Job 38:9

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

When I made clouds the garment thereof, And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

בְּשׂוּמִ֣י עָנָ֣ן לְבֻשׁ֑וֹ וַ֝עֲרָפֶ֗ל חֲתֻלָּתֽוֹ׃

Transliteration

When-śûmî ʿānān lĕbušô and-ʿărāpel ḥătullātô.

Grammar Details

*bə*: preposition - in/when
*śûmî*: qal infinitive construct with 1st singular suffix - my placing/setting
*ʿānān*: noun, masculine singular - cloud
*lĕbušô*: noun, masculine singular with 3rd masculine singular suffix - its garment
*wə-*: conjunction - and
*ʿărāpel*: noun, masculine singular - thick darkness/deep gloom
*ḥătullātô*: noun, feminine singular with 3rd masculine singular suffix - its swaddling band

Word Meanings

*śûmî*: my placing/my setting/my making
*ʿānān*: cloud/cloudiness
*lĕbušô*: its garment/its clothing
*ʿărāpel*: thick darkness/heavy cloud/deep gloom
*ḥătullātô*: its swaddling band/its wrapping

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Gen 1:2 : 2 And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Isa 50:3
80%
3I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.
Job 38:10
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10And marked out for it my bound, And set bars and doors,
Job 38:8
79%
8Or [who] shut up the sea with doors, When it brake forth, [as if] it had issued out of the womb;
2 Sam 22:12
79%
12And he made darkness pavilions round about him, Gathering of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
Ps 18:11-12
2 verses
78%
11He made darkness his hiding-place, his pavilion round about him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed, Hailstones and coals of fire.
Job 26:8-10
3 verses
75%
8He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; And the cloud is not rent under them.
9He incloseth the face of his throne, And spreadeth his cloud upon it.
10He hath described a boundary upon the face of the waters, Unto the confines of light and darkness.
Prov 8:27-29
3 verses
75%
27When he established the heavens, I was there: When he set a circle upon the face of the deep,
28When he made firm the skies above, When the fountains of the deep became strong,
29When he gave to the sea its bound, That the waters should not transgress his commandment, When he marked out the foundations of the earth;
Ps 104:2-3
2 verses
75%
2Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment; Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain;
3Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters; Who maketh the clouds his chariot; Who walketh upon the wings of the wind;
Job 37:11
74%
11Yea, he ladeth the thick cloud with moisture; He spreadeth abroad the cloud of his lightning:
Job 36:32
74%
32He covereth his hands with the lightning, And giveth it a charge that it strike the mark.
Job 38:34
74%
34Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover thee?
Job 38:37-38
2 verses
73%
37Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,
38When the dust runneth into a mass, And the clods cleave fast together?
Job 22:13-14
2 verses
73%
13And thou sayest, What doth God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness?
14Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he seeth not; And he walketh on the vault of heaven.
Job 37:15-18
4 verses
73%
15Dost thou know how God layeth [his charge] upon them, And causeth the lightning of his cloud to shine?
16Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, The wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge?
17How thy garments are warm, When the earth is still by reason of the south [wind]?
18Canst thou with him spread out the sky, Which is strong as a molten mirror?
Job 36:29-30
2 verses
72%
29Yea, can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, The thunderings of his pavilion?
30Behold, he spreadeth his light around him; And he covereth the bottom of the sea.
Ezek 32:7-8
2 verses
72%
7And when I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light.
8All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Job 38:19
72%
19Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
Job 38:24-25
2 verses
72%
24By what way is the light parted, Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?
25Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood, Or the way for the lightning of the thunder;
Job 28:26
72%
26When he made a decree for the rain, And a way for the lightning of the thunder;
Job 22:11
71%
11Or darkness, so that thou canst not see, And abundance of waters cover thee.
Ps 18:9
71%
9He bowed the heavens also, and came down; And thick darkness was under his feet.
Job 38:4
71%
4Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.
Ps 139:11-12
2 verses
71%
11If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me, And the light about me shall be night;
12Even the darkness hideth not from thee, But the night shineth as the day: The darkness and the light are both alike [to thee].
Gen 9:14
71%
14And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud,
Job 38:29-30
2 verses
71%
29Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
30The waters hide themselves [and become] like stone, And the face of the deep is frozen.
Job 38:2
71%
2Who is this that darkeneth counsel By words without knowledge?
Job 38:14
71%
14It is changed as clay under the seal; And [all things] stand forth as a garment:
Job 9:8
71%
8That alone stretcheth out the heavens, And treadeth upon the waves of the sea;
Job 19:8
71%
8He hath walled up my way that I cannot pass, And hath set darkness in my paths.
Ps 104:6
71%
6Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a vesture; The waters stood above the mountains.
Job 29:3-4
2 verses
70%
3When his lamp shined upon my head, And by his light I walked through darkness;
4As I was in the ripeness of my days, When the friendship of God was upon my tent;
2 Sam 22:10
70%
10He bowed the heavens also, and came down; And thick darkness was under his feet.
Jer 51:16
69%
16when he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries.