Job 38:16
New International Version
“Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?

New Living Translation
“Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you explored their depths?

English Standard Version
“Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep?

Berean Standard Bible
Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep?

King James Bible
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?

New King James Version
“Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths?

New American Standard Bible
“Have you entered the springs of the sea, And walked in the depth of the ocean?

NASB 1995
“Have you entered into the springs of the sea Or walked in the recesses of the deep?

NASB 1977
“Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?

Legacy Standard Bible
“Have you entered into the springs of the sea Or walked in the recesses of the deep?

Amplified Bible
“Have you entered and explored the springs of the sea Or [have you] walked in the recesses of the deep?

Christian Standard Bible
Have you traveled to the sources of the sea or walked in the depths of the oceans?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Have you traveled to the sources of the sea or walked in the depths of the oceans?

American Standard Version
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?

Contemporary English Version
Job, have you ever walked on the ocean floor?

English Revised Version
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Have you gone to the springs in the sea or walked through the valleys of the ocean depths?

Good News Translation
Have you been to the springs in the depths of the sea? Have you walked on the floor of the ocean?

International Standard Version
"Have you been to the source of the sea and walked about in the recesses of the deepest ocean?

Majority Standard Bible
Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep?

NET Bible
Have you gone to the springs that fill the sea, or walked about in the recesses of the deep?

New Heart English Bible
"Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?

Webster's Bible Translation
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?

World English Bible
“Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Have you come to springs of the sea? And in searching the deep "" Have you walked up and down?

Young's Literal Translation
Hast thou come in to springs of the sea? And in searching the deep Hast thou walked up and down?

Smith's Literal Translation
Didst thou go even to the fountains of the sea? and didst thou go about in searching the depth?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Hast thou entered into the depths of the sea, and walked in the lowest parts of the deep?

Catholic Public Domain Version
Have you entered the depths of the sea, and have you taken a walk in the uttermost parts of the abyss?

New American Bible
Have you entered into the sources of the sea, or walked about on the bottom of the deep?

New Revised Standard Version
“Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Have you entered into the depths of the sea? Or have you walked in the foundations of the deep?

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Have you entered to the depths of the sea, and in the foundations of the Abyss have you walked?
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Or hast thou gone to the source of the sea, and walked in the tracks of the deep?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
God Challenges Job
15Light is withheld from the wicked, and their upraised arm is broken. 16Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep? 17Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?…

Cross References
Psalm 107:23-24
Others went out to sea in ships, conducting trade on the mighty waters. / They saw the works of the LORD, and His wonders in the deep.

Proverbs 8:28-29
when He established the clouds above, when the fountains of the deep gushed forth, / when He set a boundary for the sea, so that the waters would not surpass His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth.

Genesis 7:11
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

Amos 9:6
He builds His upper rooms in the heavens and founds His vault upon the earth. He summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth. The LORD is His name.

Psalm 33:7
He piles up the waters of the sea; He puts the depths into storehouses.

Psalm 104:6-9
You covered it with the deep like a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. / At Your rebuke the waters fled; at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away— / the mountains rose and the valleys sank to the place You assigned for them— ...

Isaiah 51:10
Was it not You who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea for the redeemed to cross over?

Jeremiah 31:35
Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name:

Jonah 2:3
For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current swirled about me; all Your breakers and waves swept over me.

Ezekiel 26:19
For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘When I make you a desolate city like other deserted cities, and when I raise up the deep against you so that the mighty waters cover you,

Matthew 8:27
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!”

Mark 4:39-41
Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm. / “Why are you so afraid?” He asked. “Do you still have no faith?” / Overwhelmed with fear, they asked one another, “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

Luke 8:24-25
The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters, and they subsided, and all was calm. / “Where is your faith?” He asked. Frightened and amazed, they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him!”

John 1:3
Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.

Romans 11:33
O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!


