He draws up the water vapor and then distills it into rain.
Parallel translations
- WEB For he draws up the drops of water, which distill in rain from his vapor,
- KJV For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:
- BSB For He draws up drops of water which distill the rain from the mist,
- NKJV For He draws up drops of water, Which distill as rain from the mist,
- NASB “For He draws up the drops of water; They distill rain from its celestial stream,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God draws up drops of water that distill as rain from His vapor. He governs the cycle that brings rain to the earth.
Overview
Elihu begins a meditation on God's control of the weather, describing how He lifts water that falls as rain. This reflects accurate observation of the water cycle, all of it under God's providential hand (cf. Jer. 10:13). Such reflection on God's care over creation magnifies His wisdom and power, reminding us that the Maker of rain is also the faithful Provider for His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 147:8who covers the sky with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass grow on the mountains.
- Job 38:25–28Who has cut a channel for the flood water, or the path for the thunderstorm;
- Ps 65:9–13You visit the earth, and water it. You greatly enrich it. The river of God is full of water. You provide them grain, for so you have ordained it.
- Ps 148:8lightning and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling his word;
- Job 5:9who does great things that can’t be fathomed, marvelous things without number;
- Gen 2:5–6No plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for Yahweh God had not caused it to rain on the earth. There was not a man to till the ground,
- Isa 5:6I will lay it a wasteland. It won’t be pruned nor hoed, but it will grow briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it.”
- Job 36:33Its noise tells about him, and the livestock also concerning the storm that comes up.
- Job 38:34“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover you?
- Jer 14:22Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the sky give showers? Aren’t you he, Yahweh our God? Therefore we will wait for you; for you have made all these things.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 36:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.