Job 38
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
Then the LORD answered 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 now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto 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 determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone,
Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
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,
[Or who] shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, [as if] it had issued out of the womb;
9 when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its blanket,
When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
10 when I fixed its boundaries and set in place its bars and doors,
And prescribed for it my decree, and set bars and doors,
11 and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther; here your proud waves must stop’?
And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; 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 commanded the morning since thy days [began, and] caused the dayspring to know its place;
13 that it might spread to the ends of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?
That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked be shaken 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 under the seal; and [all things] stand forth as a garment:
15 Light is withheld from the wicked, and their upraised arm is broken.
And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm is broken.
16 Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep?
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in 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 revealed unto thee? or 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 comprehended 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 dwelling of light, and as for darkness, where is the place thereof;
20 so you can lead it back to its border? Do you know the paths to its home?
That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born! And the number of your days is great!
[Doubtless], thou knowest, for 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,
Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, or hast thou 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?
By what way is the light parted, or the east wind scattered upon the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the flood or clears a path for the thunderbolt,
Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood, or a way for the lightning of the thunder;
26 to bring rain on a barren land, on a desert where no man lives,
To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
27 to satisfy the parched wasteland and make it sprout with tender grass?
To satisfy the waste and desolate [ground]; and to cause the tender grass 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 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 the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
30 when the waters become hard as stone and the surface of the deep is frozen?
The waters are hidden as [with] stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
31 Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion?
Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the bands 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 Mazzaroth in their season? or canst thou guide the Bear with her train?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?
Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? canst thou establish the dominion thereof in 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, that 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 forth lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?
36 Who has put wisdom in the heart or given understanding to the mind?
Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the mind?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of the heavens
Who can number the clouds by wisdom? or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,
38 when the dust hardens into a mass and the clods of earth stick together?
When the dust runneth into a mass, and the clods cleave fast together?
39 Can you hunt the prey for a lioness or satisfy the hunger of young lions
Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lioness? or satisfy the appetite 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] abide in the covert to lie 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 food, when his young ones cry unto God, [and] wander for lack of meat?
