OET interlinear JOB 38:9

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

בְּ⁠שׂוּמִ֣⁠י עָנָ֣ן לְבֻשׁ֑⁠וֹ וַ֝⁠עֲרָפֶ֗ל חֲתֻלָּתֽ⁠וֹ

in/on/at/with,made,I clouds garment,its and,thick_darkness swaddling_band,its

Continuing the image of the sea being born when it was created, Yahweh is speaking as if he literally provided clouds as its clothing and thick darkness as its swaddling bands when it was first born. Within the context of this speech, this may be a reference to the way Yahweh has complete knowledge of and control over every element of creation. People in this culture regarded the sea as the realm of watery chaos; these images may be an assertion that God has always had the sea under his control and care. Alternate translation: “when I sheltered it and protected it as a mother would do for her newborn child”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

בְּ⁠שׂוּמִ֣⁠י עָנָ֣ן לְבֻשׁ֑⁠וֹ

in/on/at/with,made,I clouds garment,its

Yahweh is not referring to a specific cloud. He means clouds in general. It may be more natural in your language to express this meaning by using a plural form. Alternate translation: “when I made the clouds its clothing”

Note 3 topic: translate-unknown

וַ֝⁠עֲרָפֶ֗ל חֲתֻלָּתֽ⁠וֹ

and,thick_darkness swaddling_band,its

The term swaddling bands describes the strips of cloth in which mothers in some cultures wrap their newborn babies to help them feel secure. If your readers would not be familiar with what swaddling bands are, if you wish to retain the poetic image in your translation, you could use the name of a comparable object in your culture. Alternate translation: “and thick darkness its baby blanket”