Job 38
1 But the Lord, responding to Job from a whirlwind, said:
Then Yahweh called to Job out of a fierce storm and said,
2 Who is this that wraps sentences in unskilled words?
“Who is this who brings darkness to plans by means of words without knowledge?
3 Gird your waist like a man. I will question you, and you must answer me.
Now gird up your loins like a man for I will ask you questions, and you must answer me.
4 Where were you, when I set the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.
Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations? Tell me, if you have so much understanding.
5 Who set its measurements, if you know, or who stretched a line over it?
Who determined its dimensions? Tell me, if you know. Who stretched the measuring line over it?
6 Upon what have its bases been grounded, and who set forth its cornerstone,
On what were its foundations laid? Who laid its cornerstone
7 when the morning stars praised me together, and all the sons of God made a joyful noise?
when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 Who enclosed the sea with doors, when it broke forth as if issuing from the womb,
Who shut up the sea with doors when it burst out, as if it had come out of the womb—
9 when I stationed a cloud as its garment and wrapped it in a mist as if swaddling an infant?
when I made clouds its clothing, and thick darkness its swaddling bands?
10 I encircled it with my limits, and I positioned its bars and doors.
That was when I marked out for the sea my boundary, and when I placed its bars 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 when I said to it, 'You may come this far, but no farther; here is where I will put a boundary to the pride of your waves.'
12 Did you, after your birth, command the birth of the sun and show the sunrise its place?
Have you given orders to the morning, or caused 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?
so that it might take hold of the edges of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The seal will be restored like clay, and it will remain in place like a garment.
The earth is changed in appearance like clay changes under a seal; all things on it stand out clearly like the folds of a piece of clothing.
15 From the impious, the light will be taken away, and the exalted arm will be broken.
From wicked people their 'light' is taken away; their uplifted arm 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 gone to the sources of the waters of the sea? Have you walked in the lowest parts of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been opened to you, and have you seen the doors of darkness?
Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Have you considered the breadth of the earth? If you know all things, reveal them to me.
Have you understood the earth in its expanse? Tell me, if you know it all.
19 Which is the way that holds the light, and which is the place of darkness?
Where is the way to the resting place of light— as for darkness, where is its place?
20 In this way, you might lead each thing to its final place, and understand the paths of its house.
Can you lead light and darkness to their places of work? Can you find the way back to their houses for them?
21 So then, did you know when you were to be born? And did you know the number of your days?
Undoubtedly you know, for you were born then; the number of your days is so large!
22 Have you been admitted into the storehouses of the snows, and have you gazed upon the stockpile of the brimstone,
Have you entered the storehouses for the snow, or have you seen the storehouses for the hail,
23 which I have prepared for the time of the enemy, for the day of the battle and the war?
these things that I have kept for times of trouble, for days of battle and war?
24 In what way is the light scattered, and the heat distributed, over the earth?
What is the path to where the lightning bolts are distributed or to where the winds are scattered from the east over the earth?
25 Who gave a course to the rainstorms, and a path to the resounding thunder,
Who has created the channels for the floods of rain, or who has made a path for the thunder,
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 lands where no person exists, and on the wilderness, in which there is no one,
27 so that it would fill impassable and desolate places, and would bring forth green plants?
to satisfy the devastated and desolate places, and to make the ground sprout with grass?
28 Who is the father of rain, or who conceived the drops of dew?
Does the rain have a father, or, who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb did the ice proceed, and who created the frost from the air?
Out of whose womb did the ice come? Who bore the white frost out of the sky?
30 The waters are hardened to become like stone, and the surface of the abyss freezes over.
The waters hide themselves and become like stone; the surface of the deep becomes frozen.
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?
Can you fasten chains on the Pleiades, or undo 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?
Can you lead the constellations to appear at their proper times? Can you guide the Bear with its children?
33 Do you know the order of heaven, and can you explain its rules here on the earth?
Do you know the regulations of the sky? Could you set in place the sky's rule over the earth?
34 Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that an onslaught of waters will cover you?
Can you raise your voice up to the clouds, so that an abundance of rainwater may cover you?
35 Can you send forth lightning bolts, and will they go, and on returning, say to you: “Here we are?”
Can you send out bolts of lightning that they may go out, that they say to you, 'Here we are'?
36 Who placed discernment in the guts of man, or who gave the rooster intelligence?
Who has put wisdom in the clouds or has given understanding to the mists?
37 Who can describe the rules of the heavens, or who can put to rest the harmony of heaven?
Who can number the clouds by his skill? Who can pour out the water skins of the sky
38 When was the dust cast to become the earth, and when were its clods fastened together?
when the dust runs into a hard mass and the clods of earth clump tightly together?
39 Will you seize prey for the lioness, and will you sustain the lives of her young,
Can you hunt down a victim for a lioness or satisfy the appetite of her young lion cubs
40 as they rest in their dens or lie in wait in pits?
when they are crouching in their dens and sheltering in hiding to lie in wait?
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 provides victims for the ravens when their young ones cry out to God and stagger about for lack of food?
