He sends it forth under the whole heaven, His lightning to the ends of the earth.
Parallel translations
- WEB He sends it out under the whole sky, and his lightning to the ends of the earth.
- KJV He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth.
- BSB He unleashes His lightning beneath the whole sky and sends it to the ends of the earth.
- NASB “Under the whole heaven He lets it loose, And His lightning travels to the ends of the earth.
- NLT It rolls across the heavens, and his lightning flashes in every direction.
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 sends His thunder across the whole sky and His lightning to the ends of the earth. His power and presence fill all creation.
Overview
Elihu marvels that God's thunder and lightning span the entire heavens and reach earth's farthest limits. This universal reach displays God's omnipresent power and dominion over the whole world (Ps. 97:4). The verse magnifies the God whose authority knows no boundary, the same Lord whose gospel is destined to reach the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Job 38:13that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it?
- Matt 24:27For as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
- Isa 11:12He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
- Ps 97:4His lightning lights up the world. The earth sees, and trembles.
- Ps 77:13Your way, God, is in the sanctuary. What god is great like God?
- Rev 11:19God’s temple that is in heaven was opened, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant was seen in his temple. Lightnings, sounds, thunders, an earthquake, and great hail followed.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 37:3 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.