He alone spreads 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.
- BSB He alone stretches 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 44:24Yahweh, your Redeemer, and he who formed you from the womb says: “I am Yahweh, who makes all things; who alone stretches out the heavens; who spreads out the earth by myself;
- Ps 104:2–3He covers himself with light as with a garment. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain.
- Isa 40:22It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in;
- Job 37:18Can you, with him, spread out the sky, which is strong as a cast metal mirror?
- Zech 12:1A revelation, Yahweh’s word concerning Israel. Yahweh, who stretches out the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him says:
- Ps 33:6By Yahweh’s word, the heavens were made; all their army by the breath of his mouth.
- Jer 10:11“You shall say this to them: ‘The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under the heavens.’”
- Matt 14:25–30In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.
- Job 38:16“Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
- John 6:19When therefore they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing near to the boat; and they were afraid.
- Job 38:11and said, ‘Here you may come, but no further. Here your proud waves shall be stayed?’
- Isa 42:5Thus says God Yahweh, he who created the heavens and stretched them out, he who spread out the earth and that which comes out of it, he who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk in it.
- Ps 77:19Your way was through the sea; your paths through the great waters. Your footsteps were not known.
- Gen 1:6–7God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
- Ps 93:3–4The floods have lifted up, Yahweh, the floods have lifted up their voice. The floods lift up their waves.
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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
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.