Job 37:5

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Job 37:5 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “God thundereth marvellously with his voice; Great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

God thundereth marvellously with his voice; Great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.
Job 37:5 — American Standard Version

Context — Job 37

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
5God thundereth marvellously with his voice; Great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“God thundereth marvellously with his voice, etc.] Or “marvels” , or marvellous things, which may respect the marvellous effects of thunder and lightning: such as rending rocks and mountains; throwing down high and strong towers; shattering to pieces high and mighty oaks and cedars, and other such like effects, mentioned in (<192905>Psalm 29:5-9); and there are some things reported which seem almost incredible, were they not well attested facts; as that an egg should be consumed thereby, and the shell unhurt; a cask of liquor, the liquor in it spoiled, and the cask not touched; money melted in the purse, and the purse whole; the fetus in the womb killed, and the woman preserved; with other…”
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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
“(Job 36:26; Psa 65:6; Psa 139:14). The sublimity of the description lies in this, that God is everywhere in the storm, directing it whither He will [BARNES]. See Psa 29:1-11, where, as here, the "voice" of God is repeated with grand effect. The thunder in Arabia is sublimely terrible.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“God thundereth marvelously - He thunders in a wonderful manner. The idea is, that the voice of his thunder is an amazing exhibition of his majesty and power. Great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend - That is, not only in regard to the thunder and the tempest, but in other things. The description of the storm properly ends here, and in the subsequent verses Elihu proceeds to specify various other phenomena, which were wholly incomprehensible by man. The reference here to the storm, and to the other grand and incomprehensible phenomena of nature, is a most appropriate introduction to the manifestation of God himself as described in the next chapter, and could not but have done much…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“thundereth: Sa2 22:14, Sa2 22:15 great: Job 5:9, Job 9:10, Job 11:7, Job 26:14, Job 36:26; Ecc 3:11; Isa 40:21, Isa 40:22, Isa 40:28; Rom 11:33; Rev 15:3 Job 37:6”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification