Job 28:25

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Job 28:25 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure.
Job 28:25 — American Standard Version

Context — Job 28

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
25To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“To make the weight for the wind, etc.] He indeed makes the wind itself, holds it in his fists, and brings it forth out of his treasures, and lets it go, or restrains it, at his pleasure; he gives it an inclination to this or that or the other point of the heavens, and a force to blow with, greater or lesser, as he pleases, either for the good and benefit of men, or for the punishment of them; he raises the stormy wind, which fulfils his word and his will; and he makes it subside and become a calm when he thinks fit; he can make it heavier or lighter, add to or take from its weight, so that it becomes more or less pressing on bodies it meets with; he can make a rough wind, and stay that in…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“God has adjusted the weight of the winds, so seemingly imponderable, lest, if too weighty, or too light, injury should be caused. He measureth out the waters, fixing their bounds, with wisdom as His counsellor (Pro 8:27-31; Isa 40:12).”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“To make the weight for the winds - That is, to weigh the winds and to measure the waters - things that it would seem most difficult to do. The idea here seems to be, that God had made all things by measure and by rule. Even the winds - so fleeting and imponderable - he had adjusted and balanced in the most exact manner, as if he had “weighed” them when he made them. The air has “weight,” but it is not probable that this fact was known in the time of Job, or that he adverted to it here. It is rather the idea suggested above, that the God who had formed everything by exact rule. and who had power to govern the winds in the most exact manner, must be qualified to impart wisdom. And he weigheth…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Winds - God manageth them all by weight, appointing to every wind that blows, its season, its proportion, its bounds, when, and where, and how much, and how long each shall blow. He only doth all these things, and he only knows why he doth them. He instanceth in some few of God's works, and those which seem to be most trivial, and uncertain, that thereby he might more strongly imply that God doth the same in other things which are more considerable, that he doth all things in the most exact order, and weight, and measure. The waters - Namely, the rain - waters, which God layeth up in his store - houses, the clouds, and thence draws them forth, and sends them down upon the earth in such times…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“To make the weight: etc. God has given an atmosphere to the earth, which, possessing a certain degree of gravity perfectly suited to the necessities of all animals, vegetables, and fluids, should be the cause, in His hands, of preserving animal and vegetable life; for by it the blood circulates in the veins of animals, and the juices in the tubes of vegetables. Without this atmospheric pressure there could be no respiration; and the elasticity of the particles of air in animal and vegetable bodies, would rupture the vessels in which they are contained, and destroy both kinds of life. Psa 135:7; Isa 40:12 he weigheth: He has exactly proportioned the aqueous surface of the earth to the terrene…”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“25 When He appointed to the wind its weight, And weighed the water according to a measure, 26 When He appointed to the rain its law, And the course to the lightning of the thunder: 27 Then He saw it and declared it, Took it as a pattern and tested it also, 28 And said to man: Behold, the fear of the Lord is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding. It is impracticable to attach the inf. לעשׂות to Job 28:24 as the purpose, because it is contrary to the meaning; but it is impossible, according to the syntax, to refer it to Job 28:27 as the purpose placed in advance, or to take it in the sense of perfecturus, because in both instances it ought to have been יתכּן instead of תּכּן, or at…”
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Sources and verification