Job 36 · Verse 27

Job 36:27

For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:
Job 36:27, King James Version

Job 36:27 in other translations

BSBFor He draws up drops of water which distill the rain from the mist,
WEBFor he draws up the drops of water, which distill in rain from his vapor,
ASVFor he draweth up the drops of water, Which distil in rain from his vapor,
YLTWhen He doth diminish droppings of the waters, They refine rain according to its vapour,
DARBYFor he draweth up the drops of water: they distil in rain from the vapour which he formeth,
BBEFor he takes up the drops from the sea; he sends them through his mist as rain,
WebsterFor he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapor of it.

What does Job 36:27 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Job 36:27-28
27-28. The marvellous formation of rain (so Job 5:9, 10). maketh small--Rather, "He draweth (up) to Him, He attracts (from the earth below) the drops of water; they (the drops of water) pour down rain, (which is) His vapor." "Vapor" is in apposition with "rain," marking the way in which rain is formed; namely, from the vapor drawn up by God into the air and then condensed into drops, which fall (Psa 147:8). The suspension of such a mass of water, and its descent not in a deluge, but in drops of vapory rain, are the marvel. The selection of this particular illustration of God's greatness forms a fit prelude to the storm in which God appears (Job 40:1).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 27 He maketh small the drops of water - This appears simply to refer to evaporation, and perhaps it would be better to translate יגרע yegara, "he exhales;" detaches the smallest particles of the aqueous mass from the surface in order to form clouds, as reservoirs for the purpose of furnishing rain for the watering of the earth. God is seen in little things, as well as great things; and the inconceivably little, as well as the stupendously great, are equally the work of Omnipotence. They pour down rain - These exceedingly minute drops or vapor become collected in clouds; and then, when agitated by winds, etc. many particles being united, they become too heavy to be sustained by the air in which they before were suspended, and so fall down in rain, which is either a mist, a drizzle, a shower, a storm, or a waterspout, according to the influence of different winds, or the presence and quantum of the electric fluid. And all this is proportioned, לאדו le-edo, "to its vapor," to the quantity of the fluid evaporated and condensed into clouds.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 36:24-33

Elihu endeavours to fill Job with high thought of God, and so to persuade him into cheerful submission to his providence. Man may see God's works, and is capable of discerning his hand in them, which the beasts are not, therefore they ought to give him the glory. But while the worker of iniquity ought to tremble, the true believer should rejoice. Children should hear with pleasure their Father's voice, even when he…

Read the full comment on Job 36:24-33 →

Job 36:27 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כִּ֭יkiforH3588
יְגָרַ֣עye.ga.Ra'he draws upH1639
נִטְפֵי\־nit.fei-drops ofH5198
מָ֑יִםMa.yimwaterH4325
יָזֹ֖קּוּya.Zo.kuthey refineH2212
מָטָ֣רma.TarrainH4306
לְאֵדֽוֹ\׃le.'e.Doto mist itsH108

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Job 36:27

  • Psalms 147:8

    Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.

  • Job 5:9

    Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:

  • Psalms 148:8

    Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word:

  • Job 38:25-28

    Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man; To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth? Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

  • Psalms 65:9-13

    Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side. …

  • Genesis 2:5-6

    And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

  • Job 38:34

    Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?

  • Isaiah 5:6

    And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.

  • Job 36:33

    The noise thereof sheweth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapour.

  • Jeremiah 14:22

    Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
he.
5:9; 38:25-28,34; Ge 2:5,6; Ps 65:9-13; Isa 5:6; Jer 14:22
the vapour.
33; Ps 148:8

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Job 36:26

    Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.

  • Job 36:27

    For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:

  • Job 36:28

    Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.

Read all of Job 36

Job 36:27 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		El reduce las gotas de las aguas, al derramarse la lluvia según el vapor;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Car il attire les gouttes d’eau: des vapeurs qu’il forme elles distillent la pluie,
German
Elberfelder 1871		Denn er zieht Wassertropfen herauf; von dem Dunst, den er bildet, träufeln sie als Regen,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Qui aufert stillas pluviæ, et effundit imbres ad instar gurgitum,