Job 38
1 Then spake Jehovah to 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 thy loins like a man! I will ask thee, and answer thou 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 understanding!
Where wast thou, when I founded the earth? Tell, if thou knowest understanding!
5 Who fixed its dimensions, that thou shouldst know it! Or who stretched out the line upon it?
Who set the measurements thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched out over it a line?
6 Upon what were its foundations fixed? And who laid its corner-stone,
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 And who shut up the sea with doors, When it burst forth as from 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 clouds its mantle, And thick darkness its swaddling-band;
When I put a cloud as the garment thereof, and a thick cloud as the swaddling-band thereof;
10 When I appointed for it my bound, And fixed for it 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, and no farther, 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, in thy life, given charge to the morning, Or caused the day-spring to know its place,
Since thy days [began] hast thou commanded the morning? or caused the dawn to know its place;
13 That it should lay hold of the ends of the earth, And shake the wicked 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 by the seal; And all things stand forth as in rich apparel.
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 withheld, And the high-raised arm is broken.
That their light may be withdrawn from the lawless, and, the lofty arm, be shivered.
16 Hast thou visited the springs of the sea, And walked through 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 disclosed to thee, And 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 the breadth 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 abode of light? And darkness—where is its dwelling-place?
Where then is the way, the light shall abide? And, the darkness, where then is its place?
20 That thou shouldst lead it to its boundary, And that thou shouldst know the paths to its mansion!
That thou mayest conduct it unto the bound thereof, and that thou mayest perceive the paths to its house.
21 Surely thou knowest; for thou wast then born! And the number of thy years is great!
Thou knowest, for, then, hadst thou been born! And, in number, thy days are many!
22 Hast thou visited the storehouses of the snow, Or 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 What is the way to where light is distributed, And the east wind spread abroad upon the earth?
Where then is the way the lightning is parted? The east wind spreadeth itself abroad over the earth.
25 Who hath prepared channels for the rain, And a path for the thunder-flash,
Who hath cloven—for the torrent—a channel? Or a way for the lightning of thunders;
26 To give rain to the land without an inhabitant, To the wilderness wherein 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 cause 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 the dew?
Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
29 Out of whose womb came the ice? And who hath gendered the hoar-frost of heaven?
Out of whose womb, came forth the ice? And, the hoar-frost of the heavens, who hath given it birth?
30 The waters are hid as under stone, And the face of the deep becometh solid.
Like a stone, are the waters congealed, and, the face of the roaring deep, becometh firm!
31 Canst thou fasten the bands of the Pleiades, Or loosen the chains of Orion?
Canst thou bind the fetters of the Pleiades? Or, the bands of Orion, canst thou unloose?
32 Canst thou lead forth the Signs in their season, Or 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? Hast thou appointed their dominion over 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, So that abundance of waters will 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, so that they will go, And say to thee, “Here we are”?
Canst thou send forth the lightnings, so that they go, and say to thee, Behold us?
36 Who hath put understanding in the reins, And given intelligence to the mind?
Who hath put—into cloud-forms—wisdom? Or who hath given—to the meteor—understanding?
37 Who numbereth the clouds in wisdom? And who poureth 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 floweth into a molten mass, And the clods cleave fast together?
When the dust is cast into a clod, and the lumps are bound together?
39 Canst thou hunt prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the hunger 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 lie in wait in the thicket?
When they settle down in dens, abide in covert, for lying in wait?
41 Who provideth for the raven his food, When his young ones cry unto God, While they wander about without food?
Who prepareth for the Raven his nourishment, —when his young ones—unto GOD—cry out, [when] they wander for lack of food?
