I am having difficulty understanding this verse. I read several versions, but I do not grasp the concept. Can you help me understand?
This is an unusual verse for one to struggle with.
Job 36:33 (NKJV)
33 His thunder declares it, The cattle also, concerning the rising storm.
Do we have the correct verse? I’m happy to offer an opinion, but I’m not sure this is the verse you are not understanding.
Happy to talk about it with you
KP
This is from the New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition
24 ‘Remember to extol his work,
of which mortals have sung.
**25 **All people have looked on it;
everyone watches it from far away.
**26 **Surely God is great, and we do not know him;
the number of his years is unsearchable.
**27 For he draws up the drops of water;
he distils[b] his mist in rain,
**28 **which the skies pour down
and drop upon mortals abundantly.
**29 **Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds,
the thunderings of his pavilion?
**30 **See, he scatters his lightning around him
and covers the roots of the sea.
**31 **For by these he governs peoples;
he gives food in abundance.
32 He covers his hands with the lightning,
and commands it to strike the mark.
33 Its crashing[c] tells about him;
he is jealous[d] with anger against iniquity.
This is part of Elihu’s dialogue to Job. Job’s friends are trying to convince Job that he has sinned against God and that Job’s sin is the reason why God has caused Job’s suffering, and of course they are trying to get Job to own his sin, confess, and repent. But we know better because we know what lead to Job’s affliction.
For verse 33, It says in the footnotes that the meaning of the Hebrew used here is uncertain. This may be because Job (is believed to be) one of the oldest stories in the Bible, and the language has evolved with time as all languages do. Like all Ancient languages, bits and pieces or whole languages can be lost with time.
Is Job the Oldest Book in the Bible? Evidence Examined
But you can read the rest of the dialogue, and the story, and get a general idea what Job’s friend was arguing.
The sentiment that all suffering originates with someone’s sin is echoed by the disciplines in John Chapter 9.
9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. **2 **His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. **4 **As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. **5 **While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Christ, much like the Book of Job, counters this pervasive view, offering an alternative perspective for why suffering exists, though specifically for the blind man.
In a way, this belief causes people to sin. We are told in Scripture to Judge Not. But by believing that sin alone causes the affliction and suffering that people experience, when this is not always true, people are led right into the path of sin much like Job’s friends were. And God held them to account, ordering them to repay Job, who they falsely judged.
In a way, this lie is like a weed that was found in a farmer’s field, and God made it a point to uproot this weed through Christ and the Book of Job..
Well? If you just take this verse.
“It’s crashing declares his presence; the cattle also declare that he rises.”
This verse is spoken by Elihu, the youngest of the men who came to debate Job. In Job 36, Elihu is trying to defend God’s majesty and power. To do this, he points to the most terrifying, awe-inspiring thing a person in the ancient Near East could witness: a massive, rolling thunderstorm.
Elihu is describing God as the commander of the storm. He packs the lightning in His hands, commands it to strike, and unleashes the thunder. The phrase “It’s crashing declares his presence; the cattle also declare that he rises” is from the English Standard Version (ESV). Because the translators of the ESV tried to stay highly literal to the poetic Hebrew, it can sound quite mysterious and end-times-focused to modern ears.
However, if you look at how other translations render this same Hebrew verse, the picture becomes instantly clear: New International Version (NIV): “His thunder announces the coming storm; even the cattle make known its approach.” New Living Translation (NLT): “The thunder announces his presence; the storm announces his indignant anger.” Christian Standard Bible (CSB): “The thunder declares his presence; the cattle also, the approaching storm.” The “crashing” is thunder. The “presence” or “rising” is the approaching storm.
What do the cattle have to do with it? In ancient times (and still today!), farmers noticed that animals have an uncanny ability to sense changes in barometric pressure. Before a drop of rain even falls, cows will often gather together, head for shelter, or lie down in the pasture because they know a storm is coming. So, Elihu is essentially saying: “God’s voice rolls out in the thunder, announcing He is on the move. Even the livestock in the fields are smart enough to look up, read the sky, and know a storm is rising!”
Hope this helps.
Peter
Ever tried the LXX here @WrestleWGod?
J.