Job 38
1 Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind,
But the Lord, responding to Job from a whirlwind, said:
2 “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Who is this that wraps sentences in unskilled words?
3 Brace yourself like a man, for I will question you, then you answer me!
Gird your waist like a man. I will question you, and you must answer me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.
Where were you, when I set the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measures, if you know? Or who stretched the line on it?
Who set its measurements, if you know, or who stretched a line over it?
6 What were its foundations fastened on? Or who laid its cornerstone,
Upon what have its bases been grounded, and who set forth its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
when the morning stars praised me together, and all the sons of God made a joyful noise?
8 “Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke out of the womb,
Who enclosed the sea with doors, when it broke forth as if issuing from the womb,
9 when I made clouds its garment, and wrapped it in thick darkness,
when I stationed a cloud as its garment and wrapped it in a mist as if swaddling an infant?
10 marked out for it my bound, set bars and doors,
I encircled it with my limits, and I positioned its bars and doors.
11 and said, ‘You may come here, but no further. Your proud waves shall be stopped here’?
And I said: “This far you will approach, and you will proceed no further, and here you will break your swelling waves.”
12 “Have you commanded the morning in your days, and caused the dawn to know its place,
Did you, after your birth, command the birth of the sun and show the sunrise its place?
13 that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it?
And did you hold the extremities of the earth, shaking them, and have you shaken the impious out of it?
14 It is changed as clay under the seal, and presented as a garment.
The seal will be restored like clay, and it will remain in place like a garment.
15 From the wicked, their light is withheld. The high arm is broken.
From the impious, the light will be taken away, and the exalted arm will be broken.
16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
Have you entered the depths of the sea, and have you taken a walk in the uttermost parts of the abyss?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
Have the gates of death been opened to you, and have you seen the doors of darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the earth in its width? Declare, if you know it all.
Have you considered the breadth of the earth? If you know all things, reveal them to me.
19 “What is the way to the dwelling of light? As for darkness, where is its place,
Which is the way that holds the light, and which is the place of darkness?
20 that you should take it to its bound, that you should discern the paths to its house?
In this way, you might lead each thing to its final place, and understand the paths of its house.
21 Surely you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!
So then, did you know when you were to be born? And did you know the number of your days?
22 Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
Have you been admitted into the storehouses of the snows, and have you gazed upon the stockpile of the brimstone,
23 which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
which I have prepared for the time of the enemy, for the day of the battle and the war?
24 By what way is the lightning distributed, or the east wind scattered on the earth?
In what way is the light scattered, and the heat distributed, over the earth?
25 Who has cut a channel for the flood water, or the path for the thunderstorm,
Who gave a course to the rainstorms, and a path to the resounding thunder,
26 to cause it to rain on a land where there is no man, on the wilderness, in which there is no man,
so that it would rain on the earth far from man, in the wilderness where no mortal lingers,
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate ground, to cause the tender grass to grow?
so that it would fill impassable and desolate places, and would bring forth green plants?
28 Does the rain have a father? Or who fathers the drops of dew?
Who is the father of rain, or who conceived the drops of dew?
29 Whose womb did the ice come out of? Who has given birth to the gray frost of the sky?
From whose womb did the ice proceed, and who created the frost from the air?
30 The waters become hard like stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen.
The waters are hardened to become like stone, and the surface of the abyss freezes over.
31 “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion?
Will you have the strength to join together the sparkling stars of the Pleiades, or are you able to disperse the circling of Arcturus?
32 Can you lead the constellations out in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs?
Can you bring forth the morning star, in its time, and make the evening star rise over the sons of the earth?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you establish its dominion over the earth?
Do you know the order of heaven, and can you explain its rules here on the earth?
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover you?
Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that an onslaught of waters will cover you?
35 Can you send out lightnings, that they may go? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
Can you send forth lightning bolts, and will they go, and on returning, say to you: “Here we are?”
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the mind?
Who placed discernment in the guts of man, or who gave the rooster intelligence?
37 Who can count the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the containers of the sky,
Who can describe the rules of the heavens, or who can put to rest the harmony of heaven?
38 when the dust runs into a mass, and the clods of earth stick together?
When was the dust cast to become the earth, and when were its clods fastened together?
39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
Will you seize prey for the lioness, and will you sustain the lives of her young,
40 when they crouch in their dens, and lie in wait in the thicket?
as they rest in their dens or lie in wait in pits?
41 Who provides for the raven his prey, when his young ones cry to God, and wander for lack of food?
Who provides the raven with its meal, when her chicks cry out to God, as they wander around because they have no food?
