Out of whose womb came the ice? The gray frost of the sky, who has given birth to it?
Parallel translations
- KJV Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
- BSB From whose womb does the ice emerge? Who gives birth to the frost from heaven,
- NKJV From whose womb comes the ice? And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?
- NASB “From whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?
- NLT Who is the mother of the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?
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
From whose womb comes the ice, and who gives birth to the frost? God is the unseen source of even winter's cold.
Overview
The LORD continues the birth imagery, asking who originates ice and frost. No human can claim such generative power over the elements. The verse adds the harsh side of weather to the catalog of God's incomprehensible creative work.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Ps 147:16–17He gives snow like wool, and scatters frost like ashes.
- Job 37:10By the breath of God, ice is given, and the width of the waters is frozen.
- Job 38:8“Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke out of the womb,
- Job 6:16Which are black by reason of the ice, in which the snow hides itself.
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 38:29 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.