Job 38
1 Then Yahweh spoke to Job from inside a great windstorm. He said to him,
And after Elius had ceased from speaking, the Lord spoke to Job through the whirlwind and clouds, [saying],
2 “(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!
Who is this that hides counsel from me, and confines words in [his] heart, and thinks to conceal [them] from me?
3 I want to ask you [some] questions, so, just like men prepare themselves for a difficult task [MET], prepare to answer my questions.
Gird your loins like a man; and I will ask you, and do you answer me.
4 (“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].
Where was you when I founded the earth? tell me now, if you have knowledge,
5 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!
who set the measures of it, if you know? or who stretched a line upon it?
6 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?]
On what are its rings fastened? and who is he that laid the corner-stone upon it?
When the stars were made, all my angels praised me with a loud voice.
8 “When the seas poured forth from inside the earth, who prevented the water from flooding over the land?
And I shut up the sea with gates, when it rushed out, coming forth out its mother's womb.
9 It was I, [not you, ] who caused clouds to come over the seas and caused it to become very dark [under those clouds].
And I made a cloud its clothing, and swathed it in mist.
10 I set limits for the seas, and I put barriers [so that the water would not come over the land].
And I set bounds to it, surrounding it with bars and gates.
11 [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!’
And I said to it, Hitherto shall you come, but you shall not go beyond, but your waves shall be confined within you.
12 “Job, have you [ever] commanded the morning [to begin]? Have you [ever] told the dawn to start a new day?
Or did I order the morning light in your time; and [did] the morning star [then first] see his appointed place;
13 Have you [ever] told the dawn to spread out over the whole earth, with the result that wicked people run away from the light?
to lay hold of the extremities of the earth, to cast out the ungodly out of it?
14 When it becomes light after the dawn, the hills and the valleys become clear like the folds in a cloth.
Or did you take clay of the ground, and form a living creature, and set it with the power of speech upon the earth?
15 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.
And have you removed light from the ungodly, and crushed the arm of the proud?
16 “[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?
Or have you gone to the source of the sea, and walked in the tracks of the deep?
17 Has someone shown you the gates to the place where dead people are, the gates to the place where it is very dark?
And do the gates of death open to you for fear; and did the porters of hell quake when they saw you? (questioned)
18 Do you know how big the earth is? Tell me, if you know all these things!
And have you been instructed in the breadth of the [whole earth] under heaven? tell me now, what is the extent of it?
19 “Where is the road to the place where light comes from? And [can you tell me] where darkness lives?
And in what kind of a land does the light dwell? and of what kind is the place of darkness?
20 Can take me to its home? Do you know where the road is that goes there?
If you could bring me to their [utmost] boundaries, and if also you know their paths;
21 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!
I know then that you were born at that time, and the number of your years is great.
22 “Have you entered the place where I store the snow and the place where I keep the hail?
But have you gone to the treasures of snow? and have you seen the treasures of hail?
23 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].
And is there a store [of them], for you against the time of [your] enemies, for the day of wars and battle?
24 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?
And whence proceeds the frost? or [whence] is the south wind dispersed over the [whole world] under heaven?
25 Who created the channels in which the rain comes down from the sky? Who makes the roads for the thunder/lightning?
And who prepared a course for the violent rain, and a way for the thunders;
26 Who causes rain to fall in the desert, in places where no one lives?
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 Who sends the rain that gives moisture/water to areas where nothing has grown, with the result that grass begins to grow again?
and cause it to send forth a crop of green herbs?
28 Does the rain have a father? Does the dew [also] have a father?
Who is the rain's father? and who has generated the drops of dew?
29 And from whose womb does ice come [in the (winter/cold season)]? Who gives birth to the frost that comes down from the sky?
And out of whose womb comes the ice? and who has produced the frost in the sky,
30 [In the winter, ] the water [freezes and] becomes hard, like a rock, and the surface of lakes becomes frozen.
which descends like flowing water? who has terrified the face of the ungodly?
31 “[Job], can you fasten the chains that hold the stars together in clusters/groups in the sky?
And do you understand the band of Pleias, and have you opened the barrier of Orion?
32 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?
Or will you reveal Mazuroth in his season, and the evening star with his rays? Will you guide them?
33 Do you know the laws that the stars must obey? Can you cause those same laws to rule [everything here] on the earth?
And know you the changes of heaven, or the events which take place together under heaven?
34 “Can you shout to the clouds and cause rain to pour down on you?
And will you call a cloud with your voice, and will it obey you with a violent shower of much rain?
35 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?’
And will you send lightnings, and they shall go? and shall they say to you, What is [your pleasure]?
36 Who enables the clouds to know when they should cause rain to fall?
And who has given to women skill in weaving, or knowledge of embroidery?
37 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],
And who is he that numbers the clouds in wisdom, and has bowed the heaven [down] to the earth?
38 with the result that the dry ground becomes hard as the dry (clods/lumps of soil) [become wet and] stick together?
For it is spread out as dusty earth, and I have cemented it as one hewn stone to another.
39 “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?
And will you hunt a prey for the lions? and satisfy the desires of the serpents?
For they fear in their lairs, and lying in wait couch in the woods.
41 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]?”
And who has prepared food for the raven? for its young ones wander and cry to the Lord, in search of food.
