Job 38
1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind,
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
2 “Who is this who questions my wisdom by talking so ignorantly?
Who [is] this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Prepare yourself, be strong, for I am going to question you, and you must answer me.
Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
4 Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have such knowledge!
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 Who decided its dimensions? Don't you know? Who stretched out a measuring line?
Who hath laid the measures of it, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6 What do its foundations rest upon? Who laid its cornerstone,
Upon what are the foundations of it fastened? or who laid its corner stone;
7 when the stars of the morning sang together and all the angels shouted for joy.
When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 Who laid down the boundaries of the sea when it was born?
Or [who] shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth, [as if] it had issued out of the womb?
9 Who clothed it with clouds, and wrapped it in a blanket of deep darkness?
When I made a cloud its garment, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it,
10 I set its limits, marking its borders.
And broke up for it my decreed [place], and set bars and doors,
11 I said, ‘You may come here, but no farther. Here is where your proud waves stop.’
And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed.
12 During your lifetime, have you ever ordered the morning to begin?
Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; [and] caused the day-spring to know its 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?
That it might take hold of the ends of earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
14 The earth is changed like clay under a seal; its features stand out like a crumpled garment.
It is turned as clay [to] the seal; and they stand as a garment.
15 The ‘light’ of the wicked is taken away from them; their acts of violence are stopped.
And from the wicked their light is withheld, and the high arm shall be broken.
16 Have you entered the sources of the sea? Have you explored their hidden depths?
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?
17 Have you been shown where the gates of death are? Have you seen the gates of utter darkness?
Have the gates of death been opened to thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shades of death?
18 Do you know how far the earth extends? Tell me if you know all this!
Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.
19 In which direction does light live? Where does darkness dwell?
Where [is] the way [where] light dwelleth? and [as for] darkness, where [is] its place,
20 Can you take them home? Do you know the way to where they live?
That thou shouldest take it to its bound, and that thou shouldest know the paths [to] its house?
21 Of course you know, because you were already born then! You've lived so long!
Knowest thou [it], because thou wast then born? or [because] the number of thy days [is] great?
22 Have you been to where the snow is kept? Have you seen where the hail is held?
Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
23 I have stored them up for the time of trouble, for the day of war and battle.
Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
24 Do you know the way to where light comes from, or to where the east wind blows over the earth?
By what way is the light parted, [which] scattereth the east wind upon the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the rain to flow? Who creates a path for the thunderbolt?
Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;
26 Who brings rain to an uninhabited land, to a desert where nobody lives,
To cause it to rain on the earth, [where] no man [is]; [on] the wilderness in which [there is] no man;
27 to water a parched wasteland to make the green grass grow?
To satisfy the desolate and waste [ground]; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?
28 Does the rain have a father? Who was the father of the dewdrops?
Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of the dew?
29 Who was the mother of ice? Does the frost of the air have a mother?
Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
30 Water turns into rock-hard ice; its surface freezes solid.
The waters are hid as [with] a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
31 Can you tie together the stars of the Pleiades? Can you loosen the belt of the Orion constellation?
Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands 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?
Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in its season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with its sons?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you apply them to the earth?
Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set its dominion on the earth?
34 Can you shout to the clouds and command them to pour rain down on you?
Canst thou lift thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?
35 Can you send out bolts of lightning and direct them, so that they can answer you saying, ‘Here we are’?
Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say to thee, Here we [are]?
36 Who has placed wisdom inside people? Who has given understanding to the mind?
Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?
37 Who is clever enough to count the clouds? Who can turn heaven's water jars on their sides
Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,
38 when the dust has baked into a solid mass?
When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?
39 Can you hunt prey for the lion? Can you feed the lion cubs
Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,
40 as they crouch down in their dens and lie in wait in the bushes?
When they couch in [their] dens, [and] abide in the covert to lie in wait?
41 Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God, weak from starvation?
Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry to God, they wander for want of food.
