They swirl about, whirling at His direction, accomplishing all that He commands over the face of all the earth.
Parallel translations
- WEB It is turned around by his guidance, that they may do whatever he commands them on the surface of the habitable world,
- KJV And it is turned round about by his counsels: that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the world in the earth.
- NKJV And they swirl about, being turned by His guidance, That they may do whatever He commands them On the face of the whole earth.
- NASB “It changes direction, turning around by His guidance, That it may do whatever He commands it On the face of the inhabited earth.
- NLT The clouds churn about at his direction. They do whatever he commands throughout the earth.
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
The clouds move and turn exactly as God directs them to fulfill his purposes across the whole inhabited earth. Nothing in creation drifts at random.
Overview
Elihu stresses that the weather is steered by God's guidance to accomplish whatever he commands over the habitable world. Even seemingly chaotic storms are obedient instruments of divine will. This providential ordering of creation anticipates God's questioning of Job about who truly governs the natural order.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ps 148:8lightning and hail, snow and clouds, powerful wind fulfilling His word,
- Joel 2:23Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for He has given you the autumn rains for your vindication. He sends you showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.
- Ps 104:24How many are Your works, O LORD! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures.
- Jas 5:17–18Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
- Rev 11:6These witnesses have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall during the days of their prophecy, and power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.
- Amos 4:7“I also withheld the rain from you when the harvest was three months away. I sent rain on one city but withheld it from another. One field received rain; another without rain withered.
- Ps 65:9–10You attend to the earth and water it; with abundance You enrich it. The streams of God are full of water, for You prepare our grain by providing for the earth.
- Jer 14:22Can the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies alone send showers? Is this not by You, O LORD our God? So we put our hope in You, for You have done 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 37:12 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.