Job 38
1 Then Yahweh called to Job out of a fierce storm and said,
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
2 “Who is this who brings darkness to plans by means of words without knowledge?
“Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Now gird up your loins like a man for I will ask you questions, and you must answer me.
Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.
4 Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations? Tell me, if you have so much understanding.
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its dimensions? Tell me, if you know. Who stretched the measuring line over it?
Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its foundations laid? Who laid its cornerstone
On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 Who shut up the sea with doors when it burst out, as if it had come out of the womb—
Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made clouds its clothing, and thick darkness its swaddling bands?
when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its blanket,
10 That was when I marked out for the sea my boundary, and when I placed its bars and doors,
when I fixed its boundaries and set in place its bars and doors,
11 and when I said to it, 'You may come this far, but no farther; here is where I will put a boundary to the pride of your waves.'
and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther; here your proud waves must stop’?
12 Have you given orders to the morning, or caused the dawn to know its place,
In your days, have you commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place,
13 so that it might take hold of the edges of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?
that it might spread to the ends of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth is changed in appearance like clay changes under a seal; all things on it stand out clearly like the folds of a piece of clothing.
The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its hills stand out like the folds of a garment.
15 From wicked people their 'light' is taken away; their uplifted arm is broken.
Light is withheld from the wicked, and their upraised arm is broken.
16 Have you gone to the sources of the waters of the sea? Have you walked in the lowest parts of the deep?
Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Have you understood the earth in its expanse? Tell me, if you know it all.
Have you surveyed the extent of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.
19 Where is the way to the resting place of light— as for darkness, where is its place?
Where is the way to the home of light? Do you know where darkness resides,
20 Can you lead light and darkness to their places of work? Can you find the way back to their houses for them?
so you can lead it back to its border? Do you know the paths to its home?
21 Undoubtedly you know, for you were born then; the number of your days is so large!
Surely you know, for you were already born! And the number of your days is great!
22 Have you entered the storehouses for the snow, or have you seen the storehouses for the hail,
Have you entered the storehouses of snow or observed the storehouses of hail,
23 these things that I have kept for times of trouble, for days of battle and war?
which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of war and battle?
24 What is the path to where the lightning bolts are distributed or to where the winds are scattered from the east over the earth?
In which direction is the lightning dispersed, or the east wind scattered over the earth?
25 Who has created the channels for the floods of rain, or who has made a path for the thunder,
Who cuts a channel for the flood or clears a path for the thunderbolt,
26 to cause it to rain on lands where no person exists, and on the wilderness, in which there is no one,
to bring rain on a barren land, on a desert where no man lives,
27 to satisfy the devastated and desolate places, and to make the ground sprout with grass?
to satisfy the parched wasteland and make it sprout with tender grass?
28 Does the rain have a father, or, who fathers the drops of dew?
Does the rain have a father? Who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 Out of whose womb did the ice come? Who bore the white frost out of the sky?
From whose womb does the ice emerge? Who gives birth to the frost from heaven,
30 The waters hide themselves and become like stone; the surface of the deep becomes frozen.
when the waters become hard as stone and the surface of the deep is frozen?
31 Can you fasten chains on the Pleiades, or undo the cords of Orion?
Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion?
32 Can you lead the constellations to appear at their proper times? Can you guide the Bear with its children?
Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear and her cubs?
33 Do you know the regulations of the sky? Could you set in place the sky's rule over the earth?
Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?
34 Can you raise your voice up to the clouds, so that an abundance of rainwater may cover you?
Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?
35 Can you send out bolts of lightning that they may go out, that they say to you, 'Here we are'?
Can you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the clouds or has given understanding to the mists?
Who has put wisdom in the heart or given understanding to the mind?
37 Who can number the clouds by his skill? Who can pour out the water skins of the sky
Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of the heavens
38 when the dust runs into a hard mass and the clods of earth clump tightly together?
when the dust hardens into a mass and the clods of earth stick together?
39 Can you hunt down a victim for a lioness or satisfy the appetite of her young lion cubs
Can you hunt the prey for a lioness or satisfy the hunger of young lions
40 when they are crouching in their dens and sheltering in hiding to lie in wait?
when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait in the thicket?
41 Who provides victims for the ravens when their young ones cry out to God and stagger about for lack of food?
Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God as they wander about for lack of food?
