Job 38:27 kjv
To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?
Job 38:27 nkjv
To satisfy the desolate waste, And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?
Job 38:27 niv
to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?
Job 38:27 esv
to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground sprout with grass?
Job 38:27 nlt
Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground
and make the tender grass spring up?
Job 38 27 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 1:11-12 | ...God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed..." | God's command initiating plant growth in creation |
| Ps 65:9-10 | You visit the earth and water it...You soften it with showers... | God as the provider of rain and fertility |
| Ps 65:13 | ...the meadows are clothed with flocks, the valleys are covered with grain | Abundance as a result of God's provision |
| Ps 104:14 | He causes the grass to grow for the livestock... | God's specific provision for animals |
| Ps 147:8 | He covers the heavens with clouds; He prepares rain for the earth; He makes grass grow on the hills. | God orchestrates rain and growth on earth |
| Isa 35:1-2 | The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad...and blossom like the crocus. | Prophecy of spiritual and natural transformation |
| Isa 35:7 | The burning sand shall become a pool...in the haunt of jackals, grass. | Transformation of desert into lush land |
| Isa 41:18 | I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. | God's power to bring water to barren places |
| Isa 41:19 | I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia... | God brings diverse flora to deserts |
| Isa 43:19 | Behold, I am doing a new thing...I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. | God creates new paths and sources of life |
| Isa 43:20 | ...provide water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to My chosen people. | God's provision for His people in wilderness |
| Isa 55:10 | For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout... | The effectiveness of God's word and provision |
| Ezek 36:34-35 | And the desolate land shall be tilled...and the land that was desolate shall become like the garden of Eden. | Spiritual and physical restoration |
| Ezek 37:4-6 | ...Behold, I will cause breath to enter you...and cover you with skin... | God brings life to 'dry bones'; spiritual revival |
| Hos 6:3 | He will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth. | God's coming like refreshing rain |
| Mt 6:28-30 | Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow...God clothes the grass... | God's meticulous care for all creation |
| Lk 12:24 | Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap...Yet God feeds them. | God's direct provision for creation |
| Acts 14:17 | ...He gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness. | God's continuous provision for humanity |
| Col 1:17 | And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. | Christ's active role in sustaining creation |
| Heb 1:3 | ...He upholds the universe by the word of His power. | God's continuous sustenance of all things |
| Ps 24:1 | The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. | God's ownership and sovereignty over creation |
| Jer 5:24 | ...who gives the rain, both the early and the latter rain, in its season... | God as the dispenser of seasonal rains |
| Job 38:4 | "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" | God questions Job's foundational knowledge |
| Job 38:19 | "Where is the way to the dwelling of light?" | God challenges Job's understanding of cosmic order |
Job 38 verses
Job 38 27 Meaning
This verse from God's challenge to Job highlights His absolute and unchallengeable power to bring forth life, abundance, and fertility to even the most desolate, uninhabitable, and parched regions of the earth. It demonstrates God's sovereign control over nature and His providential care for all creation, extending beyond human dwelling.
Job 38 27 Context
Job 38 marks God's first direct speech to Job from a whirlwind, a powerful demonstration of His presence. After chapters of Job questioning God's justice and suffering, God finally speaks not to answer Job's complaints directly but to challenge Job's presumption to understand or critique divine wisdom. The entire chapter focuses on God's profound knowledge and unchallenged power over the vastness and intricate details of creation – the earth's foundations, the seas, light, darkness, weather phenomena, and wild animals. Verse 27 specifically queries Job about His role or ability to control the crucial natural processes of rain and growth in uninhabited regions. This rhetorical question highlights the immeasurable gap between Job's finite understanding and God's infinite wisdom and sovereign control. Historically, in the ancient Near East, control over rain and fertility was often attributed to various local deities like Baal. God's speech serves as a direct polemic against such polytheistic notions, firmly establishing Yahweh as the sole and supreme orchestrator of all creation, extending His dominion even to places outside human reach or utility.
