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 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 hath laid the measures of it, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone,
Upon what are the foundations of it fastened? or 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,
Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke 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 a cloud its garment, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
10 when I fixed its boundaries and set in place its bars and doors,
And broke up for it my decreed place, 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, Thus far 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; 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 earth, that the wicked might 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 turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.
15 Light is withheld from the wicked, and their upraised arm is broken.
And from the wicked their light is withheld, and the high arm shall be 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 search of the depth?
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 to thee? or hast thou seen 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 perceived 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 where light dwelleth? and as for 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 shouldest take it to its bound, and that thou shouldest know the paths to its house?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born! And the number of your days is great!
Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?
22 Have you entered the storehouses of snow or observed the storehouses of hail,
Hast thou entered into 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, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the flood or clears a path for the thunderbolt,
Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;
26 to bring rain on a barren land, on a desert where no man lives,
To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, in which there is no man;
27 to satisfy the parched wasteland and make it sprout with tender grass?
To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of 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 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 hid as with a 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 sweet influences of 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 bring forth Mazzaroth in its season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with its sons?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?
Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set its dominion on the earth?
34 Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?
Canst thou lift 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 lightnings, that they may 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 wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of the heavens
Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can pour out the water bottles of heaven,
38 when the dust hardens into a mass and the clods of earth stick together?
When the dust groweth into hardness, 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 lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait in the thicket?
When they crouch 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 to God, they wander for want of food.
