright as it shines in the sky after the wind blows the clouds away.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And now men see not the light which is bright in the skies;
King James Version (1611)
And nowe men see not the bright light which is in the clouds: but the wind passeth and cleanseth them.
New Life Bible
"Now men cannot look on the light when it is bright in the sky, when the wind has passed and made it clear.
New Revised Standard
Now, no one can look on the light when it is bright in the skies, when the wind has passed and cleared them.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And nowe men see not the light, which shineth in the cloudes, but the winde passeth and clenseth them.
George Lamsa Translation
And now men cannot see the light which shines in the sky; but the wind passes and cleanses it.
Good News Translation
And now the light in the sky is dazzling, too bright for us to look at it; and the sky has been swept clean by the wind.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Yet, now, men see not the light, bright though it is in the skies, when, a wind, hath passed over, and cleansed them.
Douay-Rheims Bible
But now they see not the light: the air on a sudden shall be thickened into clouds, and the wind shall pass and drive them away.
Revised Standard Version
"And now men cannot look on the light when it is bright in the skies, when the wind has passed and cleared them.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
For men see not the light that shineth in the cloudes: but the winde passeth and cleanseth them.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
But the light is not visible to all: it shines afar off in the heavens, as that which is from him in the clouds.
Christian Standard Bible®
Now no one can even look at the sunwhen it is in the skies,after a wind has swept through and cleared the clouds away.
Hebrew Names Version
Now men don't see the light which is bright in the skies, But the wind passes, and clears them.
Lexham English Bible
So then, they do not look at the light when it is bright in the skies, when the wind has passed and has cleansed them.
Literal Translation
And now men cannot look upon the light when it is bright in the clouds; when the wind has passed and cleared them.
Young's Literal Translation
And now, they have not seen the light, Bright it [is] in the clouds, And the wind hath passed by and cleanseth them.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For euery ma seith not the light, yt he kepeth cleare in the cloudes, which he clenseth whan he maketh the wynde to blowe.
New American Standard Bible
"Now people do not see the light which is bright in the skies; But the wind has passed and cleared them.
New King James Version
Even now men cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies, When the wind has passed and cleared them.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Now men do not see the light which is bright in the skies; But the wind has passed and cleared them.
Legacy Standard Bible
"So now men do not see the light which is bright in the skies;But the wind has passed and cleared them.

Contextual Overview

21 And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds: but the wind passeth, and cleanseth them. 22 Fair weather cometh out of the north: with God is terrible majesty. 23 Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict. 24 Men do therefore fear him: he respecteth not any that are wise of heart.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Job 26:9, Job 36:32, Job 38:25

Reciprocal: John 3:8 - wind

Cross-References

Genesis 9:5
And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.
Genesis 35:22
And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
Genesis 42:22
And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
Joshua 10:28
And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of Jericho.
Matthew 10:28
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And now men see not the bright light which [is] in the clouds,.... Here Elihu returns to his subject, it may be, occasioned by black clouds gathering in the heavens, as a preparation for the whirlwind, storm, and tempest, out of which the Lord is said to speak in the next chapter. And this is to be understood, not of the lightning in the cloud, which is not to be seen until it breaks out of it; nor the rainbow in the cloud, formed by the rays of light from the sun, which disappears when the wind passes and clears the sky of the cloud in which it is; nor of the Galaxy, or Milky Way, as Sephorno, which is not to be seen in a cloudy night; but of the sun, which is the great light and a bright one, and shines brightly; yet sometimes not to be seen by men, because of interposing clouds, until they are cleared away by winds. Though rather this respects the sun shining in its brightness, and in its full strength, in the skies or ethereal regions, in a clear day, when men are not able to look full at it: and how much less then are they able to behold him who is light itself, and in whom is no darkness at all, nor shadow of turning; who dwells in light, which no mortal can approach unto; into whose nature and perfections none can fully look, or behold the secret springs of his actions, and the reasons of his dispensations towards men?

but the wind passeth and cleanseth them; the clouds, and clears the air of them, which obstruct the light of the sun: or "when a wind passeth and cleareth it"; the air, as Mr. Broughton, then the sun shines so brightly that it dazzles the eye to look at it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds - Either the lightning that plays on the clouds in an approaching tempest, or a glorious light spread over the sky on the approach of God. There is reason to believe that as Elihu delivered the sentiments recorded in the close of this chapter, he meant to describe God as if he were seen to be approaching, and that the symbols of his presence were discovered in the gathering tempest and storm. He is introduced in the following chapter with amazing sublimity and grandeur to speak to Job and his friends, and to close the argument. He comes in a whirlwind, and speaks in tones of vast sublimity. The tokens of his coming were now seen, and as Elihu discerned them he was agitated, and his language became abrupt and confused. His language is just such as one would use when the mind was overawed with the approach of God - solemn, and full of reverence, but not connected, and much less calm than in his ordinary discourse. The close of this chapter, it seems to me, therefore, is to be regarded as spoken when the tempest was seen to be gathering, and when in awful majesty God was approaching, the lightnings playing around him, the clouds piled on clouds attending him, the thunder reverberating along the sky, and an unusual brightness evincing his approach; Notes, Job 37:22. The idea here is, that people could not steadfastly behold that bright light. It was so dazzling and so overpowering that they could not gaze on it intently. The coming of such a Being strayed in so much grandeur, and clothed in such a light, was fitted to overcome the human powers.

But the wind passeth, and cleanseth them - The wind passes along and makes them clear. The idea seems to be, that the wind appeared to sweep along over the clouds as the tempest was rising, and they seemed to open or disperse in one part of the heavens, and to reveal in the opening a glory so bright and dazzling that the eye could not rest upon it. That light or splendor made in the opening cloud was the symbol of God, approaching to wind up this great controversy, and to address Job and his friends in the sublime language which is found in the closing chapters of the book, The word rendered “cleanseth” (טהר ṭâhêr) means properly to shine, to be bright; and then to be pure or clean. Here the notion of shining or brightness is to be retained; and the idea is, that a wind appeared to pass along, removing the cloud which seemed to be a veil on the throne of God, and suffering the visible symbol of his majesty to be seen through the opening; see the notes at Job 26:9, “He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 37:21. And now men see not the bright light — Mr. Good gives the sense clearer: -

"Even now we cannot look at the light

When it is resplendent in the heavens.

And a wind from the north hath passed

along and cleared them."


Elihu seems to refer to the insufferable brightness of the sun. Can any man look at the sun shining in his strength, when a clear and strong wind has purged the sky from clouds and vapours? Much less can any gaze on the majesty of God. Every creature must sink before him. What execrably dangerous folly in man to attempt to arraign His conduct!


 
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