איוב 37

1 אף-לזאת יחרד לבי ויתר ממקומו

“My heart pounds [DOU] when [I think about] that.

2 שמעו שמוע ברגז קלו והגה מפיו יצא

Listen, all of you, to the thunder, which is like God’s voice [DOU].

3 תחת-כל-השמים ישרהו ואורו על-כנפות הארץ

He causes thunder to be heard all across the sky, and he causes lighting to flash to the most distant places on the earth.

4 אחריו ישאג-קול-- ירעם בקול גאונו ולא יעקבם כי-ישמע קולו

After [the lightning flashes], we hear the thunder which is like [MET] God’s majestic voice; he does not restrain the lightning when he speaks.

5 ירעם אל בקולו נפלאות עשה גדלות ולא נדע

When God speaks, it is awesome, like thunder; he does amazing things which we cannot [fully] understand.

6 כי לשלג יאמר-- הוא-ארץ וגשם מטר וגשם מטרות עזו

He commands the snow to fall on the ground, and [sometimes] he causes it to rain very hard.

7 ביד-כל-אדם יחתום-- לדעת כל-אנשי מעשהו

And [when God does that, ] it prevents people [SYN] from working, in order that all people may know that he is the one who has done that (OR, what he can do).

8 ותבוא חיה במו-ארב ובמעונתיה תשכן

[When it rains, ] animals go into their hiding places, and they remain there [until the rain stops].

9 מן-החדר תבוא סופה וממזרים קרה

The storms/hurricanes come from the place [in the south where they start], and the cold wind comes from the north.

10 מנשמת-אל יתן-קרח ורחב מים במוצק

[In the (winter/cold season), the cold north wind is like] God’s breath [that] causes [MET] water to freeze; he causes the lakes/streams to become ice.

11 אף-ברי יטריח עב יפיץ ענן אורו

God fills the clouds with moisture/hail, and lightning flashes from the clouds.

12 והוא מסבות מתהפך בתחבולתו לפעלם כל אשר יצום על-פני תבל ארצה

He guides the clouds and causes them to move back and forth in order that they may accomplish all that he commands them to do, all over the world.

13 אם-לשבט אם-לארצו-- אם-לחסד ימצאהו

Sometimes God sends rain to punish us, and sometimes he sends rain to show us that he acts kindly toward us.

14 האזינה זאת איוב עמד והתבונן נפלאות אל

“Job, listen to this; stop and think about the wonderful things that God does.

15 התדע בשום-אלוה עליהם והפיע אור עננו

(Do you know how God commands the lightning to flash down from the clouds?/We do not know how God commands the lightning to flash down from the clouds.) [RHQ]

16 התדע על-מפלשי-עב מפלאות תמים דעים

Only God knows everything perfectly; so (do you know how he causes the clouds to (move/float) (amazingly/wonderfully) across the sky?/you certainly do not know how he causes the clouds to (move/float) (amazingly/wonderfully) across the sky!) [RHQ]

17 אשר-בגדיך חמים-- בהשקט ארץ מדרום

No, you just sweat there in your clothes; [it is very oppressive] when the [hot] wind stops blowing from the south and [all the leaves on the trees] (become still/do not move).

18 תרקיע עמו לשחקים חזקים כראי מוצק

(Can you stretch out the skies like God does and make them as hard as [SIM] a sheet of polished brass?/You certainly cannot stretch out the skies like God does and make them as hard as [SIM] a sheet of polished brass!) [RHQ]

19 הודיענו מה-נאמר לו לא-נערך מפני-חשך

“Job, tell us(exc) what we should say to God; we do not know anything [IDM]. As a result, we do not know what to say to him to defend ourselves.

20 היספר-לו כי אדבר אם-אמר איש כי יבלע

Should I tell God that I want to speak to him? No, because [if I did that, ] he might destroy me.

21 ועתה לא ראו אור-- בהיר הוא בשחקים ורוח עברה ותטהרם

Now, people cannot look [directly] at the sun when it shines brightly in the sky after the wind has blown the clouds away; [so, we certainly cannot look at the brightness of God].

22 מצפון זהב יאתה על-אלוה נורא הוד

God comes out of the north with a light [that shines like] gold; his glory causes us to be afraid.

23 שדי לא-מצאנהו שגיא-כח ומשפט ורב-צדקה לא יענה

Almighty God is very powerful, and we cannot come near to him. He always acts righteously, and he will never oppress us.

24 לכן יראוהו אנשים לא-יראה כל-חכמי-לב

That is the reason that we have an awesome respect for him; he does not pay attention to those who proudly, [but wrongly], think that they are wise.”