Job 38
1 Respondens autem Dominus Job de turbine, dixit:
Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
2 Quis est iste involvens sententias sermonibus imperitis?
Who is this that darkeneth counsel By words without knowledge?
3 Accinge sicut vir lumbos tuos: interrogabo te, et responde mihi.
Gird up now thy loins like a man; For I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
4 Ubi eras quando ponebam fundamenta terræ? indica mihi, si habes intelligentiam.
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 Quis posuit mensuras ejus, si nosti? vel quis tetendit super eam lineam?
Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 Super quo bases illius solidatæ sunt? aut quis demisit lapidem angularem ejus,
Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,
7 cum me laudarent simul astra matutina, et jubilarent omnes filii Dei?
When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 Quis conclusit ostiis mare, quando erumpebat quasi de vulva procedens;
Or [who] shut up the sea with doors, When it brake forth, [as if] it had issued out of the womb;
9 cum ponerem nubem vestimentum ejus, et caligine illud quasi pannis infantiæ obvolverem?
When I made clouds the garment thereof, And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,
10 Circumdedi illud terminis meis, et posui vectem et ostia,
And marked out for it my bound, And set bars and doors,
11 et dixi: Usque huc venies, et non procedes amplius, et hic confringes tumentes fluctus tuos.
And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
12 Numquid post ortum tuum præcepisti diluculo, et ostendisti auroræ locum suum?
Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days [began], [And] caused the dayspring to know its place;
13 Et tenuisti concutiens extrema terræ, et excussisti impios ex ea?
That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?
14 Restituetur ut lutum signaculum, et stabit sicut vestimentum:
It is changed as clay under the seal; And [all things] stand forth as a garment:
15 auferetur ab impiis lux sua, et brachium excelsum confringetur.
And from the wicked their light is withholden, And the high arm is broken.
16 Numquid ingressus es profunda maris, et in novissimis abyssi deambulasti?
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Numquid apertæ sunt tibi portæ mortis, et ostia tenebrosa vidisti?
Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Numquid considerasti latitudinem terræ? indica mihi, si nosti, omnia:
Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth? Declare, if thou knowest it all.
19 in qua via lux habitet, et tenebrarum quis locus sit:
Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
20 ut ducas unumquodque ad terminos suos, et intelligas semitas domus ejus.
That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?
21 Sciebas tunc quod nasciturus esses, et numerum dierum tuorum noveras?
[Doubtless], thou knowest, for thou wast then born, And the number of thy days is great!
22 Numquid ingressus es thesauros nivis, aut thesauros grandinis aspexisti,
Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
23 quæ præparavi in tempus hostis, in diem pugnæ et belli?
Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, Against the day of battle and war?
24 Per quam viam spargitur lux, dividitur æstus super terram?
By what way is the light parted, Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?
25 Quis dedit vehementissimo imbri cursum, et viam sonantis tonitrui,
Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood, Or the way for the lightning of the thunder;
26 ut plueret super terram absque homine in deserto, ubi nullus mortalium commoratur;
To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
27 ut impleret inviam et desolatam, et produceret herbas virentes?
To satisfy the waste and desolate [ground], And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?
28 Quis est pluviæ pater? vel quis genuit stillas roris?
Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
29 De cujus utero egressa est glacies? et gelu de cælo quis genuit?
Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
30 In similitudinem lapidis aquæ durantur, et superficies abyssi constringitur.
The waters hide themselves [and become] like stone, And the face of the deep is frozen.
31 Numquid conjungere valebis micantes stellas Pleiadas, aut gyrum Arcturi poteris dissipare?
Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the bands of Orion?
32 Numquid producis luciferum in tempore suo, et vesperum super filios terræ consurgere facis?
Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? Or canst thou guide the Bear with her train?
33 Numquid nosti ordinem cæli, et pones rationem ejus in terra?
Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?
34 Numquid elevabis in nebula vocem tuam, et impetus aquarum operiet te?
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover thee?
35 Numquid mittes fulgura, et ibunt, et revertentia dicent tibi: Adsumus?
Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go, And say unto thee, Here we are?
36 Quis posuit in visceribus hominis sapientiam? vel quis dedit gallo intelligentiam?
Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who hath given understanding to the mind?
37 Quis enarrabit cælorum rationem? et concentum cæli quis dormire faciet?
Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,
38 Quando fundebatur pulvis in terra, et glebæ compingebantur?
When the dust runneth into a mass, And the clods cleave fast together?
39 Numquid capies leænæ prædam, et animam catulorum ejus implebis,
Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 quando cubant in antris, et in specubus insidiantur?
When they couch in their dens, [And] abide in the covert to lie in wait?
41 Quis præparat corvo escam suam, quando pulli ejus clamant ad Deum, vagantes, eo quod non habeant cibos?
Who provideth for the raven his prey, When his young ones cry unto God, [And] wander for lack of food?
