Job 38
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
Then spake Jehovah to Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
2 “Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?
Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.
Gird up thy loins like a man! I will ask thee, and answer thou 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? Declare, if thou hast understanding!
5 Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched a measuring line across it?
Who fixed its dimensions, that thou shouldst know it! Or who stretched out the line upon it?
6 On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone,
Upon what were its foundations fixed? And who laid its corner-stone,
7 while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
And who shut up the sea with doors, When it burst forth as from the womb?
9 when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its blanket,
When I made the clouds its mantle, And thick darkness its swaddling-band;
10 when I fixed its boundaries and set in place its bars and doors,
When I appointed for it my bound, And fixed 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 shalt thou come, and no farther, And here shall thy proud waves be stayed!
12 In your days, have you commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place,
Hast thou, in thy life, given charge to the morning, Or caused the day-spring to know its place,
13 that it might spread to the ends of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?
That it should lay hold of the ends of the earth, And shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its hills stand out like the folds of a garment.
It is changed as clay by the seal; And all things stand forth as in rich apparel.
15 Light is withheld from the wicked, and their upraised arm is broken.
But from the wicked their light is withheld, 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?
Hast thou visited the springs of the sea, And walked through the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
Have the gates of death been disclosed to thee, And hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Have you surveyed the extent of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.
Hast thou surveyed the breadth of the earth? Declare, 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 abode of light? And darkness—where is its dwelling-place?
20 so you can lead it back to its border? Do you know the paths to its home?
That thou shouldst lead it to its boundary, And that thou shouldst know the paths to its mansion!
21 Surely you know, for you were already born! And the number of your days is great!
Surely thou knowest; for thou wast then born! And the number of thy years is great!
22 Have you entered the storehouses of snow or observed the storehouses of hail,
Hast thou visited the storehouses of the snow, Or seen 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 against the time of trouble, —Against the day of battle and war?
24 In which direction is the lightning dispersed, or the east wind scattered over the earth?
What is the way to where light is distributed, And the east wind spread abroad upon the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the flood or clears a path for the thunderbolt,
Who hath prepared channels for the rain, And a path for the thunder-flash,
26 to bring rain on a barren land, on a desert where no man lives,
To give rain to the land without an inhabitant, To the wilderness wherein is no man;
27 to satisfy the parched wasteland and make it sprout with tender grass?
To satisfy the desolate and waste ground, And cause the tender herb to spring forth?
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 came the ice? And who hath gendered the hoar-frost of heaven?
30 when the waters become hard as stone and the surface of the deep is frozen?
The waters are hid as under stone, And the face of the deep becometh solid.
31 Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion?
Canst thou fasten the bands of the Pleiades, Or loosen the chains of Orion?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear and her cubs?
Canst thou lead forth the Signs in their season, Or guide the Bear with her sons?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?
Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Hast thou appointed their dominion over the earth?
34 Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, So that abundance of waters will cover thee?
35 Can you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
Canst thou send forth lightnings, so that they will go, And say to thee, “Here we are”?
36 Who has put wisdom in the heart or given understanding to the mind?
Who hath put understanding in the reins, And given intelligence to the mind?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of the heavens
Who numbereth the clouds in wisdom? And who poureth out the bottles of heaven,
38 when the dust hardens into a mass and the clods of earth stick together?
When the dust floweth into a molten mass, And the clods cleave fast together?
39 Can you hunt the prey for a lioness or satisfy the hunger of young lions
Canst thou hunt prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the hunger of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait in the thicket?
When they couch in their dens, And lie in wait in the thicket?
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 food, When his young ones cry unto God, While they wander about without food?
