Ayub 37:2-5

37:2 Listen carefully ¹  to the thunder of his voice,

to the rumbling ²  that proceeds from his mouth.

37:3 Under the whole heaven he lets it go,

even his lightning to the far corners ³  of the earth.

37:4 After that a voice roars;

he thunders with an exalted voice,

and he does not hold back his lightning bolts ⁴ 

when his voice is heard.

37:5 God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways; ⁵ 

he does great things beyond our understanding. ⁶ 

Ayub 38:34-35

38:34 Can you raise your voice to the clouds

so that a flood of water covers you? ⁷ 

38:35 Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go?

Will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?

[37:2]  ¹ tn The imperative is followed by the infinitive absolute from the same root to express the intensity of the verb.

[37:2]  ² tn The word is the usual word for “to meditate; to murmur; to groan”; here it refers to the low building of the thunder as it rumbles in the sky. The thunder is the voice of God (see Ps 29).

[37:3]  ³ tn Heb “wings,” and then figuratively for the extremities of garments, of land, etc.

[37:4]  ⁴ tn The verb simply has the pronominal suffix, “them.” The idea must be that when God brings in all the thunderings he does not hold back his lightning bolts either.

[37:5]  ⁵ tn The form is the Niphal participle, “wonders,” from the verb פָּלָא (pala’, “to be wonderful; to be extraordinary”). Some commentators suppress the repeated verb “thunders,” and supply other verbs like “shows” or “works,” enabling them to make “wonders” the object of the verb rather than leaving it in an adverbial role. But as H. H. Rowley (Job [NCBC], 236) notes, no change is needed, for one is not surprised to find repetition in Elihu’s words.

[37:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “and we do not know.”

[38:34]  ⁷ tc The LXX has “answer you,” and some editors have adopted this. However, the reading of the MT makes better sense in the verse.