Jobs 38
1 Og Herren svarte Job ut av et stormvær og sa:
Then Yahweh spoke to Job from inside a great windstorm. He said to him,
2 Hvem er han som formørker mitt råd med ord uten forstand?
“(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!
3 Nuvel, omgjord dine lender som en mann! Så vil jeg spørre dig, og du skal lære mig.
I want to ask you [some] questions, so, just like men prepare themselves for a difficult task [MET], prepare to answer my questions.
4 Hvor var du da jeg grunnfestet jorden? Si frem hvis du vet det!
(“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].
5 Hvem fastsatte vel dens mål? Vet du det? Eller hvem spente målesnor ut over den?
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!
6 Hvor blev dens støtter rammet ned, eller hvem la dens hjørnesten,
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?]
7 mens alle morgenstjerner jublet, og alle Guds sønner ropte av fryd?
8 Og hvem lukket for havet med dører, da det brøt frem og gikk ut av mors liv,
“When the seas poured forth from inside the earth, who prevented the water from flooding over the land?
9 da jeg gjorde skyer til dets klædebon og skodde til dets svøp
It was I, [not you, ] who caused clouds to come over the seas and caused it to become very dark [under those clouds].
10 og merket av en grense for det og satte bom og dører
I set limits for the seas, and I put barriers [so that the water would not come over the land].
11 og sa: Hit skal du komme og ikke lenger, her skal dine stolte bølger legge sig?
[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!’
12 Har du i dine dager befalt morgenen å bryte frem, har du vist morgenrøden dens sted,
“Job, have you [ever] commanded the morning [to begin]? Have you [ever] told the dawn to start a new day?
13 forat den skulde gripe fatt i jordens ender, og de ugudelige rystes bort fra den?
Have you [ever] told the dawn to spread out over the whole earth, with the result that wicked people run away from the light?
14 Jorden tar da form likesom ler under seglet, og tingene treder frem som et klædebon,
When it becomes light after the dawn, the hills and the valleys become clear like the folds in a cloth.
15 og de ugudelige unddras sitt lys, og den løftede arm knuses.
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.
16 Er du kommet til havets kilder, og har du vandret på dypets bunn?
“[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?
17 Har dødens porter vist sig for dig, og har du sett dødsskyggens porter?
Has someone shown you the gates to the place where dead people are, the gates to the place where it is very dark?
18 Har du sett ut over jordens vidder? Si frem dersom du kjenner alt dette!
Do you know how big the earth is? Tell me, if you know all these things!
19 Hvor er veien dit hvor lyset bor? Og mørket - hvor er dets sted,
“Where is the road to the place where light comes from? And [can you tell me] where darkness lives?
20 så du kunde hente det frem til dets område, så du kjente stiene til dets hus?
Can take me to its home? Do you know where the road is that goes there?
21 Du vet det vel; dengang blev du jo født, og dine dagers tall er stort.
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!
22 Er du kommet til forrådskammerne for sneen, og har du sett forrådshusene for haglet,
“Have you entered the place where I store the snow and the place where I keep the hail?
23 som jeg har opspart til trengselens tid, til kampens og krigens dag?
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].
24 Hvad vei følger lyset når det deler sig, og østenvinden når den spreder sig over jorden?
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?
25 Hvem har åpnet renner for regnskyllet og vei for lynstrålen
Who created the channels in which the rain comes down from the sky? Who makes the roads for the thunder/lightning?
26 for å la det regne over et øde land, over en ørken hvor intet menneske bor,
Who causes rain to fall in the desert, in places where no one lives?
27 for å mette ørk og øde og få gressbunnen til å gro?
Who sends the rain that gives moisture/water to areas where nothing has grown, with the result that grass begins to grow again?
28 Har regnet nogen far? Eller hvem har avlet duggens dråper?
Does the rain have a father? Does the dew [also] have a father?
29 Av hvis liv er vel isen gått frem, og himmelens rim - hvem fødte det?
And from whose womb does ice come [in the (winter/cold season)]? Who gives birth to the frost that comes down from the sky?
30 Vannet blir hårdt som sten, og havets overflate stivner.
[In the winter, ] the water [freezes and] becomes hard, like a rock, and the surface of lakes becomes frozen.
31 Kan du knytte Syvstjernens bånd, eller kan du løse Orions lenker?
“[Job], can you fasten the chains that hold the stars together in clusters/groups in the sky?
32 Kan du føre Dyrekretsens stjernebilleder frem i rette tid, og Bjørnen med dens unger - kan du styre deres gang?
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?
33 Kjenner du himmelens lover? Fastsetter du dens herredømme over jorden?
Do you know the laws that the stars must obey? Can you cause those same laws to rule [everything here] on the earth?
34 Kan din røst nå op til skyen, så en flom av vann dekker dig?
“Can you shout to the clouds and cause rain to pour down on you?
35 Kan du sende ut lynene, så de farer avsted, så de sier til dig: Se, her er vi?
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?’
36 Hvem har lagt visdom i de mørke skyer, eller hvem har lagt forstand i luftsynet?
Who enables the clouds to know when they should cause rain to fall?
37 Hvem teller skyene med visdom, og himmelens vannsekker - hvem heller vannet ut av dem,
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],
38 når støvet flyter sammen til en fast masse, og jordklumpene henger fast ved hverandre?
with the result that the dry ground becomes hard as the dry (clods/lumps of soil) [become wet and] stick together?
39 Jager du rov for løvinnen, og metter du de grådige ungløver,
“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?
40 når de dukker sig ned i sine huler og ligger på lur i krattet?
41 Hvem lar ravnen finne sin mat, når dens unger skriker til Gud og farer hit og dit uten føde?
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]?”
