Ayub 38:24-27

38:24 In what direction is lightning ¹  dispersed,

or the east winds scattered over the earth?

38:25 Who carves out a channel for the heavy rains,

and a path for the rumble of thunder,

38:26 to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land, ² 

a desert where there are no human beings, ³ 

38:27 to satisfy a devastated and desolate land,

and to cause it to sprout with vegetation? ⁴ 

[38:24]  ¹ tn Because the parallel with “light” and “east wind” is not tight, Hoffmann proposed ‘ed instead, “mist.” This has been adopted by many. G. R. Driver suggests “parching heat” (“Problems in the Hebrew text of Job,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 91-92).

[38:26]  ² tn Heb “on a land, no man.”

[38:26]  ³ tn Heb “a desert, no man in it.”

[38:27]  ⁴ tn Heb “to cause to sprout a source of vegetation.” The word מֹצָא (motsa’) is rendered “mine” in Job 28:1. The suggestion with the least changes is Wright’s: צָמֵא (tsame’, “thirsty”). But others choose מִצִּיָּה (mitsiyyah, “from the steppe”).