Job 38

1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind,

And after Elius had ceased from speaking, the Lord spoke to Job through the whirlwind and clouds, [saying],

2 “Who is this who questions my wisdom by talking so ignorantly?

Who is this that hides counsel from me, and confines words in [his] heart, and thinks to conceal [them] from me?

3 Prepare yourself, be strong, for I am going to question you, and you must answer me.

Gird your loins like a man; and I will ask you, and do you answer me.

4 Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have such knowledge!

Where was you when I founded the earth? tell me now, if you have knowledge,

5 Who decided its dimensions? Don't you know? Who stretched out a measuring line?

who set the measures of it, if you know? or who stretched a line upon it?

6 What do its foundations rest upon? Who laid its cornerstone,

On what are its rings fastened? and who is he that laid the corner-stone upon it?

7 when the stars of the morning sang together and all the angels shouted for joy.

When the stars were made, all my angels praised me with a loud voice.

8 Who laid down the boundaries of the sea when it was born?

And I shut up the sea with gates, when it rushed out, coming forth out its mother's womb.

9 Who clothed it with clouds, and wrapped it in a blanket of deep darkness?

And I made a cloud its clothing, and swathed it in mist.

10 I set its limits, marking its borders.

And I set bounds to it, surrounding it with bars and gates.

11 I said, ‘You may come here, but no farther. Here is where your proud waves stop.’

And I said to it, Hitherto shall you come, but you shall not go beyond, but your waves shall be confined within you.

12 During your lifetime, have you ever ordered the morning to begin?

Or did I order the morning light in your time; and [did] the morning star [then first] see his appointed place;

13 Have you ever told the dawn where to appear that it might take hold of the corners of the earth and shake the wicked out?

to lay hold of the extremities of the earth, to cast out the ungodly out of it?

14 The earth is changed like clay under a seal; its features stand out like a crumpled garment.

Or did you take clay of the ground, and form a living creature, and set it with the power of speech upon the earth?

15 The ‘light’ of the wicked is taken away from them; their acts of violence are stopped.

And have you removed light from the ungodly, and crushed the arm of the proud?

16 Have you entered the sources of the sea? Have you explored their hidden depths?

Or have you gone to the source of the sea, and walked in the tracks of the deep?

17 Have you been shown where the gates of death are? Have you seen the gates of utter darkness?

And do the gates of death open to you for fear; and did the porters of hell quake when they saw you? (questioned)

18 Do you know how far the earth extends? Tell me if you know all this!

And have you been instructed in the breadth of the [whole earth] under heaven? tell me now, what is the extent of it?

19 In which direction does light live? Where does darkness dwell?

And in what kind of a land does the light dwell? and of what kind is the place of darkness?

20 Can you take them home? Do you know the way to where they live?

If you could bring me to their [utmost] boundaries, and if also you know their paths;

21 Of course you know, because you were already born then! You've lived so long!

I know then that you were born at that time, and the number of your years is great.

22 Have you been to where the snow is kept? Have you seen where the hail is held?

But have you gone to the treasures of snow? and have you seen the treasures of hail?

23 I have stored them up for the time of trouble, for the day of war and battle.

And is there a store [of them], for you against the time of [your] enemies, for the day of wars and battle?

24 Do you know the way to where light comes from, or to where the east wind blows over the earth?

And whence proceeds the frost? or [whence] is the south wind dispersed over the [whole world] under heaven?

25 Who cuts a channel for the rain to flow? Who creates a path for the thunderbolt?

And who prepared a course for the violent rain, and a way for the thunders;

26 Who brings rain to an uninhabited land, to a desert where nobody lives,

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],

27 to water a parched wasteland to make the green grass grow?

and cause it to send forth a crop of green herbs?

28 Does the rain have a father? Who was the father of the dewdrops?

Who is the rain's father? and who has generated the drops of dew?

29 Who was the mother of ice? Does the frost of the air have a mother?

And out of whose womb comes the ice? and who has produced the frost in the sky,

30 Water turns into rock-hard ice; its surface freezes solid.

which descends like flowing water? who has terrified the face of the ungodly?

31 Can you tie together the stars of the Pleiades? Can you loosen the belt of the Orion constellation?

And do you understand the band of Pleias, and have you opened the barrier of Orion?

32 Can you guide the stars of Mazzaroth at the right time? Can you direct the Great Bear constellation and its other stars?

Or will you reveal Mazuroth in his season, and the evening star with his rays? Will you guide them?

33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you apply them to the earth?

And know you the changes of heaven, or the events which take place together under heaven?

34 Can you shout to the clouds and command them to pour rain down on you?

And will you call a cloud with your voice, and will it obey you with a violent shower of much rain?

35 Can you send out bolts of lightning and direct them, so that they can answer you saying, ‘Here we are’?

And will you send lightnings, and they shall go? and shall they say to you, What is [your pleasure]?

36 Who has placed wisdom inside people? Who has given understanding to the mind?

And who has given to women skill in weaving, or knowledge of embroidery?

37 Who is clever enough to count the clouds? Who can turn heaven's water jars on their sides

And who is he that numbers the clouds in wisdom, and has bowed the heaven [down] to the earth?

38 when the dust has baked into a solid mass?

For it is spread out as dusty earth, and I have cemented it as one hewn stone to another.

39 Can you hunt prey for the lion? Can you feed the lion cubs

And will you hunt a prey for the lions? and satisfy the desires of the serpents?

40 as they crouch down in their dens and lie in wait in the bushes?

For they fear in their lairs, and lying in wait couch in the woods.

41 Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God, weak from starvation?

And who has prepared food for the raven? for its young ones wander and cry to the Lord, in search of food.