Job 38
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
Then did the Lord address Job out of the storm-wind, and said,
2 “Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?
Who is this that casteth darkness [on my] counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.
Do but gird up like a mighty man thy loins: and I will ask thee, and do thou inform me.
4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? tell it, if thou hast any understanding [of it].
5 Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched a measuring line across it?
Who fixed her measurements, if thou knowest it? or who stretched the measuring-line over her?
6 On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone,
Upon what are her foundation-pillars placed at rest? or who laid her corner-stone:
7 while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
When altogether sang the morning stars in gladness, and shouted for joy all the sons of God?
8 Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
And who closed up with doors the sea, when, issuing forth, it came out of the deep bosom of the earth?
9 when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its blanket,
When I made the clouds its garment, and thick fog its swaddling-cloth,
10 when I fixed its boundaries and set in place its bars and doors,
And when I decreed for it my law, and set [for it] bars and doors,
11 and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther; here your proud waves must stop’?
And said, Thus far mayest thou come, but no farther; and here shall be stayed [thy strength] in the pride of thy waves?
12 In your days, have you commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place,
Didst thou ever, in all thy days, command the morning; didst thou ever assign the morning-dawn its place:
13 that it might spread to the ends of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?
That it might lay hold of the ends of the earth, so that the wicked might be shaken out therefrom?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its hills stand out like the folds of a garment.
She is changed as the sealing-clay: and [all things] stand as though newly clad.
15 Light is withheld from the wicked, and their upraised arm is broken.
And from the wicked is their light withdrawn, and the high-raised arm is broken.
16 Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep?
Didst thou ever penetrate as far as the springs of the sea? or wander through the bottom of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
Were the gates of death ever laid open unto thee? or canst thou see the doors of the shadow of death?
18 Have you surveyed the extent of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.
Hast thou a clear understanding of the breadth of the earth? Tell it, if thou knowest it all.
19 Where is the way to the home of light? Do you know where darkness resides,
Where is the way [to the spot where] the light dwelleth? and the darkness—where is its place,
20 so you can lead it back to its border? Do you know the paths to its home?
That thou mightest take each to its boundary, and that thou mightest mark the pathways to its house?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born! And the number of your days is great!
Thou [surely] knowest it; because thou wast then born, and the number of thy days is great!
22 Have you entered the storehouses of snow or observed the storehouses of hail,
Didst thou ever enter into the treasuries of the snow? or canst thou see the treasuries of the hail,
23 which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of war and battle?
Which I have reserved for the time of distress, for the day of fight and battle?
24 In which direction is the lightning dispersed, or the east wind scattered over the earth?
Where is the way [to the spot where] the light divideth itself, [where] the east wind is scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the flood or clears a path for the thunderbolt,
Who hath divided off watercourses for the overflowing rain, and a way for the lightning [that is followed by] thunders,
26 to bring rain on a barren land, on a desert where no man lives,
To bring rain on a land, void of men; on a wilderness wherein no son of earth [is found];
27 to satisfy the parched wasteland and make it sprout with tender grass?
To satisfy waste and desolate lands; and to promote the growth of the tender grass?
28 Does the rain have a father? Who has begotten the drops of dew?
Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of the dew?
29 From whose womb does the ice emerge? Who gives birth to the frost from heaven,
Out of whose womb cometh forth the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven—who giveth birth to it?
30 when the waters become hard as stone and the surface of the deep is frozen?
[When] like a stone the waters are congealed, and the face of the deep is bound in fetters?
31 Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion?
Canst thou bind together the chains of the Pleiades, or loosen the bands of Orion?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear and her cubs?
Canst thou bring forth the constellations of the zodiac, each in its season? or canst thou guide the Bear with its young?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?
Knowest thou the laws of heaven? or dost thou appoint its rule on the earth?
34 Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?
Canst thou lift up to the clouds thy voice, that the abundance of waters may cover thee?
35 Can you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
Canst thou send out lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here are we?
36 Who has put wisdom in the heart or given understanding to the mind?
Who hath put wisdom in the dark clouds? or who hath given understanding to the bright meteors?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of the heavens
Who ordaineth the skies with wisdom? or who emptieth out the bottles of heaven.
38 when the dust hardens into a mass and the clods of earth stick together?
When the dust is poured out as molten metal, and the clods are made to cleave fast together?
39 Can you hunt the prey for a lioness or satisfy the hunger of young lions
Dost thou hunt for the lioness her prey? and suppliest thou the food for the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait in the thicket?
When they are couched in their lairs, rest in the thicket, lying in wait?
41 Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God as they wander about for lack of food?
Who provideth for the raven his provision? when his young ones cry unto God, and wander about for lack of food?
