Job 38
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
Then Yahweh responded to Job, out of a storm, and said: —
2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
Who is it that darkeneth counsel, by words, without knowledge?
3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto Me.
Gird, I pray thee—like a strong man—thy loins, that I may ask thee, and inform thou me:
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast the understanding.
Where wast thou, when I founded the earth? Tell, if thou knowest understanding!
5 Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched the line upon it?
Who set the measurements thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched out over it a line?
6 Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,
Whereon were the pedestals thereof sunk? Or who laid the corner stone thereof; —
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth, and issued out of the womb;
Or [who] shut in, with double doors, the sea, when, bursting out of the womb, it came forth;
9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
When I put a cloud as the garment thereof, and a thick cloud as the swaddling-band thereof;
10 And prescribed for it My decree, and set bars and doors,
And brake off for it my boundary, and fixed a bar and double doors;
11 And said: 'Thus far shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed'?
And said—Hitherto, shalt thou come, and no further, —and, here, shalt thou set a limit to the majesty of thy waves?
12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began, and caused the dayspring to know its place;
Since thy days [began] hast thou commanded the morning? or caused the dawn to know its place;
13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?
That it might lay hold of the wings of the earth, and the lawless be shaken out of it?
14 It is changed as clay under the seal; and they stand as a garment.
It transformeth itself like the clay of a seal, so that things stand forth like one arrayed;
15 But from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm is broken.
That their light may be withdrawn from the lawless, and, the lofty arm, be shivered.
16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?
Hast thou entered as far as the springs of the sea? Or, through the secret recesses of the resounding deep, hast thou wandered?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
Have the gates of death been disclosed to thee? And, the gates of the death-shade, couldst thou descry?
18 Hast thou surveyed unto the breadths of the earth? Declare, if thou knowest it all.
Hast thou well considered, even the breadths of the earth? Tell—if thou knowest it all!
19 Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and as for darkness, where is the place thereof;
Where then is the way, the light shall abide? And, the darkness, where then is its place?
20 That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?
That thou mayest conduct it unto the bound thereof, and that thou mayest perceive the paths to its house.
21 Thou knowest it, for thou wast then born, and the number of thy days is great!
Thou knowest, for, then, hadst thou been born! And, in number, thy days are many!
22 Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, or hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail,
Hast thou entered into the treasuries of the snow? And, the treasuries of the hail, couldst thou see?
23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
Which I have reserved for a time of distress, for the day of conflict and of war?
24 By what way is the light parted, or the east wind scattered upon the earth?
Where then is the way the lightning is parted? The east wind spreadeth itself abroad over the earth.
25 Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood, or a way for the lightning of the thunder;
Who hath cloven—for the torrent—a channel? Or a way for the lightning of thunders;
26 To cause it to rain on a land where no man is, on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
To give rain over the no-man’s land, the desert, where no son of earth is;
27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground, and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?
To satisfy the wild and the wilderness, to cause to spring forth the meadow of young grass?
28 Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
29 Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoar-frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
Out of whose womb, came forth the ice? And, the hoar-frost of the heavens, who hath given it birth?
30 The waters are congealed like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
Like a stone, are the waters congealed, and, the face of the roaring deep, becometh firm!
31 Canst thou bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
Canst thou bind the fetters of the Pleiades? Or, the bands of Orion, canst thou unloose?
32 Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? Or canst thou guide the Bear with her sons?
Canst thou bring forth the signs of the Zodiac each in its season? Or, the Bear and her Young, canst thou lead?
33 Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?
Knowest thou, the statutes of the heavens? Or didst thou appoint his dominion over the earth?
34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?
Canst thou lift up, to the thick cloud, thy voice, and the overflow of waters cover thee?
35 Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee: 'Here we are'?
Canst thou send forth the lightnings, so that they go, and say to thee, Behold us?
36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who hath given understanding to the mind?
Who hath put—into cloud-forms—wisdom? Or who hath given—to the meteor—understanding?
37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,
Who can count the thin clouds, in wisdom? And, the bottles of the heavens, who can empty out;
38 When the dust runneth into a mass, and the clods cleave fast together?
When the dust is cast into a clod, and the lumps are bound together?
39 Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lioness? Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
Wilt thou hunt—for the Lioness—prey? Or, the craving of the Strong Lion, wilt thou satisfy;
40 When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?
When they settle down in dens, abide in covert, for lying in wait?
41 Who provideth for the raven his prey, when his young ones cry unto God, and wander for lack of food?
Who prepareth for the Raven his nourishment, —when his young ones—unto GOD—cry out, [when] they wander for lack of food?
