37 Heb “he gave weight to the wind.” The form is the infinitive construct with the ל (lamed) preposition. Some have emended it to change the preposition to the temporal בּ (bet) on the basis of some of the versions (e.g., Latin and ) that have “who made.” This is workable, for the infinitive would then take on the finite tense of the previous verbs. An infinitive of purpose does not work well, for that would be saying God looked everywhere in order to give wind its proper weight (see R. Gordis, Job, 310).
38 The verb is the Piel perfect, meaning “to estimate the measure” of something. In the verse, the perfect verb continues the function of the infinitive preceding it, as if it had a ו (vav) prefixed to it. Whatever usage that infinitive had, this verb is to continue it (see §114.r).
39 Or “decree.”
40 Or “thunderbolt,” i.e., lightning. Heb “the roaring of voices/sounds,” which describes the nature of the storm.
41 Heb “it”; the referent (wisdom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42 The verb סָפַר (safar) in the Piel basically means “to tell; to declare; to show” or “to count; to number.” Many commentators offer different suggestions for the translation. “Declared” (as in the , , and ) would be the simplest—but to whom did God declare it? Besides “appraised” which is the view of Pope, Dhorme and others (cf. , ), J. Reider has suggested “probed” (“Etymological studies in biblical Hebrew,” 2 [1952]: 127), Strahan has “studied,” and Kissane has “reckoned.” The difficulty is that the line has a series of verbs, which seem to build to a climax; but without more details it is hard to know how to translate them when they have such a range of meaning.
43 The verb כּוּן (kun) means “to establish; to prepare” in this stem. There are several that have the form from בִּין (bin, “discern”), giving “he discerned it,” making more of a parallel with the first colon. But the weight of the evidence supports the traditional reading.
44 The verb חָקַר (khaqar) means “to examine; to search out.” Some of the language used here is anthropomorphic, for the sovereign Lord did not have to research or investigate wisdom. The point is that it is as if he did this human activity, meaning that as in the results of such a search God knows everything about wisdom.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“God understands the way to it,

and he knows its place.

For he looks to the ends of the earth

and sees everything under the heavens.

When he gave to the wind its weight

and apportioned the waters by measure,

when he made a decree for the rain

and a way for the lightning of the thunder,

then he saw it and declared it;

he established it, and searched it out.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

God understands the way to it

and he alone knows where it dwells,

for he views the ends of the earth

and sees everything under the heavens.

When he established the force of the wind

and measured out the waters,

when he made a decree for the rain

and a path for the thunderstorm,

then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;

he confirmed it and tested it.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

But God understands the way to wisdom,

and he knows its location.

For he looks to the ends of the earth

and sees everything under the heavens.

When God fixed the weight of the wind

and distributed the water by measure,

when he established a limit for the rain

and a path for the lightning,

he considered wisdom and evaluated it;

he established it and examined it.

NLTNew Living Translation

“God alone understands the way to wisdom;

he knows where it can be found,

for he looks throughout the whole earth

and sees everything under the heavens.

He decided how hard the winds should blow

and how much rain should fall.

He made the laws for the rain

and laid out a path for the lightning.

Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it.

He set it in place and examined it thoroughly.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“God understands its way,

and he knows its place,

for he himself looks to the end of the earth;

he sees under all the heaven.

When he gave weight to the wind

and he apportioned the waters by measure,

when he made a rule for the rain

and a way for the thunder’s lightning bolt,

then he saw it and talked about it;

he established it, and moreover, he explored it.

KJV 1900King James Version

God understandeth the way thereof,

And he knoweth the place thereof.

For he looketh to the ends of the earth,

And seeth under the whole heaven;

To make the weight for the winds;

And he weigheth the waters by measure.

When he made a decree for the rain,

And a way for the lightning of the thunder:

Then did he see it, and declare it;

He prepared it, yea, and searched it out.

Public Domain