He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
Parallel translations
- WEB He alone stretches out the heavens, and treads on the waves of the sea.
- KJV Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.
- NKJV He alone spreads out the heavens, And treads on the waves of the sea;
- NASB Who alone stretches out the heavens, And tramples down the waves of the sea;
- NLT He alone has spread out the heavens and marches on the waves of the sea.
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
Job says God alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. He is the unrivaled Creator who masters the chaotic deep.
Overview
Job confesses that God by himself spread out the skies and walks upon the sea, an image of mastery over the chaotic waters. The motif of treading the sea reappears strikingly when Jesus walks on the water (Matthew 14:25), a quiet revelation of his divine identity. Job's praise unwittingly anticipates the One who shares God's power.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Isa 44:24Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by Myself spread out the earth,
- Ps 104:2–3He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent,
- Isa 40:22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
- Job 37:18can you, like Him, spread out the skies to reflect the heat like a mirror of bronze?
- Zech 12:1This is the burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, who forms the spirit of man within him:
- Ps 33:6By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the stars by the breath of His mouth.
- Jer 10:11Thus you are to tell them: “These gods, who have made neither the heavens nor the earth, will perish from this earth and from under these heavens.”
- Matt 14:25–30During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea.
- Job 38:16Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep?
- John 6:19When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the sea—and they were terrified.
- Job 38:11and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther; here your proud waves must stop’?
- Isa 42:5This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk in it:
- Ps 77:19Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, but Your footprints were not to be found.
- Gen 1:6–7And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, to separate the waters from the waters.”
- Ps 93:3–4The floodwaters have risen, O LORD; the rivers have raised their voice; the seas lift up their pounding waves.
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 9:8 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
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