Job 40:6 kjv
Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:6 nkjv
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
Job 40:6 niv
Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm:
Job 40:6 esv
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
Job 40:6 nlt
Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:
Job 40 6 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Job 38:1 | Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, | God's first address, identical context. |
| Job 40:3-5 | Then Job answered the LORD... "I lay my hand on my mouth." | Job's prior response of submission. |
| Ex 19:9 | The LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud," | Divine manifestation/Theophany. |
| Ex 19:16 | On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, | God's powerful presence at Sinai. |
| Deut 4:12 | Then the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, | God speaking amidst elemental force. |
| Ps 18:13 | The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. | God's powerful voice associated with storm. |
| Nahum 1:3 | The LORD is slow to anger and great in power... his way is in whirlwind and storm, | God's majestic presence and power. |
| Ezek 1:4 | As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with fire flashing forth continually and a bright radiance around it. | Prophetic vision of divine glory appearing in storm. |
| Zech 9:14 | Then the LORD will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightning. The Lord GOD will sound the trumpet, and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south. | God manifesting in judgment and battle. |
| Isa 45:9 | “Woe to him who strives with his Maker, an earthen vessel with the potter!” | Humanity’s inability to question God. |
| Isa 55:8-9 | For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. | Divine wisdom vastly superior to human. |
| Dan 4:35 | He does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’ | God's unquestionable sovereignty. |
| Rom 9:20 | But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molders, "Why have you made me thus?" | Emphasizing God's authority over creation. |
| 1 Cor 1:25 | For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. | God's wisdom transcends human understanding. |
| Job 42:2-3 | “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted... Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand," | Job's ultimate repentance and confession of God's sovereignty. |
| Ps 115:3 | Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. | God's absolute freedom and will. |
| Ps 135:6 | Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. | Affirmation of God's universal sovereignty. |
| Jer 23:19 | Behold, the storm of the LORD! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. | God’s wrath or power in a storm. |
| Job 13:21 | Only two things do not do to me, then I will not hide myself from you: withdraw your hand far from me, and let not dread of you terrify me. | Job's desire for an equitable discourse (contrast with 40:6). |
| 1 Kgs 19:11-12 | And he said, "Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains... But the LORD was not in the wind. | Contrast with Elijah's experience; God's diverse manifestations. |
Job 40 verses
Job 40 6 Meaning
Job 40:6 marks the beginning of the Lord’s second discourse to Job. This verse signifies a pivotal moment of direct divine communication, reiterating God's unassailable authority and infinite wisdom, manifesting through a powerful natural phenomenon. It serves as a renewed challenge to Job’s limited human understanding, following Job’s humbling silence.
Job 40 6 Context
Job 40:6 follows Job's subdued and humbled response in Job 40:3-5, where he acknowledges his insignificance and covers his mouth, effectively silenced. This second divine discourse is initiated not because Job had new arguments, but because his repentance, though real, was incomplete. The initial dialogue in Job (chapters 3-31) presented Job’s complaints and his friends’ rigid theological responses. God first spoke in Job 38:1, also "out of the whirlwind," beginning a comprehensive exposé of His control over creation and cosmos. Job 40:6 re-establishes God's authoritative posture, serving as a preamble to an even more intense divine interrogation and instruction. This moment underscores that human understanding of divine justice and cosmic order is fundamentally flawed without direct revelation from the Almighty. The divine challenge progresses from the wonders of creation to the mightiest of creatures (Behemoth and Leviathan) to ultimately demonstrate God's unchallengeable sovereignty.
Job 40 6 Word analysis
- Then (וַיַּעַן - wayya‘an - from ענה - ʿanah "to answer"): Signifies a direct consequence or sequence. It connects back to Job’s silence and indicates God's responsive, continued address, building on the preceding exchange. It implies that God is taking up the conversation again, after Job has made his statement.
- the LORD (יהוה - YHWH): The covenant, personal, and ineffable name of the God of Israel. It emphasizes God's self-existent, eternal, and absolute nature, identifying the speaker as the sovereign Creator, not an impersonal force or lesser deity. This name underscores His authority and relational intent, despite the overwhelming display of power.
- answered (וַיַּעַן - wayya‘an): To respond or reply. Although Job’s recent words (40:3-5) were words of submission, God's "answer" here is not merely a reaction to Job's silence, but a continuation of the divine purpose – to fully clarify His position and wisdom to Job. It indicates a verbal engagement from the divine side, pursuing a resolution.
- Job (אִיּוֹב - ʾiyyôḇ): The central human figure, whose experience of suffering initiated the grand debate. Direct address to him emphasizes the personal nature of God’s revelation and His specific focus on Job’s ultimate transformation.
- out of (מִסַּעֲרָה - missa‘arah - preposition min "from/out of"): Indicates the origin or source of the divine speech. The preposition intensifies the spatial separation and the extraordinary nature of God’s manifestation.
- the whirlwind (מִסַּעֲרָה - missa‘arah - from סערה - sa‘arah "storm," "tempest," "whirlwind"): This is a manifestation of divine power, majesty, and awe-inspiring presence. It's a raw, untamed display of God’s transcendence, underscoring the gap between the divine and the human. It is distinct from a gentle whisper or quiet presence, conveying overwhelming force and inaccessibility. It implies that the divine message is beyond common human comprehension, delivered from a realm of supreme authority. This powerful imagery communicates God’s uncontrollable nature and unsearchable power in creation.
- and said: Introduces the verbatim words of God, setting the stage for His ensuing declarations and questions, which are designed to further humble Job and broaden his understanding of God's providential rule.
Job 40 6 Bonus section
The recurring motif of God speaking "out of the whirlwind" (Job 38:1, 40:6) is highly significant. It emphasizes the consistency and unwavering nature of God's authority and mode of revelation to Job. It signifies that divine truth often manifests with immense power and beyond comfortable human predictability. Unlike other biblical accounts where God might speak through a still, small voice, here the whirlwind symbolizes His omnipotent power that is wild, untamable, and beyond human manipulation or comprehension. It directly addresses Job's internal turmoil and his intellectual challenge by presenting God not as a logical argument, but as an overwhelming, unchallengeable Reality, forcing a submission based on experience of His Person rather than just understanding His precepts. This emphasizes that wisdom, in this context, is found not in comprehension of the "why" of suffering, but in awe of and humble trust in the all-wise and all-powerful God.
Job 40 6 Commentary
Job 40:6 serves as a powerful divine re-entry into the dialogue, reiterating the setting of God's first appearance in the whirlwind (Job 38:1). It underscores that despite Job’s recent submission, his understanding was not yet fully rectified. The manifestation from the whirlwind reinforces God's overwhelming majesty and Job's limited, finite position as a creature. God does not explain His ways but asserts His absolute sovereignty through His demonstration of power. This is not a legal explanation, but a profound theological lesson that positions divine wisdom and justice as ultimately incomprehensible to human reason, especially when questioned from a stance of human limitation. The purpose is transformative: to lead Job to full surrender, humility, and trust in the unsearchable wisdom of the Almighty. It signifies God's continuing initiative to instruct His servant towards a deeper relationship of pure faith.