Job 37 5

Job 37:5 kjv

God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.

Job 37:5 nkjv

God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend.

Job 37:5 niv

God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding.

Job 37:5 esv

God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend.

Job 37:5 nlt

God's voice is glorious in the thunder.
We can't even imagine the greatness of his power.

Job 37 verses

Job 37 5 Meaning

Elihu declares that God powerfully announces His majestic presence and actions through natural phenomena, particularly thunder, revealing Himself in astonishing and inexplicable ways. These immense works of God transcend human understanding and remain beyond our comprehension, prompting awe and humility rather than full intellectual grasp.

Job 37 5 Context

Job 37:5 falls within Elihu's final speech, chapters 32-37. Elihu presents a different perspective on God and suffering compared to Job's friends and Job himself. He argues that God is just but also incomprehensibly wise and powerful, often using natural phenomena as evidence of divine majesty. Chapter 37 specifically details a powerful thunderstorm as a physical manifestation of God's immediate, sovereign control over creation, describing lightning, rain, wind, and snow as instruments of His will. This vivid portrayal prepares Job (and the reader) for the direct intervention of God Himself in the whirlwind (Job 38-41). The verse serves as a crucial summary statement, highlighting that God's actions, both in nature and beyond, are immensely significant ("great things") and yet fundamentally beyond the complete grasp of human intellect ("which we cannot comprehend"). This declaration subtly refutes the ancient Near Eastern polytheistic belief systems that attributed natural forces to multiple, sometimes competing, deities. Elihu emphatically asserts that all these astonishing displays originate from the one true God, demonstrating His absolute, singular sovereignty and unmatchable power.

Job 37 5 Word analysis

• God (אֵל - 'El): This common Hebrew term refers to the one supreme God, distinct from any false deities. In the context of Job, it emphasizes the singular, transcendent, and powerful Creator, El Shaddai.

• thunders (יַרְעֵם - yarcem): Derived from רָעַם (ra'am), meaning "to thunder," or "to cause to thunder." It signifies not merely a sound but an active, overwhelming display of divine power and presence, often evoking fear and awe. It links the atmospheric event directly to divine action.

• wondrously (נִפְלָאוֹת - nifla'ot): From פָּלָא (pala), denoting something "distinct," "extraordinary," or "miraculous." The plural form emphasizes the abundance of God's astounding works. These are acts that defy human expectation or explanation, pointing to God's unique and supernatural intervention.

• with his voice (קוֹלוֹ - qolo): This personifies the thunder as the direct articulation of God Himself. In biblical thought, God's voice is not just auditory but an active, potent force, associated with creation, command, judgment, and revelation, signifying His ultimate authority and power.

• he does great things (עוֹשֶׂה גְדֹלוֹת - oseh g'dolot): Literally "does great ones" or "great things." This phrase highlights the vast scale, profound impact, and unparalleled significance of God's actions across all creation and providence, far surpassing any human capacity or accomplishment.

• which we cannot comprehend (וְלֹא נֵדָע - welo neda): Literally "and not we know" or "we do not know/understand." This clause emphasizes humanity's inherent intellectual limitation in fully grasping God's infinite wisdom, vast purposes, and the underlying reasons for His ways. It is a call for humility before the divine mystery.

• "God thunders wondrously with his voice": This phrase vividly portrays God's dynamic, personal engagement with nature. It emphasizes that the spectacular force of a thunderstorm is a direct manifestation of God's powerful utterance, an audible testament to His sovereign command and capacity to perform unique, awe-inspiring deeds. It underscores that creation is an ongoing revelation of His glory.

• "he does great things which we cannot comprehend": This powerful assertion moves beyond the specific instance of thunder to encompass the entirety of God's majestic activities. It posits a fundamental epistemological barrier between finite human understanding and God's infinite, unsearchable wisdom and methods. It argues that while God's works are immense and impactful, their full meaning, purpose, and complexity remain ultimately veiled to human perception.

Job 37 5 Bonus section

This verse functions as a direct theological bridge to God's own direct speech from the whirlwind in Job 38-41. Elihu's consistent theme throughout his discourse is God's power, justice, and the unfathomable depth of His ways, which culminates here in describing God's voice as a thundering force of wondrous acts that defy human comprehension. This prepares both Job and the reader for the Lord's ensuing direct questions to Job about the mysteries of creation, which no human can fully answer. The emphasis on what "we cannot comprehend" prefigures God's overwhelming rhetorical questions in subsequent chapters, validating Elihu's prior claims of human cognitive limitations in the face of divine omniscience and omnipotence. The verse is a core wisdom statement in the Bible, affirming that God's grand design is ultimately beyond our ability to fully explain or categorize.

Job 37 5 Commentary

Job 37:5 articulates a profound theological truth central to Elihu's discourse and the broader book of Job: God's power and wisdom are majestic, awe-inspiring, and fundamentally beyond human intellectual grasp. By likening God's acts to thunder—a phenomenon both immense and often bewildering—Elihu points to God's immediate and sovereign control over creation. The "voice" of God signifies His active agency, while the "wondrously" and "great things" point to the unparalleled scope and supernatural quality of His deeds. The concluding "which we cannot comprehend" is crucial; it sets the boundary of human knowledge in contrast to divine wisdom, inviting awe, reverence, and humility rather than demands for simplistic answers. It subtly prepares Job, and indeed every person, for accepting a greater reality where God's purposes are grander and more complex than individual understanding allows, thereby shifting perspective from one focused on deservedness to one on God's transcendent sovereignty. This encourages trust in God's perfect, though often mysterious, ways.