Job 38
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Then Yahweh spoke to Job from inside a great windstorm. He said to him,
2 Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
“(Who are you to question what I plan to do?/You have no right/authority to question what I plan to do.) [RHQ] You are speaking ignorantly!
3 Gird up now your loins like a man; for I will demand of you, and answer you me.
I want to ask you [some] questions, so, just like men prepare themselves for a difficult task [MET], prepare to answer my questions.
4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if you have understanding.
(“Where were you/Were you there with me) [long ago] when I (laid the foundations of/created) the earth? Since you know so much, tell me [where you were at that time].
5 Who has laid the measures thereof, if you know? or who has stretched the line on it?
Do you know how I decided how large the earth would be? Do you know who stretched a measuring tape around the earth? Surely [since you think that you know so much, ] you should know that!
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
What supports the pillars on which the earth rests? When the stars [that shine early] in the morning sang together, and someone put in place the stone that causes the earth to stay in its place, and all the angels shouted joyfully [when they saw that happening], who laid that cornerstone? [Did you?]
7 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, as if it had issued out of the womb?
“When the seas poured forth from inside the earth, who prevented the water from flooding over the land?
9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling cloth for it,
It was I, [not you, ] who caused clouds to come over the seas and caused it to become very dark [under those clouds].
10 And broke up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
I set limits for the seas, and I put barriers [so that the water would not come over the land].
11 And said, Till now shall you come, but no further: and here shall your proud waves be stayed?
[I pointed to the shore] and said to the water, ‘I permit you to come up to here, but I do not permit you to come any farther. Your powerful waves must stop there!’
12 Have you commanded the morning since your days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;
“Job, have you [ever] commanded the morning [to begin]? Have you [ever] told the dawn to start a new day?
13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
Have you [ever] told the dawn to spread out over the whole earth, with the result that wicked people run away from the light?
14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.
When it becomes light after the dawn, the hills and the valleys become clear like the folds in a cloth.
15 And from the wicked their light is withheld, and the high arm shall be broken.
When it becomes daylight, the wicked do not have the darkness [that they like]; [in the daylight] they no longer are able to raise up their arms, ready to hurt people.
16 Have you entered into the springs of the sea? or have you walked in the search of the depth?
“[Job, ] have you traveled to the springs [in the bottom of the ocean] from which the water in the seas comes? Have you investigated/explored the very bottom of the oceans?
17 Have the gates of death been opened to you? or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
Has someone shown you the gates to the place where dead people are, the gates to the place where it is very dark?
18 Have you perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if you know it all.
Do you know how big the earth is? Tell me, if you know all these things!
19 Where is the way where light dwells? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
“Where is the road to the place where light comes from? And [can you tell me] where darkness lives?
20 That you should take it to the bound thereof, and that you should know the paths to the house thereof?
Can take me to its home? Do you know where the road is that goes there?
21 Know you it, because you were then born? or because the number of your days is great?
I am sure that you know these things, because you [talk as though you] were born before the time when all things were created; you [must] be very old!
22 Have you entered into the treasures of the snow? or have you seen the treasures of the hail,
“Have you entered the place where I store the snow and the place where I keep the hail?
23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
I store the snow and the hail [in order that I can use them to help my people] when [they have] troubles, in times when [they are fighting] wars [DOU].
24 By what way is the light parted, which scatters the east wind on the earth?
And where is the road to the place from which I cause the lightning to flash? Where is the place from where the east wind begins to blow over all the earth?
25 Who has divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;
Who created the channels in which the rain comes down from the sky? Who makes the roads for the thunder/lightning?
26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
Who causes rain to fall in the desert, in places where no one lives?
27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?
Who sends the rain that gives moisture/water to areas where nothing has grown, with the result that grass begins to grow again?
28 Has the rain a father? or who has begotten the drops of dew?
Does the rain have a father? Does the dew [also] have a father?
29 Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who has gendered it?
And from whose womb does ice come [in the (winter/cold season)]? Who gives birth to the frost that comes down from the sky?
30 The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
[In the winter, ] the water [freezes and] becomes hard, like a rock, and the surface of lakes becomes frozen.
31 Can you bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
“[Job], can you fasten the chains that hold the stars together in clusters/groups in the sky?
32 Can you bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or can you guide Arcturus with his sons?
Can you tell the stars when they should shine? Can you guide [the stars in the groups in the northern sky whose names are] the Big Bear and the Little Bear?
33 Know you the ordinances of heaven? can you set the dominion thereof in the earth?
Do you know the laws that the stars must obey? Can you cause those same laws to rule [everything here] on the earth?
34 Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover you?
“Can you shout to the clouds and cause rain to pour down on you?
35 Can you send lightning, that they may go and say to you, Here we are?
Can you cause flashes of lightning to come down and strike where you want it to strike? Do those flashes say to you, ‘Where do you want us to strike next?’
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? or who has given understanding to the heart?
Who enables the clouds to know when they should cause rain to fall?
37 Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,
And who is skilled/wise enough to be able to count the clouds? Who can tilt the jugs of water in the sky [to cause the rain to fall],
38 When the dust grows into hardness, and the clods stuck fast together?
with the result that the dry ground becomes hard as the dry (clods/lumps of soil) [become wet and] stick together?
39 Will you hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,
“When a lioness and her cubs crouch in their dens or hide in a thicket, [waiting for some animal to pass by that they can kill, ] can you find animals for a lioness to kill so that [she and] her cubs can [eat the meat and] not be hungry any more?
40 When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?
41 Who provides for the raven his food? when his young ones cry to God, they wander for lack of meat.
Who provides dead animals for crows, when the baby crows are calling out to me [for food], [when they are so weak] because of their lack of food [that] they (stagger around/can hardly stand up) [in their nests]?”
