Job 38 · Verse 11

Job 38:11

And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

Job 38:11, King James Version

Job 38:11 in other translations

BSB	and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther; here your proud waves must stop’?
WEB	and said, ‘You may come here, but no further. Your proud waves shall be stopped here’?
ASV	And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
YLT	And say, ‘Hitherto come thou, and add not, And a command is placed On the pride of thy billows.'
DARBY	And said, Hitherto shalt thou come and no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
BBE	And said, So far you may come, and no farther; and here the pride of your waves will be stopped?
Webster	And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed.

What does Job 38:11 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

11. stayed--Hebrew, "a limit shall be set to."

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 11 Hitherto shalt thou come - Thus far shall thy flux and reflux extend. The tides are marvellously limited and regulated, not only by the lunar and solar attractions, but by the quantum of time also which is required to remove any part of the earth's surface from under the immediate attractive influence of the sun and moon. And this regulation takes place by means of the rotation of the earth round its own axis, which causes one thousand and forty-two miles of its equator to pass from under any given point in the heavens in one hour; and about five hundred and eighty miles in the latitude of London: so that the attracted fluid parts are every moment passing from under the direct attractive influence, and thus the tides cannot generally be raised to any extraordinary height. The attraction of the sun and moon, and the gravitation of its own parts to its own center, which prevent too great a flux on the one hand, and too great a reflux on the other; or, in other words, too high a tide, and too deep an ebb, are also some of those bars and doors by which its proud waves are stayed, and prevented from coming farther; all being regulated by these laws of attraction by the sun and moon, the gravitation of its own parts from the sun and moon, and the diurnal motion round its own axis, by which the fluid parts, easily yielding to the above attraction, are continually moving from under the direct attractive influence. Here a world of wisdom and management was necessary, in order to proportion all these things to each other, so as to procure the great benefits which result from the flux and reflux of the sea, and prevent the evils that must take place, at least occasionally, were not those bars and doors provided. It is well known that the spring-tides happen at the change and full of the moon, at which time she is in conjunction with and opposition to the sun. As these retire from their conjunction, the tides neap till about three days after the first quadrature, when the tides begin again to be more and more elevated, and arrive at their maximum about the third day after the opposition. From this time the tides neap as before till the third day after the last quadrature; and afterwards their daily elevations are continually increased till about the third day after the conjunction, when they recommence their neaping; the principal phenomena of the tides always taking place at or near the some points of every lunar synodic revolution.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Job 38:4-11

For the humbling of Job, God here shows him his ignorance, even concerning the earth and the sea. As we cannot find fault with God's work, so we need not fear concerning it. The works of his providence, as well as the work of creation, never can be broken; and the work of redemption is no less firm, of which Christ himself is both the Foundation and the Corner-stone. The church stands as firm as the earth.

Read the full comment on Job 38:4-11 →

Job 38:11 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.

וָאֹמַ֗רva.'o.Marand I saidH559

עַד\־'ad-toH5704

פֹּ֣הpohhereH6311

תָ֭בוֹאTa.Vo'you will comeH935

וְלֹ֣אve.Lo'and notH3808

תֹסִ֑יףto.Sifyou will addH3254

וּפֹ֥א\־u.Fo'-and hereH6311

יָ֝שִׁ֗יתya.Shitsomeone will fixH7896

בִּגְא֥וֹןbig.'onin [the] pride ofH1347

גַּלֶּֽיךָ\׃ga.Lei.khawaves yourH1530

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

Cross references for Job 38:11

Psalms 89:9
Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.
Proverbs 8:29
When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
Psalms 65:6-7
Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains; being girded with power: Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.
Luke 8:32-33
And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.
Mark 4:39-41
And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Job 2:6
And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
Psalms 93:3-4
The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.
Isaiah 27:8
In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind.
Job 1:22
In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
Psalms 76:10
Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.
Revelation 20:7-8
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Hitherto.Thus far shall thy flux and reflux extend. The tides are marvellously limited and regulated, not only by the lunar and solar attraction, but by the quantum of time required to remove any part of the earth's surface, by its rotation round its axis, from under the immediate attractive influence of the sun and moon. Hence the attraction of the sun and moon, and the gravitation of the sea to its own centre, which prevent too great a flux on the one hand, and too great reflux on the other, are some of those bars and doors by which its proud waves are stayed, and prevented from coming farther.
Ps 65:6,7; 93:3,4; Pr 8:29; Mr 4:39-41
but.
1:22; 2:6; Ps 76:10; 89:9; Isa 27:8; Lu 8:32,33; Re 20:2,3,7,8
thy proud waves. Heb. the pride of thy waves.

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

Context

Job 38:10
And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
Job 38:11
And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
Job 38:12
Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;

Read all of Job 38

Job 38:11 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y dije: Hasta aquí vendrás, y no pasarás adelante, y ahí parará la hinchazón de tus ondas?
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et que je dis: Tu viendras jusqu’ici et tu n’iras pas plus loin, et ici s’arrêtera l’orgueil de tes flots?
German Elberfelder 1871	und sprach: Bis hierher sollst du kommen und nicht weiter, und hier sei eine Schranke gesetzt dem Trotze deiner Wellen? -
Latin Clementine Vulgate	et dixi: Usque huc venies, et non procedes amplius, et hic confringes tumentes fluctus tuos.