8:29

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

29a when He set a boundary for the sea,

29b so that the waters would not surpass His command,

29c when He marked out the foundations of the earth.

The first two lines describe the boundaries that the LORD set for the ocean. The third line is parallel to the first two lines. It also describes an area that the LORD established for part of his creation—the earth’s foundation.

8:29a

when He set a boundary for the sea: The boundary of the sea is where the LORD determined that the ocean would end and the dry land would begin. It is the place on the shore beyond which the waves may not come. Other ways to translate this clause are:

when he assigned to the sea its limit (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
when he set boundaries for the sea (Contemporary English Version)

8:29b

so that the waters would not surpass His command: The verb surpass means “to go beyond” or “to transgress.” This clause refers to the LORD’s command that the ocean not go past the boundary he had set. Another way to translate this clause is:

so they would not spread beyond their boundaries (New Living Translation (2004))

General Comment on 8:29a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder some of the parallel ideas in these two lines. For example:

I was there when he ordered the sea not to go beyond the borders he had set. (New Century Version)

8:29c

when He marked out the foundations of the earth: The Hebrew word translated as marked out is the same word that was used in 8:27b where the Berean Standard Bible translated it as “inscribed.” The word foundations is most often used of actual buildings, some of which had stone foundations. However, the earth’s foundations are figuratively described in Job 38:4–6 as having both supporting pillars and a cornerstone (see also 8:25a). So it is better if you can translate foundations without specifying a particular kind of foundation. The point in this verse is that the LORD designated the area on which the earth would be firmly set.

If your language has no word for foundation, you may be able to express the same meaning by using a verb phrase. For example:

when he decided where He would firmly set the earth

Several English translations describe the process of making a foundation rather than the first step of marking it out. For example:

when he laid the earth’s foundation (New Century Version)
-or-
when he laid foundations to support the earth (Contemporary English Version)

Be sure to choose whatever words are naturally used in your language for marking out and making a foundation.

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