Treasury of Scripture

Have you entered into the springs of the sea? or have you walked in the search of the depth?

the springs

Psalm 77:19
Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.

Proverbs 8:24
When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.

Jeremiah 51:36
Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.

walked

Job 26:5,6
Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof…

Jump to Previous
Deep Depth Entered Far Journeyed Places Recesses Sea Search Searching Secret Springs Walked Walking
Jump to Next
Deep Depth Entered Far Journeyed Places Recesses Sea Search Searching Secret Springs Walked Walking
Job 38
1. God challenges Job to answer
4. God, by his mighty works, convinces Job of ignorance
31. and weakness














Have you journeyed
This phrase challenges the listener, in this case, Job, to consider the vastness and mystery of God's creation. The Hebrew root for "journeyed" is "halak," which means to walk or go. It implies an active exploration or understanding. In the context of Job, it serves as a rhetorical question highlighting human limitations compared to divine omniscience. The journey here is not just physical but also metaphorical, representing the quest for wisdom and understanding that is beyond human reach.

to the springs of the sea
The "springs of the sea" refers to the sources of the ocean's waters, a concept that would have been mysterious and awe-inspiring in ancient times. The Hebrew word "nebek" is used for "springs," suggesting a hidden or secret origin. This phrase underscores the idea that there are aspects of creation that remain hidden from human knowledge. In a historical context, the ancients had limited understanding of oceanography, making this a profound statement about the mysteries of the natural world that only God comprehends.

or walked in the recesses of the deep?
The "recesses of the deep" refers to the unexplored and unfathomable depths of the ocean. The Hebrew word "tehom" is used for "deep," often associated with chaos and the unknown in ancient Near Eastern literature. This phrase emphasizes the vastness and complexity of creation, which is beyond human exploration and understanding. It serves as a reminder of God's sovereignty over all creation, including the most mysterious and inaccessible parts of the world. The imagery of walking in these recesses suggests an intimate knowledge and control that only the Creator possesses.

(16) The search of the depth--i.e., the secret recesses of it. The "springs of the sea" are rather, perhaps, the mazes, intricacies, &c. of the trackless, pathless deep. This leads to the cognate thought of the bottomless pit of death (Job 38:17).

Verse 16. - Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? The emphasis is on the word "springs," which means sources, origin, or deepest depths (see the Septuagint, which has πηγή, and the Vulgate, which has profunda). Canst thou go to the bottom of anything, explore its secrets, explain its cause and origin? Or hast thou walked in the search (rather, the deep places) of the depth? Art thou not as ignorant as other men of all these remote and secret things? Physical science is now attempting the material exploration of the ocean-depths, but "deep-sea dredgings" bring us no nearer to the origin, cause, or mode of creation of the great watery mass.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Have you journeyed
הֲ֭בָאתָ (hă·ḇā·ṯā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

to
עַד־ (‘aḏ-)
Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while

the vents
נִבְכֵי־ (niḇ·ḵê-)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 5033: A fountain

of the sea
יָ֑ם (yām)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3220: A sea, the Mediterranean Sea, large river, an artifical basin

or walked
הִתְהַלָּֽכְתָּ׃ (hiṯ·hal·lā·ḵə·tā)
Verb - Hitpael - Perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

in the trenches
וּבְחֵ֥קֶר (ū·ḇə·ḥê·qer)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2714: A searching, a thing (to be) searched out

of the deep?
תְּ֝ה֗וֹם (tə·hō·wm)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 8415: An abyss, the deep


Links
Job 38:16 NIV
Job 38:16 NLT
Job 38:16 ESV
Job 38:16 NASB
Job 38:16 KJV

Job 38:16 BibleApps.com
Job 38:16 Biblia Paralela
Job 38:16 Chinese Bible
Job 38:16 French Bible
Job 38:16 Catholic Bible

OT Poetry: Job 38:16 Have you entered into the springs (Jb)
Job 38:15
Top of Page
Top of Page