Job 38:20

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Job 38:20 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?
Job 38:20 — American Standard Version

Context — Job 38

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
20That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, etc.] Either darkness, or rather the light; take it as it were by the hand, and guide and direct its course to its utmost bound. This only the Lord can do and does: he has set a tabernacle for the sun, which goes forth at his command as a strong man to run a race; whose going forth is from the end of the heavens, and his circuit unto the ends of it: in which his course is so steered and directed by the Lord, that he never misses his way or errs from it; but keeps his path exactly, as well as knows its rising and setting, its utmost bounds; and that thou shouldest know the paths [to] the house thereof? from whence it sets out, and whither it…”
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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
“Dost thou know its place so well as to be able to guide, ("take" as in Isa 36:17) it to (but UMBREIT, "reach it in") its own boundary, that is, the limit between light and darkness (Job 26:10)?”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“That thou shouldest take it to the bounds thereof - Margin, “or, at.” The sense seems to be this: God asks Job whether he was so well acquainted with the sources of light, and the place where it dwelt, that he could take it under his guidance and reconduct it to its place of abode. And that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof? - The same idea is repeated here. Light has a home; a place of abode. It was far distant - in some region unknown to man. Did Job know the way in which it came, and the place where it dwelt so well, that he could conduct it back again to its own dwelling? Umbreit, Noyes, and Herder, suppose that this is to be understood ironically. “For thou hast reached…”
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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
“Take it - Bring or lead it: and this it refers principally to the light, and to darkness, as the consequent of the other. Bound - Its whole course from the place of its abode whence it is supposed to come, to the end of its journey. Know - Where thou mayst find it, and whence thou mayst fetch it. Job 38:22”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“it to: or, it at the bound: Gen 10:19, Gen 23:17 Job 38:21”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification