TRV
Translation
King James Version
And it is turned round about by his counsels: that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the world in the earth.
Complete Jewish Bible
He, by his plans, turns them around, so they do what he commands them anywhere on earth;
Berean Standard Bible
They swirl about, whirling at His direction, accomplishing all that He commands over the face of all the earth.
American Standard Version
And it is turned round about by his guidance, That they may do whatsoever he commandeth them Upon the face of the habitable world,
World English Bible Messianic
It is turned around by his guidance, that they may do whatever he commands them on the surface of the habitable world,
Geneva Bible (1599)
And it is turned about by his gouernment, that they may doe whatsoeuer he commandeth them vpon the whole worlde:
Young's Literal Translation
And it is turning itself round by His counsels, For their doing all He commandeth them, On the face of the habitable earth.
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Commentary on Job 37 verses 6–13
6 ¶ For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength.
7 He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work.
8 Then the beasts go into dens, and remain in their places.
9 Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north.
10 By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened.
11 Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud:
12 And it is turned round about by his counsels: that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the world in the earth.
13 He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy.
The changes and extremities of the weather, wet or dry, hot or cold, are the subject of a great deal of our common talk and observation; but how seldom do we think and speak of these things, as Elihu does here, with an awful regard to God the director of them, who shows his power and serves the purposes of his providence by them! We must take notice of the glory of God, not only in the thunder and lightning, but in the more common revolutions of the weather, which are not so terrible and which make less noise. As,
I. In the snow and rain, Job 37:6. Thunder and lightning happen usually in the summer, but here he takes notice of the winter-weather. Then he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; he commissions it, he commands it, he appoints it, where it shall light and how long it shall lie. He speaks, and it is done: as in the creation of the world, Let there be light, so in the works of common providence, Snow, be thou on the earth. Saying and doing are not two things with God, though they are with us. When he speaks the word the small rain distils and the great rain pours down as he pleases - the winter-rain (so the Septuagint), for in those countries, when the winter was past, the rain was over and gone, Sol 2:11. The distinction in the Hebrew between the small rain and the great rain is this, that the former is called a shower of rain, the latter of rains, many showers in one; but all are the showers of his strength: the power of God is to be observed as much in the small rain that soaks into the earth as in the great rain that batters on the house-top and washes away all before it. Note, The providence of God is to be acknowledged, both by husbandmen in the fields and travellers upon the road, in every shower of rain, whether it does them a kindness of a diskindness. It is sin and folly to contend with God's providence in the weather; if he send the snow or rain, can we hinder them? Or shall we be angry at them? It is as absurd to quarrel with any other disposal of Providence concerning ourselves or ours. The effect of the extremity of the winter-weather is that it obliges both men and beasts to retire, making it uncomfortable and unsafe for them to go abroad. 1. Men retire to their houses from their labours in the field, and keep within doors (Job 37:7): He seals up the hand of every man. In frost and snow, husbandmen cannot follow their business, nor some tradesmen, nor travellers, when the weather is extreme. The plough is laid by, the shipping laid up, nothing is to be done, nothing to be got, that men, being taken off from their own work, may know his work, and contemplate that, and give him the glory of that, and, by the consideration of that work of his in the weather which seals up their hands, be led to celebrate his other great and marvellous works. Note, When we are, upon any account, disabled from following our worldly business, and taken off from it, we should spend our time rather in the exercises of piety and devotion (in acquainting ourselves with the works of God and praising him in them) than in foolish idle sports and recreations. When our hands are sealed up our hearts should be thus opened, and the less we have at any time to do in the world the more we should thereby be driven to our Bibles and our knees. 2. The beasts also retire to their dens and remain in their close places, Job 37:8. It is meant of the wild beasts, which, being wild, must seek a shelter for themselves, to which by instinct they are directed, while the tame beasts, which are serviceable to man, are housed and protected by his care, as Exo 9:20. The ass has no den but his master's crib, and thither he goes, not only to be safe and warm, but to be fed. Nature directs all creatures to shelter themselves from a storm; and shall man alone be unprovided with an ark?
II. In the winds, which blow from different quarters and produce different effects (Job 37:9): Out of the hidden place (so it may be read) comes the whirlwind; it turns round, and so it is hard to say from which point it comes but it comes from the secret chamber, as the word signifies, which I am not so willing to understand of the south, because he says here (Job 37:17) that the wind out of the south is so far from being a whirlwind that it is a warming, quieting, wind. But at this time, perhaps, Elihu saw a whirlwind-cloud coming out of the south and making towards them, out of which the Lord spoke soon after, Job 38:1. Or, if turbulent winds which bring showers come out of the south, cold and drying blasts come out of the north to scatter the vapours and clear the air of them.
III. In the frost, Job 37:10. See the cause of it: It is given by the breath of God, that is, by the word of his power and the command of his will; or, as some understand it, by the wind, which is the breath of God, as the thunder is his voice; it is caused by the cold freezing wind out of the north. See the effect of it: The breadth of the waters is straitened, that is, the waters that had spread themselves, and flowed with liberty, are congealed, benumbed, arrested, bound up in crystal fetters. This is such an instance of the power of God as, if it were not common, would be next to a miracle.
IV. In the clouds, the womb where all these watery meteors are conceived, of which he had spoken, Job 36:28. Three sorts of clouds he here speaks of: - 1. Close, black, thick clouds, pregnant with showers; and these with watering he wearies (Job 37:11), that is, they spend themselves, and are exhausted by the rain into which they melt and are dissolved, pouring out water till they are weary and can pour out no more. See what pains, as I may say, the creatures, even those above us, take to serve man: the clouds water the earth till they are weary; they spend and are spent for our benefit, which shames and condemns us for the little good we do in our places, though it would be to our own advantage, for he that watereth shall be watered also himself. 2. Bright thin clouds, clouds without water; and these he scattereth; they are dispersed of themselves, and not dissolved into rain, but what becomes of them we know not. The bright cloud, in the evening, when the sky is red, is scattered, and proves an earnest of a fair day, Mat 16:2. 3. Flying clouds, which do not dissolve, as the thick cloud, into a close rain, but are carried upon the wings of the wind from place to place, dropping showers as they go; and these are said to be turned round about by his counsels, Job 37:12. The common people say that the rain is determined by the planets, which is as bad divinity as it is philosophy, for it is guided and governed by the counsel of God, which extends even to those things that seem most casual and minute, that they may do whatsoever he commands them; for the stormy winds, and the clouds that are driven by them, fulfil his word; and by this means he causes it to rain upon one city and not upon another, Amo 4:7, Amo 4:8. Thus his will is done upon the face of the world in the earth, that is, among the children of men, to whom God has an eye in all these things, of whom it is said that he made them to dwell on the face of the earth, Act 17:26. The inferior creatures, being incapable of doing moral actions, are incapable of receiving rewards and punishments: but, among the children of men, God causes the rain to come, either for the correction of his land or for a mercy to it, Job 37:13. (1.) Rain sometimes turns into a judgment. It is a scourge to a sinful land; as once it was for the destruction of the whole world, so it is now often for the correction or discipline of some parts of it, by hindering seedness and harvest, raising the waters, and damaging the fruits. Some have said that our nation has received much more prejudice by the excess of rain than by the want of it. (2.) At other times it is a blessing. It is for his land, that this may be made fruitful; and, besides that which is just necessary, he gives for mercy, to fatten it and make it more fruitful. See what a necessary dependence we have upon God, when the very same thing, according to the proportion in which it is given, may be either a great judgment or a great mercy, and without God we cannot have either a shower or a fair gleam.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 6–13. Public domain.
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Gregory the DialogistAD 604
MORALS ON THE BOOK OF JOB 27.58
[“They traverse all things in a circuit wherever the will of their Ruler shall lead them. To everything that he shall command them upon the face of the earth, whether in one tribe, or in his own land, or in whatsoever place of his mercy, he shall order them to be found.”] … God therefore leads his clouds, either in one tribe, or in his own land or in whatever place of his mercy, and shall order them to be found. In earlier times he conferred preachers of the Old Testament on the tribe of Judah only and rejected nearly the whole of Israel because of the wicked governing of their kings. At another time, he made these clouds to rain, even in his own land, because he recalled this same people of Israel to his former favor after correction in captivity. Then at another he wished them to shine forth from the place of his mercy when he made known even to the Gentiles, by holy preachers of the New Testament, the miracles of his power. By his sole mercy he thus freed those from the yoke of error who his wrath was weighing down in their innate unbelief.But see, because Elihu has perceived future events by the spirit of prophecy, because he has uttered many sublime truths, the haughty man, wearied with the weight of his pride, is unable to bear the burden of what he says.
Gregory the DialogistAD 604
56. For holy preachers often wish to exhort some persons, but cannot do so. Some they often wish to avoid, but are yet most urgently compelled, by the impulse of inward instigation, to exhort them. Let us behold the cloud of God, how it is led by the hand of Him Who guides it, even to those things which it does not seek after: and is, again, kept from following its own impulse, by the hand of Him who governs it. When Paul was shaking his raiment, and was wishing to depart from the Corinthians, he surely heard, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace, for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee, for I have much people in this city. [Acts 18, 9, 10] Again, when he had wished to go to the Thessalonians, he was kept back, and said, I wished to come unto you, even I Paul, both once and again, but satan hindered me. [1 Thess. 2, 18] For satan could not of himself hinder the journeys of so mighty an Apostle; but, while opposing, he ignorantly subserved the design of the secret dispensation; in order that Paul, while he wished to visit other persons, and was unable, might more suitably benefit those, from whom he could not depart. The clouds of God, therefore, traverse all things in a circuit, because they illuminate the ends of the world with the light of preaching. But, because being subject to the Divine will, they cannot fulfil their own wishes, they cannot go any where, except where the will of their Ruler shall lead them. Whence it is still further subjoined;
To every thing which He shall command them upon the face of the earth.
57. For often when they are led by the will of their Ruler, they seek to do one thing, but are disposed otherwise. For they frequently desire to correct some of their hearers in a gentle way, and yet their speech is turned into sharpness. They frequently seek to be severe with others, but yet their vigour is restrained by the spirit of gentleness. As, therefore, they cannot go whither they will, so also they cannot act as they will. For because the inward Judge keeps hold of them, when He sends them, so also does He modify and take them up, when He leads them on, so that sometimes they arrange one thing in their thought, but carry another into effect; they sometimes begin in one way, but end in another. Because then they serve according to that which is commanded them, let it be rightly said, Whithersoever the will of their Ruler shall lead them, to every thing which He shall command them upon the face of the earth. For they find the way of their preaching the more open, in that they are guided to it, not by their own will, but that of their Teacher.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Job 37:12 serves as a profound declaration within Elihu's discourse, asserting God's absolute and meticulous sovereignty over all natural phenomena. It emphasizes that the seemingly unpredictable forces of nature—such as winds, clouds, and storms, implied from the preceding verses—are not random occurrences but are precisely orchestrated and directed by God's intelligent and purposeful counsels. This verse underscores the divine control extending universally across the entire earth, ensuring that every element fulfills God's specific commands and serves His overarching purposes.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: Job 37:12 stands as a powerful summation within Elihu's final and most extensive speech (chapters 32-37), which serves as a crucial theological bridge between the protracted debates of Job and his three friends and God's eventual appearance from the whirlwind. Elihu positions himself as a younger, more discerning voice, aiming to correct the flawed perspectives of both Job and his friends. His primary objective is to vindicate God's justice and wisdom, asserting that God is infinitely greater than humanity and that His ways, though unsearchable, are always righteous and purposeful. In Job 37, Elihu transitions from discussing God's disciplinary role (Job 36) to focusing intensely on God's awe-inspiring control over the natural world, particularly weather phenomena like thunder, lightning, snow, rain, and winds (as seen in Job 37:1-11). He describes these elements not as chaotic or independent forces, but as instruments directly carrying out God's will. Verse 12 specifically refers to the movements of clouds and atmospheric conditions, stating that they are "turned round about by his counsels," meaning they are directed by God's intelligent, deliberate, and purposeful plans, which ultimately serve His global command.
Historical & Cultural Context: In the ancient Near East, natural phenomena like storms, droughts, and floods were often attributed to the direct actions of various deities, reflecting their moods or power struggles. Unlike the polytheistic views of surrounding cultures, the biblical worldview, as presented by Elihu, firmly establishes one singular, supreme God who holds absolute and unchallenged dominion over all creation. There was no concept of independent natural laws operating autonomously; every event in nature was seen as a direct manifestation of divine will. For a people whose lives were intimately tied to agricultural cycles and weather patterns, the idea of a God who precisely controls every aspect of the climate—whether for blessing (rain for crops) or judgment (drought, destructive storms)—was profoundly significant. Elihu's discourse, set against Job's suffering and his friends' attempts to link it directly to sin, emphasizes that God's power is not merely arbitrary but is exercised with wisdom and purpose, even when those purposes are beyond human comprehension. This perspective was intended to foster awe and submission to God's unsearchable ways.
