Job 38
1 Then Yahweh responded to Job, out of a storm, and said: —
And after Elius had ceased from speaking, the Lord spoke to Job through the whirlwind and clouds, [saying],
2 Who is it that darkeneth counsel, by words, without knowledge?
Who is this that hides counsel from me, and confines words in [his] heart, and thinks to conceal [them] from me?
3 Gird, I pray thee—like a strong man—thy loins, that I may ask thee, and inform thou me:
Gird thy loins like a man; and I will ask thee, and do thou answer me.
4 Where wast thou, when I founded the earth? Tell, if thou knowest understanding!
Where wast thou when I founded the earth? tell me now, if thou hast knowledge,
5 Who set the measurements thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched out over it a line?
who set the measures of it, if thou knowest? or who stretched a line upon it?
6 Whereon were the pedestals thereof sunk? Or who laid the corner stone thereof; —
On what are its rings fastened? and who is he that laid the corner-stone upon it?
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
When the stars were made, all my angels praised me with a loud voice.
8 Or [who] shut in, with double doors, the sea, when, bursting out of the womb, it came forth;
And I shut up the sea with gates, when it rushed out, coming forth out its mother's womb.
9 When I put a cloud as the garment thereof, and a thick cloud as the swaddling-band thereof;
And I made a cloud its clothing, and swathed it in mist.
10 And brake off for it my boundary, and fixed a bar and double doors;
And I set bounds to it, surrounding it with bars and gates.
11 And said—Hitherto, shalt thou come, and no further, —and, here, shalt thou set a limit to the majesty of thy waves?
And I said to it, Hitherto shalt thou come, but thou shalt not go beyond, but thy waves shall be confined within thee.
12 Since thy days [began] hast thou commanded the morning? or caused the dawn to know its place;
Or did I order the morning light in thy time; and [did] the morning star [then first] see his appointed place;
13 That it might lay hold of the wings of the earth, and the lawless be shaken out of it?
to lay hold of the extremities of the earth, to cast out the ungodly out of it?
14 It transformeth itself like the clay of a seal, so that things stand forth like one arrayed;
Or didst thou take clay of the ground, and form a living creature, and set it with the power of speech upon the earth?
15 That their light may be withdrawn from the lawless, and, the lofty arm, be shivered.
And hast thou removed light from the ungodly, and crushed the arm of the proud?
16 Hast thou entered as far as the springs of the sea? Or, through the secret recesses of the resounding deep, hast thou wandered?
Or hast thou gone to the source of the sea, and walked in the tracks of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been disclosed to thee? And, the gates of the death-shade, couldst thou descry?
And do the gates of death open to thee for fear; and did the porters of hell quake when they saw thee? (questioned)
18 Hast thou well considered, even the breadths of the earth? Tell—if thou knowest it all!
And hast thou been instructed in the breadth of the [whole earth] under heaven? tell me now, what is the extent of it?
19 Where then is the way, the light shall abide? And, the darkness, where then is its place?
And in what kind of a land does the light dwell? and of what kind is the place of darkness?
20 That thou mayest conduct it unto the bound thereof, and that thou mayest perceive the paths to its house.
If thou couldest bring me to their [utmost] boundaries, and if also thou knowest their paths;
21 Thou knowest, for, then, hadst thou been born! And, in number, thy days are many!
I know then that thou wert born at that time, and the number of thy years is great.
22 Hast thou entered into the treasuries of the snow? And, the treasuries of the hail, couldst thou see?
But hast thou gone to the treasures of snow? and hast thou seen the treasures of hail?
23 Which I have reserved for a time of distress, for the day of conflict and of war?
And is there a store [of them], for thee against the time of [thine] enemies, for the day of wars and battle?
24 Where then is the way the lightning is parted? The east wind spreadeth itself abroad over the earth.
And whence proceeds the frost? or [whence] is the south wind dispersed over the [whole world] under heaven?
25 Who hath cloven—for the torrent—a channel? Or a way for the lightning of thunders;
And who prepared a course for the violent rain, and a way for the thunders;
26 To give rain over the no-man’s land, the desert, where no son of earth is;
to rain upon the land where [there is] no man, the wilderness, where there is not a man in it; so as to feed the untrodden and uninhabited [land],
27 To satisfy the wild and the wilderness, to cause to spring forth the meadow of young grass?
and cause it to send forth a crop of green herbs?
28 Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
Who is the rain's father? and who has generated the drops of dew?
29 Out of whose womb, came forth the ice? And, the hoar-frost of the heavens, who hath given it birth?
And out of whose womb comes the ice? and who has produced the frost in the sky,
30 Like a stone, are the waters congealed, and, the face of the roaring deep, becometh firm!
which descends like flowing water? who has terrified the face of the ungodly?
31 Canst thou bind the fetters of the Pleiades? Or, the bands of Orion, canst thou unloose?
And dost thou understand the band of Pleias, and hast thou opened the barrier of Orion?
32 Canst thou bring forth the signs of the Zodiac each in its season? Or, the Bear and her Young, canst thou lead?
Or wilt thou reveal Mazuroth in his season, and the evening star with his rays? Wilt thou guide them?
33 Knowest thou, the statutes of the heavens? Or didst thou appoint his dominion over the earth?
And knowest thou the changes of heaven, or the events which take place together under heaven?
34 Canst thou lift up, to the thick cloud, thy voice, and the overflow of waters cover thee?
And wilt thou call a cloud with thy voice, and will it obey thee with a violent shower of much rain?
35 Canst thou send forth the lightnings, so that they go, and say to thee, Behold us?
And wilt thou send lightnings, and they shall go? and shall they say to thee, What is [thy pleasure]?
36 Who hath put—into cloud-forms—wisdom? Or who hath given—to the meteor—understanding?
And who has given to women skill in weaving, or knowledge of embroidery?
37 Who can count the thin clouds, in wisdom? And, the bottles of the heavens, who can empty out;
And who is he that numbers the clouds in wisdom, and has bowed the heaven [down] to the earth?
38 When the dust is cast into a clod, and the lumps are bound together?
For it is spread out as dusty earth, and I have cemented it as one hewn stone to another.
39 Wilt thou hunt—for the Lioness—prey? Or, the craving of the Strong Lion, wilt thou satisfy;
And wilt thou hunt a prey for the lions? and satisfy the desires of the serpents?
40 When they settle down in dens, abide in covert, for lying in wait?
For they fear in their lairs, and lying in wait couch in the woods.
41 Who prepareth for the Raven his nourishment, —when his young ones—unto GOD—cry out, [when] they wander for lack of food?
And who has prepared food for the raven? for its young ones wander and cry to the Lord, in search of food.
