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15 That their light may be withdrawn from the lawless, and, the lofty arm, be shivered.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