Job 38
1 But the Lord, responding to Job from a whirlwind, said:
And YHWH answers Job out of the whirlwind and says:
2 Who is this that wraps sentences in unskilled words?
“Who [is] this—darkening counsel, By words without knowledge?
3 Gird your waist like a man. I will question you, and you must answer me.
Now gird your loins as a man, And I ask you, and you cause Me to know.
4 Where were you, when I set the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.
Where were you when I founded the earth? Declare, if you have known understanding.
5 Who set its measurements, if you know, or who stretched a line over it?
Who placed its measures—if you know? Or who has stretched out a line on it?
6 Upon what have its bases been grounded, and who set forth its cornerstone,
On what have its sockets been sunk? Or who has cast its cornerstone—
7 when the morning stars praised me together, and all the sons of God made a joyful noise?
In the singing together of [the] stars of morning, When all [the] sons of God shout for joy?
8 Who enclosed the sea with doors, when it broke forth as if issuing from the womb,
And He shuts up the sea with doors, In its coming forth, it goes out from the womb.
9 when I stationed a cloud as its garment and wrapped it in a mist as if swaddling an infant?
In My making a cloud its clothing, And thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 I encircled it with my limits, and I positioned its bars and doors.
And I measure My statute over it, And place bar and doors,
11 And I said: “This far you will approach, and you will proceed no further, and here you will break your swelling waves.”
And say, To here you come, and no more, And a command is placed On the pride of your billows.
12 Did you, after your birth, command the birth of the sun and show the sunrise its place?
Have you commanded morning since your days? Do you cause the dawn to know its place?
13 And did you hold the extremities of the earth, shaking them, and have you shaken the impious out of it?
To take hold on the skirts of the earth, And the wicked are shaken out of it,
14 The seal will be restored like clay, and it will remain in place like a garment.
It turns itself as clay of a seal And they station themselves as clothed.
15 From the impious, the light will be taken away, and the exalted arm will be broken.
And their light is withheld from the wicked, And the arm lifted up is broken.
16 Have you entered the depths of the sea, and have you taken a walk in the uttermost parts of the abyss?
Have you come to springs of the sea? And in searching the deep Have you walked up and down?
17 Have the gates of death been opened to you, and have you seen the doors of darkness?
Were the gates of death revealed to you? And do you see the gates of death-shade?
18 Have you considered the breadth of the earth? If you know all things, reveal them to me.
You have understanding, Even to the broad places of earth! Declare—if you have known it all.
19 Which is the way that holds the light, and which is the place of darkness?
Where [is] this—the way light dwells? And darkness, where [is] this—its place?
20 In this way, you might lead each thing to its final place, and understand the paths of its house.
That you take it to its boundary, And that you understand the paths of its house.
21 So then, did you know when you were to be born? And did you know the number of your days?
You have known—for then you are born, And the number of your days [are] many!
22 Have you been admitted into the storehouses of the snows, and have you gazed upon the stockpile of the brimstone,
Have you come to the treasure of snow? Indeed, do you see the treasures of hail,
23 which I have prepared for the time of the enemy, for the day of the battle and the war?
That I have kept back for a time of distress, For a day of conflict and battle?
24 In what way is the light scattered, and the heat distributed, over the earth?
Where [is] this, the way light is apportioned? It scatters an east wind over the earth.
25 Who gave a course to the rainstorms, and a path to the resounding thunder,
Who has divided a conduit for the flood? And a way for the lightning of the voices?
26 so that it would rain on the earth far from man, in the wilderness where no mortal lingers,
To cause [it] to rain on a land [with] no man, A wilderness [with] no man in it.
27 so that it would fill impassable and desolate places, and would bring forth green plants?
To satisfy a desolate and ruined place, And to cause to shoot up The produce of the tender grass?
28 Who is the father of rain, or who conceived the drops of dew?
Does the rain have a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb did the ice proceed, and who created the frost from the air?
From whose belly came forth the ice? And the hoarfrost of the heavens, Who has begotten it?
30 The waters are hardened to become like stone, and the surface of the abyss freezes over.
Waters are hidden as a stone, And the face of the deep is captured.
31 Will you have the strength to join together the sparkling stars of the Pleiades, or are you able to disperse the circling of Arcturus?
Do you bind the chains of the Pleiades? Or do you open the cords of Orion?
32 Can you bring forth the morning star, in its time, and make the evening star rise over the sons of the earth?
Do you bring out the twelve signs in [their] season? And do you comfort the Great Bear over her sons?
33 Do you know the order of heaven, and can you explain its rules here on the earth?
Have you known the statutes of the heavens? Or do you appoint Its dominion in the earth?
34 Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that an onslaught of waters will cover you?
Do you lift up your voice to the cloud, And abundance of water covers you?
35 Can you send forth lightning bolts, and will they go, and on returning, say to you: “Here we are?”
Do you send out lightnings, and they go And say to you, Behold us?
36 Who placed discernment in the guts of man, or who gave the rooster intelligence?
Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the covered part?
37 Who can describe the rules of the heavens, or who can put to rest the harmony of heaven?
Who numbers the clouds by wisdom? And the bottles of the heavens, Who causes to lie down,
38 When was the dust cast to become the earth, and when were its clods fastened together?
In the hardening of dust into hardness, And clods cleave together?
39 Will you seize prey for the lioness, and will you sustain the lives of her young,
Do you hunt prey for a lion? And fulfill the desire of young lions?
40 as they rest in their dens or lie in wait in pits?
When they bow down in dens—Abide in a thicket for a covert?
41 Who provides the raven with its meal, when her chicks cry out to God, as they wander around because they have no food?
Who prepares for a raven his provision, When his young ones cry to God? They wander without food.”