Job 38 27 Word analysis
- to satisfy: Hebrew l'hasbia'a (לְהַשְׂבִּ֣יעַ). This is the Hiphil infinitive construct of the verb śāvaʿ (שָׂבַע), meaning "to be full," "to be satisfied," or "to have enough." In the Hiphil stem, it means "to cause to be full," "to satisfy completely," or "to provide in abundance." It signifies an overflowing provision, not just a bare minimum, highlighting God's generous and total fulfillment.
- the desolate wasteland: Hebrew sho'ah u'mesho'ah (שֹׁאוָה וּמְשֹׁאוָה). This is a strong, intensive expression formed by a noun (sho'ah – "ruin," "devastation," "waste") and its related intensive form (mesho'ah – "absolute desolation" or "total waste"). Together, they paint a picture of utter barrenness, emptiness, and ruin, emphasizing a land completely devoid of life or human habitation.
- and to make... sprout: Hebrew ul'hatsmiach (וּלְהַצְמִ֖יחַ). This is the conjunction 'and' (u-) followed by the Hiphil infinitive construct of ṣāmaḥ (צָמַח), which means "to sprout," "to spring up," or "to grow." In the Hiphil, it means "to cause to grow," "to make sprout forth." Like 'to satisfy', it emphasizes God's active and direct role in initiating growth where there was none.
- the dry ground: This phrase translates the underlying implication within the Hebrew for the 'wasteland' needing 'grass.' While not a single distinct Hebrew word here, it describes the parched condition of the "desolate wasteland." Hebrew often uses terms like tsiya (צִיָּה), "dryness" or "dry land" (as in Isa 41:18), to convey this state.
- grass: Hebrew deshe' (דֶּֽשֶׁא). Refers to tender grass, young vegetation, or verdure. It represents the basic, vital green cover essential for life and ecosystems, signifying the fundamental form of sustenance and the start of biological activity. Its appearance in a 'wasteland' is a simple yet profound miracle.
Words-group by words-group analysis
- to satisfy the desolate wasteland: This phrase powerfully contrasts God's abundant provision ("to satisfy") with a place of utter barrenness and devastation ("the desolate wasteland"). It showcases God's unique ability to transform nothingness into fullness, emphasizing divine power that reverses extreme natural conditions.
- and to make the dry ground sprout grass?: This complementary clause provides the specific action that achieves the transformation. It describes the precise bringing forth of life (grass) from the very substance (dry ground) that offers no natural potential for it. The rhetorical question underlines that this is a feat far beyond any human capability, emphasizing God's sole, effortless authority over life itself.
Job 38 27 Bonus section
- Cosmic Governance: The verse implies God's care extends beyond human-centric needs, governing creation for its own sake and the intricate balance of the world. It shows God as the universal Sustainer, not merely a God for mankind.
- Humbling Wisdom: God's questions serve not as insults, but as a method of bringing Job to humility, revealing the limitations of human knowledge and wisdom in comparison to divine understanding of creation's complex mechanisms.
- The Power of Simplicity: The act of causing grass to sprout from dry ground seems simple, but in its natural context of absolute desolation, it's a profound miracle only possible through divine intervention, underscoring the extraordinary power in seemingly ordinary acts of God.
Job 38 27 Commentary
Job 38:27 is part of God's profound challenge to Job, intended to reframe Job's understanding of divine sovereignty. Instead of directly addressing Job's complaints, God invites Job to consider the incomprehensible scope of creation, particularly focusing on elements like rain and plant growth in regions untouched by human activity. This verse, presented as a rhetorical question, implicitly asserts God's unchallenged mastery over these phenomena. He satisfies barrenness with abundance and causes life to spring forth where it is naturally impossible. This isn't just about God providing for humanity, but about His cosmic governance—He cares for and maintains creation even in the uninhabited desert. The humility conveyed by such questions is that Job, and by extension humanity, cannot replicate, command, or even fully comprehend these fundamental acts of creation. It demonstrates God's universal reach, His provision independent of human petition, and His absolute power over all things, affirming His wisdom far beyond human grasp.