Job 38
1 respondens autem Dominus Iob de turbine dixit
And Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
2 quis est iste involvens sententias sermonibus inperitis
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; and I will demand of thee, and inform thou me.
4 ubi eras quando ponebam fundamenta terrae indica mihi si habes intellegentiam
Where wast thou when I founded the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 quis posuit mensuras eius si nosti vel quis tetendit super eam lineam
Who set the measures thereof — if thou knowest? or who stretched a line upon it?
6 super quo bases illius solidatae sunt aut quis dimisit lapidem angularem eius
Whereupon were the foundations thereof sunken? or who laid its corner-stone,
7 cum me laudarent simul astra matutina et iubilarent 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
And who shut up the sea with doors, when it burst forth, issuing out of the womb?
9 cum ponerem nubem vestimentum eius et caligine illud quasi pannis infantiae obvolverem
When I made the cloud its garment, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it;
10 circumdedi illud terminis meis et posui vectem et ostia
When I cut out for it my boundary, 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 and no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
12 numquid post ortum tuum praecepisti diluculo et ostendisti aurorae locum suum
Hast thou since thy days commanded the morning? hast thou caused the dawn to know its place,
13 et tenuisti concutiens extrema terrae et excussisti impios ex ea
That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked might be shaken out of it?
14 restituetur ut lutum signaculum et stabit sicut vestimentum
It is changed like the signet-clay; and [all things] stand forth as in a garment:
15 auferetur ab impiis lux sua et brachium excelsum confringetur
And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the uplifted arm is broken.
16 numquid ingressus es profunda maris et in novissimis abyssis deambulasti
Hast thou entered as far as the springs of the sea? and hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 numquid apertae tibi sunt portae mortis et ostia tenebrosa vidisti
Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? and hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 numquid considerasti latitudines terrae indica mihi si nosti omnia
Hath thine understanding compassed the breadths of the earth? Declare if thou knowest it all.
19 in qua via habitet lux et tenebrarum quis locus sit
Where is the way to where light dwelleth? and the darkness, where is its place,
20 ut ducas unumquodque ad terminos suos et intellegas semitas domus eius
That thou shouldest take it to its bound, and that thou shouldest know the paths to its house?
21 sciebas tunc quod nasciturus esses et numerum dierum tuorum noveras
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 into the storehouses of the snow, and hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail,
23 quae praeparavi in tempus hostis in diem pugnae et belli
Which I have reserved for the time of distress, for the day of battle and war?
24 per quam viam spargitur lux dividitur aestus super terram
By what way is the light parted, [and] the east wind scattered upon the earth?
25 quis dedit vehementissimo imbri cursum et viam sonantis tonitrui
Who hath divided a channel for the rain-flood, and a way for the thunder's flash;
26 ut plueret super terram absque homine in deserto ubi nullus mortalium commoratur
To cause it to rain on the earth, where no one is; on the wilderness wherein there is not a man;
27 ut impleret inviam et desolatam et produceret herbas virentes
To satisfy the desolate and waste [ground], and to cause the sprout of the grass to spring forth?
28 quis est pluviae pater vel quis genuit stillas roris
Hath the rain a father? or who begetteth the drops of dew?
29 de cuius utero egressa est glacies et gelu de caelo quis genuit
Out of whose womb cometh the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who bringeth it forth?
30 in similitudinem lapidis aquae durantur et superficies abyssi constringitur
When the waters lie hidden as in stone, and the face of the deep holdeth fast together.
31 numquid coniungere valebis micantes stellas Pliadis aut gyrum Arcturi poteris dissipare
Canst thou fasten the bands of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion?
32 numquid producis luciferum in tempore suo et vesperum super filios terrae consurgere facis
Dost thou bring forth the constellations each in its season? or dost thou guide the Bear with her sons?
33 numquid nosti ordinem caeli et pones rationem eius in terra
Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? dost thou determine their rule over the earth?
34 numquid elevabis in nebula vocem tuam et impetus aquarum operiet te
Dost thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that floods of waters may cover thee?
35 numquid mittes fulgura et ibunt et revertentia dicent tibi adsumus
Dost 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 intellegentiam
Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the mind?
37 quis enarravit caelorum rationem et concentum caeli quis dormire faciet
Who numbereth the clouds with wisdom? or who poureth out the bottles of the heavens,
38 quando fundebatur pulvis in terram et glebae conpingebantur
When the dust runneth as into a molten mass, and the clods cleave fast together?
39 numquid capies leaenae praedam et animam catulorum eius implebis
Dost thou hunt the prey for the lioness, and dost thou satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 quando cubant in antris et in specubus insidiantur
When they crouch in [their] dens, [and] abide in the thicket to lie in wait?
41 quis praeparat corvo escam suam quando pulli eius ad Deum clamant vagantes eo quod non habeant cibos
Who provideth for the raven his food, when his young ones cry unto God, [and] they wander for lack of meat?
