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Tuesday, July 29th, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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New Life Version

Job 37:3

He lets it loose under the whole heaven. He lets His lightning go to the ends of the earth.

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.
Easy-to-Read Version
He sends his lightning to flash across the whole sky. It lights up the earth from one end to the other.
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 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 "At this my heart shakes with fear and jumps from its place. 2 Listen to the thunder of His voice and the noise that comes from His mouth. 3 He lets it loose under the whole heaven. He lets His lightning go to the ends of the earth. 4 His voice sounds after it. He thunders with His great and powerful voice. And He does not hold back the lightning when His voice is heard. 5 God thunders with His great voice. He does great things which 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
Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." And Joseph said to him, "I will go."
Genesis 37:14
Then Israel said, "Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock. Then come and tell me." So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
Genesis 37:20
Now come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the deep holes. Then we will say that a wild animal ate him. And we will see what becomes of his dreams!"
Genesis 37:22
Reuben then said, "Do not put him to death. Throw him into this hole here in the desert. But do not lay a hand on him." He wanted to be able to save Joseph and return him to his father.
Genesis 37:23
So when Joseph came to his brothers, they tore off his coat, the coat of many colors that he was wearing.
Genesis 37:30
He returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is not there! What can I do?"
Genesis 37:32
They sent the coat of many colors to their father. And they said, "We found this. Is it your son's coat or not?"
Judges 5:30
'Are they not finding and dividing the riches? Is there not a girl or two for every man? Is there not colored cloth for Sisera to take? Is there not colored cloth with beautiful sewing on it? Are there not two pieces of colored cloth with beautiful sewing on them for the neck of the one who takes them?'
2 Samuel 13:18
Now she was wearing a dress which covered her arms. For this is how the king's daughters dressed when they had never had a man. The man who helped Amnon took her out and locked the door behind her.
Ezekiel 16:16
You took some of your clothes of many colors and made for yourself places of worship. There you acted like a woman who sells the use of her body. Such things should never happen or come to pass.

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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