Key Themes: This verse powerfully contributes to several overarching themes within the book of Job and broader biblical theology. Foremost is the theme of Divine Sovereignty, asserting God's absolute and meticulous control over all creation. Nothing, not even the most powerful or seemingly chaotic elements of nature, moves without His express command and direction, underscoring the theological concept of God's ultimate authority and meticulous planning, as seen in Isaiah 46:10. Secondly, it highlights God's Purpose in Nature. Nature is not a blind, indifferent force but an active participant in God's cosmic plan. The weather phenomena described in previous verses are not random but serve as tools for God to accomplish "whatsoever he commandeth them," whether for blessing, judgment, or simply to display His glory and wisdom. This concept resonates with passages like Psalm 148:8. Thirdly, the phrase "by his counsels" speaks to God's infinite Omnipotence and Wisdom, indicating that His direction of the world is not arbitrary but flows from perfect knowledge and an unassailable purpose. His ability to command the elements demonstrates His boundless power and profound wisdom. Finally, the phrase "upon the face of the world in the earth" emphasizes the Global Reach of God's Command, showing that God's sovereignty is not limited to a specific region but extends universally, encompassing the entire globe, reinforcing His role as the Creator and Sustainer of all things.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Elihu's discourse in Job 37:12 employs several potent literary devices to convey God's immense power and wisdom. Central to the verse is Personification, where the inanimate elements of nature (implied from preceding verses) are depicted as active agents capable of "doing" and "obeying" God's commands. This imbues the natural world with a sense of responsiveness to divine will, making God's sovereignty more vivid and immediate. The phrase "turned round about by his counsels" suggests a meticulous, almost mechanical, yet divinely intelligent Orchestration, implying that the cosmos operates like a grand, intricate machine precisely controlled by its Creator. Furthermore, the expansive scope of "upon the face of the world in the earth" utilizes Hyperbole to emphasize the boundless and universal extent of God's dominion, leaving no doubt about His absolute control over every inch of creation. The overall effect of Elihu's speech, culminating in this verse, is to evoke Awe and the Sublime, preparing Job and the reader for the direct manifestation of God's power in the subsequent chapters.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Job 37:12 profoundly articulates the biblical doctrine of divine providence, asserting that God is not merely a distant creator but an active, meticulous, and sovereign ruler over every detail of His creation. This verse challenges any notion of randomness or independent natural forces, positing that even the most powerful and seemingly chaotic elements of nature are perfectly aligned with God's wise and unchangeable purposes. It underscores that God's control is not just over the grand sweep of history but extends to the minute movements of wind and cloud, demonstrating His omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. This truth provides a foundation for trusting God's purposes even amidst suffering, as it implies that His control is comprehensive and His plans are always perfect, even when they are beyond human understanding.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Job 37:12 calls us to a profound posture of humility and trust before the Almighty God. In a world that often feels chaotic, unpredictable, and subject to random forces, this verse offers immense comfort by reminding us that an infinitely wise and powerful God is meticulously in control. It encourages us to look beyond immediate circumstances and recognize the divine hand orchestrating all things, from the grand movements of galaxies to the smallest atmospheric shifts. For believers, this fosters a deep sense of security, knowing that even in life's most turbulent storms—whether literal weather events or personal trials—God has a sovereign purpose and is directing all things according to His perfect will. This perspective can transform anxiety into peace, prompting us to worship the Creator whose power is displayed not only in miraculous interventions but also in the consistent, purposeful functioning of His creation. It invites us to cultivate a heart of awe and wonder, recognizing that if God commands the very elements with such precision, then His care and plans for humanity are equally precise, purposeful, and ultimately for our good and His glory.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Who are "he" and "they" in Job 37:12?
Answer: In Job 37:12, "he" unequivocally refers to God, the Almighty Creator whom Elihu is exalting throughout his discourse. The "they" refers to the natural elements and phenomena that Elihu has been describing in the preceding verses of Job 37:1-11, particularly the winds, clouds, cold, and rain. Elihu portrays these elements as God's obedient servants, carrying out His precise commands across the entire earth.
How does this verse relate to natural disasters or human suffering?
Answer: Job 37:12, within the broader context of Elihu's speech and the book of Job, asserts God's absolute sovereignty over all natural events, including those that bring suffering or destruction. It implies that even natural disasters, while devastating from a human perspective, are not random occurrences but are ultimately within God's sovereign control and serve His purposes, even if those purposes are inscrutable to us. Elihu's argument is that God's ways are beyond human comprehension, and His wisdom is perfect, even when His actions bring hardship. This does not necessarily explain why specific disasters occur but affirms that they are not outside of God's knowledge or ultimate authority. The book of Job ultimately teaches that while we may not understand God's reasons, His character remains just and good, and His power is absolute, as revealed when God speaks from the whirlwind in Job 38.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Job 37:12, with its profound declaration of God's absolute sovereignty over creation, finds its ultimate fulfillment and clearest expression in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The "counsels" of God, which meticulously direct the elements, are perfectly embodied in Christ, who is the very wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). He is not only the agent through whom all things were created (as seen in John 1:3 and Colossians 1:16), but also the one who actively sustains and governs the universe, for "in him all things hold together" (Colossians 1:17). The power of God to "commandeth them" is vividly demonstrated in the New Testament when Jesus, by His mere word, calms a raging storm, causing the disciples to marvel, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?" (Matthew 8:27). This miracle reveals that the divine authority over creation, which Elihu attributes to God, is fully present in Jesus. Therefore, the majestic control over the "face of the world in the earth" described in Job is not a distant, abstract power, but a living, active reality in Christ, who is the "radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power" (Hebrews 1:3). Through Christ, God's sovereign counsels are not only displayed in nature but also perfectly executed in the redemptive plan for humanity, leading all things to their ultimate purpose in Him.