Job 37

1 “At this my heart also pounds and leaps from its place.

At this my heart is shaking; it is moved out of its place.

2 Listen closely to the thunder of His voice and the rumbling that comes from His mouth.

Give ear to the rolling noise of his voice; to the hollow sound which goes out of his mouth.

3 He unleashes His lightning beneath the whole sky and sends it to the ends of the earth.

He sends it out through all the heaven, and his thunder-flame to the ends of the earth.

4 Then there comes a roaring sound; He thunders with His majestic voice. He does not restrain the lightning when His voice resounds.

After it a voice is sounding, thundering out the word of his power; he does not keep back his thunder-flames; from his mouth his voice is sounding.

5 God thunders wondrously with His voice; He does great things we cannot comprehend.

He does wonders, more than may be searched out; great things of which we have no knowledge;

6 For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the gentle rain, ‘Pour out a mighty downpour.’

For he says to the snow, Make the earth wet; and to the rain-storm, Come down.

7 He seals up the hand of every man, so that all men may know His work.

He puts an end to the work of every man, so that all may see his work.

8 The wild animals enter their lairs; they settle down in their dens.

Then the beasts go into their holes, and take their rest.

9 The tempest comes from its chamber, and the cold from the driving north winds.

Out of its place comes the storm-wind, and the cold out of its store-houses.

10 By the breath of God the ice is formed and the watery expanses are frozen.

By the breath of God ice is made, and the wide waters are shut in.

11 He loads the clouds with moisture; He scatters His lightning through them.

The thick cloud is weighted with thunder-flame, and the cloud sends out its light;

12 They swirl about, whirling at His direction, accomplishing all that He commands over the face of all the earth.

And it goes this way and that, round about, turning itself by his guiding, to do whatever he gives orders to be done, on the face of his world of men,

13 Whether for punishment or for His land, He accomplishes this in His loving devotion.

For a rod, or for a curse, or for mercy, causing it to come on the mark.

14 Listen to this, O Job; stand still and consider the wonders of God.

Give ear to this, O Job, and keep quiet in your place; and take note of the wonders worked by God.

15 Do you know how God dispatches the clouds or makes the lightning flash?

Have you knowledge of God's ordering of his works, how he makes the light of his cloud to be seen?

16 Do you understand how the clouds float, those wonders of Him who is perfect in knowledge?

Have you knowledge of the balancings of the clouds, the wonders of him who has all wisdom?

17 You whose clothes get hot when the land lies hushed under the south wind,

You, whose clothing is warm, when the earth is quiet because of the south wind,

18 can you, like Him, spread out the skies to reflect the heat like a mirror of bronze?

Will you, with him, make the skies smooth, and strong as a polished looking-glass?

19 Teach us what we should say to Him; we cannot draw up our case when our faces are in darkness.

Make clear to me what we are to say to him; we are unable to put our cause before him, because of the dark.

20 Should He be told that I want to speak? Would a man ask to be swallowed up?

How may he have knowledge of my desire for talk with him? or did any man ever say, May destruction come on me?

21 Now no one can gaze at the sun when it is bright in the skies after the wind has swept them clean.

And now the light is not seen, for it is dark because of the clouds; but a wind comes, clearing them away.

22 Out of the north He comes in golden splendor; awesome majesty surrounds Him.

A bright light comes out of the north; God's glory is greatly to be feared.

23 The Almighty is beyond our reach; He is exalted in power! In His justice and great righteousness He does not oppress.

There is no searching out of the Ruler of all: his strength and his judging are great; he is full of righteousness, doing no wrong.

24 Therefore, men fear Him, for He is not partial to the wise in heart.”

For this cause men go in fear of him; he has no respect for any who are wise in heart.