Job 38
1 Then Yahweh spoke to Job from inside a great windstorm. He said to him,
Then spake Jehovah to Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
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 darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
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 up thy loins like a man! I will ask thee, and answer thou 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 wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding!
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 fixed its dimensions, that thou shouldst know it! Or who stretched out the 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?]
Upon what were its foundations fixed? And who laid its corner-stone,
When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 “When the seas poured forth from inside the earth, who prevented the water from flooding over the land?
And who shut up the sea with doors, When it burst forth as from the 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].
When I made the clouds its mantle, And thick darkness its swaddling-band;
10 I set limits for the seas, and I put barriers [so that the water would not come over the land].
When I appointed for it my bound, And fixed for it bars and doors;
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 said, Thus far shalt thou come, and no farther, And here shall thy proud waves be stayed!
12 “Job, have you [ever] commanded the morning [to begin]? Have you [ever] told the dawn to start a new day?
Hast thou, in thy life, given charge to the morning, Or caused the day-spring to know its 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?
That it should lay hold of the ends of the earth, And shake the wicked out of it?
14 When it becomes light after the dawn, the hills and the valleys become clear like the folds in a cloth.
It is changed as clay by the seal; And all things stand forth as in rich apparel.
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.
But from the wicked their light is withheld, And the high-raised arm is broken.
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?
Hast thou visited the springs of the sea, And walked through the recesses 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?
Have the gates of death been disclosed to thee, And hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Do you know how big the earth is? Tell me, if you know all these things!
Hast thou surveyed the breadth of the earth? Declare, if thou knowest it all!
19 “Where is the road to the place where light comes from? And [can you tell me] where darkness lives?
Where is the way to the abode of light? And darkness—where is its dwelling-place?
20 Can take me to its home? Do you know where the road is that goes there?
That thou shouldst lead it to its boundary, And that thou shouldst know the paths to its mansion!
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!
Surely thou knowest; for thou wast then born! And the number of thy years is great!
22 “Have you entered the place where I store the snow and the place where I keep the hail?
Hast thou visited the storehouses of the snow, Or seen the treasuries of the 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].
Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, —Against the day of battle and war?
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?
What is the way to where light is distributed, And the east wind spread abroad upon the earth?
25 Who created the channels in which the rain comes down from the sky? Who makes the roads for the thunder/lightning?
Who hath prepared channels for the rain, And a path for the thunder-flash,
26 Who causes rain to fall in the desert, in places where no one lives?
To give rain to the land without an inhabitant, To the wilderness wherein is no man;
27 Who sends the rain that gives moisture/water to areas where nothing has grown, with the result that grass begins to grow again?
To satisfy the desolate and waste ground, And cause the tender herb to spring forth?
28 Does the rain have a father? Does the dew [also] have a father?
Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of the 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?
Out of whose womb came the ice? And who hath gendered the hoar-frost of heaven?
30 [In the winter, ] the water [freezes and] becomes hard, like a rock, and the surface of lakes becomes frozen.
The waters are hid as under stone, And the face of the deep becometh solid.
31 “[Job], can you fasten the chains that hold the stars together in clusters/groups in the sky?
Canst thou fasten the bands of the Pleiades, Or loosen the chains 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?
Canst thou lead forth the Signs in their season, Or guide the Bear with her sons?
33 Do you know the laws that the stars must obey? Can you cause those same laws to rule [everything here] on the earth?
Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Hast thou appointed their dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you shout to the clouds and cause rain to pour down on you?
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, So that abundance of waters will cover thee?
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?’
Canst thou send forth lightnings, so that they will go, And say to thee, “Here we are”?
36 Who enables the clouds to know when they should cause rain to fall?
Who hath put understanding in the reins, And given intelligence to the mind?
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],
Who numbereth the clouds in wisdom? And who poureth out the bottles of heaven,
38 with the result that the dry ground becomes hard as the dry (clods/lumps of soil) [become wet and] stick together?
When the dust floweth into a molten mass, And the clods cleave fast together?
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?
Canst thou hunt prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the hunger of the young lions,
When they couch in their dens, And lie in wait in the thicket?
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]?”
Who provideth for the raven his food, When his young ones cry unto God, While they wander about without food?
