Job 38
1 And the Lord made answer to Job out of the storm-wind, and said,
Then spake Jehovah to Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
2 Who is this who makes the purpose of God dark by words without knowledge?
Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Get your strength together like a man of war; I will put questions to you, and you will give me the answers.
Gird up thy loins like a man! I will ask thee, and answer thou me!
4 Where were you when I put the earth on its base? Say, if you have knowledge.
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding!
5 By whom were its measures fixed? Say, if you have wisdom; or by whom was the line stretched out over it?
Who fixed its dimensions, that thou shouldst know it! Or who stretched out the line upon it?
6 On what were its pillars based, or who put down its angle-stone,
Upon what were its foundations fixed? And who laid its corner-stone,
7 When the morning stars made songs together, and all the sons of the gods gave cries of joy?
When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 Or where were you when the sea came to birth, pushing out from its secret place;
And who shut up the sea with doors, When it burst forth as from the womb?
9 When I made the cloud its robe, and put thick clouds as bands round it,
When I made the clouds its mantle, And thick darkness its swaddling-band;
10 Ordering a fixed limit for it, with locks and doors;
When I appointed for it my bound, And fixed for it bars and doors;
11 And said, So far you may come, and no farther; and here the pride of your waves will be stopped?
And said, Thus far shalt thou come, and no farther, And here shall thy proud waves be stayed!
12 Have you, from your earliest days, given orders to the morning, or made the dawn conscious of its place;
Hast thou, in thy life, given charge to the morning, Or caused the day-spring to know its place,
13 So that it might take a grip of the skirts of the earth, shaking all the evil-doers out of it?
That it should lay hold of the ends of the earth, And shake the wicked out of it?
14 It is changed like wet earth under a stamp, and is coloured like a robe;
It is changed as clay by the seal; And all things stand forth as in rich apparel.
15 And from the evil-doers their light is kept back, and the arm of pride is broken.
But from the wicked their light is withheld, And the high-raised arm is broken.
16 Have you come into the springs of the sea, walking in the secret places of the deep?
Hast thou visited the springs of the sea, And walked through the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the doors of death been open to you, or have the door-keepers of the dark ever seen you?
Have the gates of death been disclosed to thee, And hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Have you taken note of the wide limits of the earth? Say, if you have knowledge of it all.
Hast thou surveyed the breadth of the earth? Declare, if thou knowest it all!
19 Which is the way to the resting-place of the light, and where is the store-house of the dark;
Where is the way to the abode of light? And darkness—where is its dwelling-place?
20 So that you might take it to its limit, guiding it to its house?
That thou shouldst lead it to its boundary, And that thou shouldst know the paths to its mansion!
21 No doubt you have knowledge of it, for then you had come to birth, 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 come into the secret place of snow, or have you seen the store-houses of the ice-drops,
Hast thou visited the storehouses of the snow, Or seen the treasuries of the hail,
23 Which I have kept for the time of trouble, for the day of war and fighting?
Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, —Against the day of battle and war?
24 Which is the way to the place where the wind is measured out, and the east wind sent out over the earth?
What is the way to where light is distributed, And the east wind spread abroad upon the earth?
25 By whom has the way been cut for the flowing of the rain, and the flaming of the thunder;
Who hath prepared channels for the rain, And a path for the thunder-flash,
26 Causing rain to come on a land where no man is living, on the waste land which has no people;
To give rain to the land without an inhabitant, To the wilderness wherein is no man;
27 To give water to the land where there is waste and destruction, and to make the dry land green with young grass?
To satisfy the desolate and waste ground, And cause the tender herb to spring forth?
28 Has the rain a father? or who gave birth to the drops of night mist?
Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of the dew?
29 Out of whose body came the ice? and who gave birth to the cold mist of heaven?
Out of whose womb came the ice? And who hath gendered the hoar-frost of heaven?
30 The waters are joined together, hard as a stone, and the face of the deep is covered.
The waters are hid as under stone, And the face of the deep becometh solid.
31 Are the bands of the Pleiades fixed by you, or are the cords of Orion made loose?
Canst thou fasten the bands of the Pleiades, Or loosen the chains of Orion?
32 Do you make Mazzaroth come out in its right time, or are the Bear and its children guided by you?
Canst thou lead forth the Signs in their season, Or guide the Bear with her sons?
33 Have you knowledge of the laws of the heavens? did you give them rule over the earth?
Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Hast thou appointed their dominion over the earth?
34 Is your voice sent up to the cloud, so that you may be covered by the weight of waters?
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, So that abundance of waters will cover thee?
35 Do you send out the thunder-flames, so that they may go, and say 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 high clouds, or given knowledge to the lights of the north?
Who hath put understanding in the reins, And given intelligence to the mind?
37 By whose wisdom are the clouds numbered, or the water-skins of the heavens turned to the earth,
Who numbereth the clouds in wisdom? And who poureth out the bottles of heaven,
38 When the earth becomes hard as metal, and is joined together in masses?
When the dust floweth into a molten mass, And the clods cleave fast together?
39 Do you go after food for the she-lion, or get meat so that the young lions may have enough,
Canst thou hunt prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the hunger of the young lions,
40 When they are stretched out in their holes, and are waiting in the brushwood?
When they couch in their dens, And lie in wait in the thicket?
41 Who gives in the evening the meat he is searching for, when his young ones are crying to God; when the young lions with loud noise go wandering after their food?
Who provideth for the raven his food, When his young ones cry unto God, While they wander about without food?
