Job 38
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
2 Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
“Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Gird up now your loins like a man; for I will demand of you, and answer you me.
Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.
4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if you have understanding.
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
5 Who has laid the measures thereof, if you know? or who has stretched the line on it?
Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
while 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, as if it had issued out of the womb?
Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling cloth for it,
when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its blanket,
10 And broke up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
when I fixed its boundaries and set in place its bars and doors,
11 And said, Till now shall you come, but no further: and here shall your proud waves be stayed?
and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther; here your proud waves must stop’?
12 Have you commanded the morning since your days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;
In your days, have you commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place,
13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
that it might spread to the ends of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?
14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.
The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its hills stand out like the folds of a garment.
15 And from the wicked their light is withheld, and the high arm shall be broken.
Light is withheld from the wicked, and their upraised arm is broken.
16 Have you entered into the springs of the sea? or have you walked in the search of the depth?
Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been opened to you? or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Have you perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if you know it all.
Have you surveyed the extent of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.
19 Where is the way where light dwells? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
Where is the way to the home of light? Do you know where darkness resides,
20 That you should take it to the bound thereof, and that you should know the paths to the house thereof?
so you can lead it back to its border? Do you know the paths to its home?
21 Know you it, because you were then born? or because the number of your days is great?
Surely you know, for you were already born! And the number of your days is great!
22 Have you entered into the treasures of the snow? or have you seen the treasures of the hail,
Have you entered the storehouses of snow or observed the storehouses of hail,
23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of war and battle?
24 By what way is the light parted, which scatters the east wind on the earth?
In which direction is the lightning dispersed, or the east wind scattered over the earth?
25 Who has divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;
Who cuts a channel for the flood or clears a path for the thunderbolt,
26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
to bring rain on a barren land, on a desert where no man lives,
27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?
to satisfy the parched wasteland and make it sprout with tender grass?
28 Has the rain a father? or who has begotten the drops of dew?
Does the rain have a father? Who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who has gendered it?
From whose womb does the ice emerge? Who gives birth to the frost from heaven,
30 The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
when the waters become hard as stone and the surface of the deep is frozen?
31 Can you bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion?
32 Can you bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or can you guide Arcturus with his sons?
Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear and her cubs?
33 Know you the ordinances of heaven? can you set the dominion thereof in the earth?
Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?
34 Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover you?
Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?
35 Can you send lightning, that they may go and say to you, Here we are?
Can you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? or who has given understanding to the heart?
Who has put wisdom in the heart or given understanding to the mind?
37 Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,
Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of the heavens
38 When the dust grows into hardness, and the clods stuck fast together?
when the dust hardens into a mass and the clods of earth stick together?
39 Will you hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,
Can you hunt the prey for a lioness or satisfy the hunger of young lions
40 When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?
when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait in the thicket?
41 Who provides for the raven his food? when his young ones cry to God, they wander for lack of meat.
Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God as they wander about for lack of food?
