“Wherewere you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.
- KJV Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
- BSB Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
- NASB “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding,
- NLT “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much.
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 asks where Job was when the earth's foundations were laid. The obvious answer, nowhere, exposes the gulf between Creator and creature.
Overview
The LORD begins with creation itself, a work that long preceded Job. By asking Job to 'declare, if you have understanding,' God highlights human ignorance of the most basic realities. This opening question establishes the theme of the whole speech: God's unsearchable wisdom in making and governing the world.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ps 104:5He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever.
- Heb 1:10And, “You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the works of your hands.
- Prov 30:4Who has ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in his garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if you know?
- Heb 1:2has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.
- Gen 1:1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
- Ps 102:25Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the work of your hands.
- Prov 8:22“Yahweh possessed me in the beginning of his work, before his deeds of old.
- Prov 8:29–30when he gave to the sea its boundary, that the waters should not violate his commandment, when he marked out the foundations of the earth;
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 38:4 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.