Passage

Job 38.31-33

Book: Job · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"29. Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? 30. The waters hide themselves and become like stone, And the face of the deep is frozen."

"31. Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the bands of Orion? 32. Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? Or canst thou guide the Bear with her train? 33. Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?"

"34. Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover thee? 35. Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go, And say unto thee, Here we are?" (Job 38:29-35, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"29. Out of whose womb came the ice? The gray frost of the sky, who has given birth to it? 30. The waters become hard like stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen."

"31. “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion? 32. Can you lead the constellations out in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs? 33. Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you establish its dominion over the earth?"

"34. “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover you? 35. Can you send out lightnings, that they may go? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are?’" (Job 38:29-35, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"29. Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? 30. The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. ^{is: Heb. is taken}"

"31. Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? ^{Pleiades: or, the seven stars: Heb. Cimah} ^{Orion: Heb. Cesil?} 32. Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? ^{Mazzaroth: or, the twelve signs} ^{guide: Heb. guide them} 33. Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?"

"34. Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee? 35. Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are? ^{Here: Heb. Behold us?}" (Job 38:29-35, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"29. From whose belly came forth the ice? And the hoar-frost of the heavens, Who hath begotten it? 30. As a stone waters are hidden, And the face of the deep is captured."

"31. Dost thou bind sweet influences of Kimah? Or the attractions of Kesil dost thou open? 32. Dost thou bring out Mazzaroth in its season? And Aysh for her sons dost thou comfort? 33. Hast thou known the statutes of heaven? Or dost thou appoint Its dominion in the earth?"

"34. Dost thou lift up to the cloud thy voice, And abundance of water doth cover thee? 35. Dost thou send out lightnings, and they go And say unto thee, 'Behold us?'" (Job 38:29-35, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

Quoted in

Laws of the Universe as Witness to Design

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.