Job 38
1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind,
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind,
2 “Who is this who questions my wisdom by talking so ignorantly?
“Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Prepare yourself, be strong, for I am going to question you, and you must answer me.
Brace yourself like a man, for I will question you, then you answer me!
4 Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have such knowledge!
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.
5 Who decided its dimensions? Don't you know? Who stretched out a measuring line?
Who determined its measures, if you know? Or who stretched the line on it?
6 What do its foundations rest upon? Who laid its cornerstone,
What were its foundations fastened on? Or who laid its cornerstone,
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 out of the womb,
9 Who clothed it with clouds, and wrapped it in a blanket of deep darkness?
when I made clouds its garment, and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 I set its limits, marking its borders.
marked out for it my bound, set bars and doors,
11 I said, ‘You may come here, but no farther. Here is where your proud waves stop.’
and said, ‘You may come here, but no further. Your proud waves shall be stopped here’?
12 During your lifetime, have you ever ordered the morning to begin?
“Have you commanded the morning in your days, and caused the dawn 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 the earth, and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth is changed like clay under a seal; its features stand out like a crumpled garment.
It is changed as clay under the seal, and presented as a garment.
15 The ‘light’ of the wicked is taken away from them; their acts of violence are stopped.
From the wicked, their light is withheld. The high arm is broken.
16 Have you entered the sources of the sea? Have you explored their hidden depths?
“Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
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 revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Do you know how far the earth extends? Tell me if you know all this!
Have you comprehended the earth in its width? Declare, if you know it all.
19 In which direction does light live? Where does darkness dwell?
“What is the way to the dwelling of light? As for darkness, where is its place,
20 Can you take them home? Do you know the way to where they live?
that you should take it to its bound, that you should discern the paths to its house?
21 Of course you know, because you were already born then! You've lived so long!
Surely you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!
22 Have you been to where the snow is kept? Have you seen where the hail is held?
Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses 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 lightning distributed, or the east wind scattered on the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the rain to flow? Who creates a path for the thunderbolt?
Who has cut a channel for the flood water, or the path for the thunderstorm,
26 Who brings rain to an uninhabited land, to a desert where nobody lives,
to cause it to rain on a land where there is no man, on the wilderness, in which there is no man,
27 to water a parched wasteland to make the green grass grow?
to satisfy the waste and desolate ground, to cause the tender grass to grow?
28 Does the rain have a father? Who was the father of the dewdrops?
Does the rain have a father? Or who fathers the drops of dew?
29 Who was the mother of ice? Does the frost of the air have a mother?
Whose womb did the ice come out of? Who has given birth to the grey frost of the sky?
30 Water turns into rock-hard ice; its surface freezes solid.
The waters become hard like stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen.
31 Can you tie together the stars of the Pleiades? Can you loosen the belt of the Orion constellation?
“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords 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?
Can you lead the constellations out in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you apply them to the earth?
Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you establish its dominion over the earth?
34 Can you shout to the clouds and command them to pour rain down on you?
“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover you?
35 Can you send out bolts of lightning and direct them, so that they can answer you saying, ‘Here we are’?
Can you send out lightnings, that they may go? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has placed wisdom inside people? Who has given understanding to the mind?
Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the mind?
37 Who is clever enough to count the clouds? Who can turn heaven's water jars on their sides
Who can count the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the containers of the sky,
38 when the dust has baked into a solid mass?
when the dust runs into a mass, and the clods of earth stick together?
39 Can you hunt prey for the lion? Can you feed the lion cubs
“Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 as they crouch down in their dens and lie in wait in the bushes?
when they crouch in their dens, and lie in wait in the thicket?
41 Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God, weak from starvation?
Who provides for the raven his prey, when his young ones cry to God, and wander for lack of food?
