Job 38
1 And after Elius had ceased from speaking, the Lord spoke to Job through the whirlwind and clouds, [saying],
Then Yahweh responded to Job, out of a storm, and said: —
2 Who is this that hides counsel from me, and confines words in [his] heart, and thinks to conceal [them] from me?
Who is it that darkeneth counsel, by words, without knowledge?
3 Gird your loins like a man; and I will ask you, and do you answer me.
Gird, I pray thee—like a strong man—thy loins, that I may ask thee, and inform thou me:
4 Where was you when I founded the earth? tell me now, if you have knowledge,
Where wast thou, when I founded the earth? Tell, if thou knowest understanding!
5 who set the measures of it, if you know? or who stretched a line upon it?
Who set the measurements thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched out over it a line?
6 On what are its rings fastened? and who is he that laid the corner-stone upon it?
Whereon were the pedestals thereof sunk? Or who laid the corner stone thereof; —
7 When the stars were made, all my angels praised me with a loud voice.
When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 And I shut up the sea with gates, when it rushed out, coming forth out its mother's womb.
Or [who] shut in, with double doors, the sea, when, bursting out of the womb, it came forth;
9 And I made a cloud its clothing, and swathed it in mist.
When I put a cloud as the garment thereof, and a thick cloud as the swaddling-band thereof;
10 And I set bounds to it, surrounding it with bars and gates.
And brake off for it my boundary, and fixed a bar and double doors;
11 And I said to it, Hitherto shall you come, but you shall not go beyond, but your waves shall be confined within you.
And said—Hitherto, shalt thou come, and no further, —and, here, shalt thou set a limit to the majesty of thy waves?
12 Or did I order the morning light in your time; and [did] the morning star [then first] see his appointed place;
Since thy days [began] hast thou commanded the morning? or caused the dawn to know its place;
13 to lay hold of the extremities of the earth, to cast out the ungodly out of it?
That it might lay hold of the wings of the earth, and the lawless be shaken out of it?
14 Or did you take clay of the ground, and form a living creature, and set it with the power of speech upon the earth?
It transformeth itself like the clay of a seal, so that things stand forth like one arrayed;
15 And have you removed light from the ungodly, and crushed the arm of the proud?
That their light may be withdrawn from the lawless, and, the lofty arm, be shivered.
16 Or have you gone to the source of the sea, and walked in the tracks of the deep?
Hast thou entered as far as the springs of the sea? Or, through the secret recesses of the resounding deep, hast thou wandered?
17 And do the gates of death open to you for fear; and did the porters of hell quake when they saw you? (questioned)
Have the gates of death been disclosed to thee? And, the gates of the death-shade, couldst thou descry?
18 And have you been instructed in the breadth of the [whole earth] under heaven? tell me now, what is the extent of it?
Hast thou well considered, even the breadths of the earth? Tell—if thou knowest it all!
19 And in what kind of a land does the light dwell? and of what kind is the place of darkness?
Where then is the way, the light shall abide? And, the darkness, where then is its place?
20 If you could bring me to their [utmost] boundaries, and if also you know their paths;
That thou mayest conduct it unto the bound thereof, and that thou mayest perceive the paths to its house.
21 I know then that you were born at that time, and the number of your years is great.
Thou knowest, for, then, hadst thou been born! And, in number, thy days are many!
22 But have you gone to the treasures of snow? and have you seen the treasures of hail?
Hast thou entered into the treasuries of the snow? And, the treasuries of the hail, couldst thou see?
23 And is there a store [of them], for you against the time of [your] enemies, for the day of wars and battle?
Which I have reserved for a time of distress, for the day of conflict and of war?
24 And whence proceeds the frost? or [whence] is the south wind dispersed over the [whole world] under heaven?
Where then is the way the lightning is parted? The east wind spreadeth itself abroad over the earth.
25 And who prepared a course for the violent rain, and a way for the thunders;
Who hath cloven—for the torrent—a channel? Or a way for the lightning of thunders;
26 to rain upon the land where [there is] no man, the wilderness, where there is not a man in it; so as to feed the untrodden and uninhabited [land],
To give rain over the no-man’s land, the desert, where no son of earth is;
27 and cause it to send forth a crop of green herbs?
To satisfy the wild and the wilderness, to cause to spring forth the meadow of young grass?
28 Who is the rain's father? and who has generated the drops of dew?
Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
29 And out of whose womb comes the ice? and who has produced the frost in the sky,
Out of whose womb, came forth the ice? And, the hoar-frost of the heavens, who hath given it birth?
30 which descends like flowing water? who has terrified the face of the ungodly?
Like a stone, are the waters congealed, and, the face of the roaring deep, becometh firm!
31 And do you understand the band of Pleias, and have you opened the barrier of Orion?
Canst thou bind the fetters of the Pleiades? Or, the bands of Orion, canst thou unloose?
32 Or will you reveal Mazuroth in his season, and the evening star with his rays? Will you guide them?
Canst thou bring forth the signs of the Zodiac each in its season? Or, the Bear and her Young, canst thou lead?
33 And know you the changes of heaven, or the events which take place together under heaven?
Knowest thou, the statutes of the heavens? Or didst thou appoint his dominion over the earth?
34 And will you call a cloud with your voice, and will it obey you with a violent shower of much rain?
Canst thou lift up, to the thick cloud, thy voice, and the overflow of waters cover thee?
35 And will you send lightnings, and they shall go? and shall they say to you, What is [your pleasure]?
Canst thou send forth the lightnings, so that they go, and say to thee, Behold us?
36 And who has given to women skill in weaving, or knowledge of embroidery?
Who hath put—into cloud-forms—wisdom? Or who hath given—to the meteor—understanding?
37 And who is he that numbers the clouds in wisdom, and has bowed the heaven [down] to the earth?
Who can count the thin clouds, in wisdom? And, the bottles of the heavens, who can empty out;
38 For it is spread out as dusty earth, and I have cemented it as one hewn stone to another.
When the dust is cast into a clod, and the lumps are bound together?
39 And will you hunt a prey for the lions? and satisfy the desires of the serpents?
Wilt thou hunt—for the Lioness—prey? Or, the craving of the Strong Lion, wilt thou satisfy;
40 For they fear in their lairs, and lying in wait couch in the woods.
When they settle down in dens, abide in covert, for lying in wait?
41 And who has prepared food for the raven? for its young ones wander and cry to the Lord, in search of food.
Who prepareth for the Raven his nourishment, —when his young ones—unto GOD—cry out, [when] they wander for lack of food?
