< Job 38 >

1 And Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
Respondens autem Dominus Iob de turbine, dixit:
2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
Quis est iste involvens sententias sermonibus imperitis?
3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; and I will demand of thee, and inform thou me.
Accinge sicut vir lumbos tuos: interrogabo te, et responde mihi.
4 Where wast thou when I founded the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.
Ubi eras quando ponebam fundamenta terræ? indica mihi si habes intelligentiam.
5 Who set the measures thereof — if thou knowest? or who stretched a line upon it?
Quis posuit mensuras eius, si nosti? vel quis tetendit super eam lineam?
6 Whereupon were the foundations thereof sunken? or who laid its corner-stone,
Super quo bases illius solidatæ sunt? aut quis demisit lapidem angularem eius,
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Cum me laudarent simul astra matutina, et iubilarent omnes filii Dei?
8 And who shut up the sea with doors, when it burst forth, issuing out of the womb?
Quis conclusit ostiis mare, quando erumpebat quasi de vulva procedens:
9 When I made the cloud its garment, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it;
Cum ponerem nubem vestimentum eius, et caligine illud quasi pannis infantiæ obvolverem?
10 When I cut out for it my boundary, and set bars and doors,
Circumdedi illud terminis meis, et posui vectem, et ostia:
11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come and no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
Et dixi: Usque huc venies, et non procedes amplius, et hic confringes tumentes fluctus tuos.
12 Hast thou since thy days commanded the morning? hast thou caused the dawn to know its place,
Numquid post ortum tuum præcepisti diluculo, et ostendisti auroræ locum suum?
13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked might be shaken out of it?
Et tenuisti concutiens extrema terræ, et excussisti impios ex ea?
14 It is changed like the signet-clay; and [all things] stand forth as in a garment:
Restituetur ut lutum signaculum, et stabit sicut vestimentum:
15 And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the uplifted arm is broken.
Auferetur ab impiis lux sua, et brachium excelsum confringetur.
16 Hast thou entered as far as the springs of the sea? and hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?
Numquid ingressus es profunda maris, et in novissimis abyssi deambulasti?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? and hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
Numquid apertæ sunt tibi portæ mortis, et ostia tenebrosa vidisti?
18 Hath thine understanding compassed the breadths of the earth? Declare if thou knowest it all.
Numquid considerasti latitudinem terræ? indica mihi, si nosti, omnia.
19 Where is the way to where light dwelleth? and the darkness, where is its place,
In qua via lux habitet, et tenebrarum quis locus sit:
20 That thou shouldest take it to its bound, and that thou shouldest know the paths to its house?
Ut ducas unumquodque ad terminos suos, et intelligas semitas domus eius.
21 Thou knowest, for thou wast then born, and the number of thy days is great!
Sciebas tunc quod nasciturus esses? et numerum dierum tuorum noveras?
22 Hast thou entered into the storehouses of the snow, and hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail,
Numquid ingressus es thesauros nivis, aut thesauros grandinis aspexisti,
23 Which I have reserved for the time of distress, for the day of battle and war?
Quæ præparavi in tempus hostis, in diem pugnæ et belli?
24 By what way is the light parted, [and] the east wind scattered upon the earth?
Per quam viam spargitur lux, dividitur æstus super terram?
25 Who hath divided a channel for the rain-flood, and a way for the thunder's flash;
Quis dedit vehementissimo imbri cursum, et viam sonantis tonitrui,
26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no one is; on the wilderness wherein there is not a man;
Ut plueret super terram absque homine in deserto, ubi nullus mortalium commoratur,
27 To satisfy the desolate and waste [ground], and to cause the sprout of the grass to spring forth?
Ut impleret inviam et desolatam, et produceret herbas virentes?
28 Hath the rain a father? or who begetteth the drops of dew?
Quis est pluviæ pater? vel quis genuit stillas roris?
29 Out of whose womb cometh the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who bringeth it forth?
De cuius utero egressa est glacies? et gelu de cælo quis genuit?
30 When the waters lie hidden as in stone, and the face of the deep holdeth fast together.
In similitudinem lapidis aquæ durantur, et superficies abyssi constringitur.
31 Canst thou fasten the bands of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion?
Numquid coniungere valebis micantes stellas Pleiadas, aut gyrum Arcturi poteris dissipare?
32 Dost thou bring forth the constellations each in its season? or dost thou guide the Bear with her sons?
Numquid producis Luciferum in tempore suo, et Vesperum super filios terræ consurgere facis?
33 Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? dost thou determine their rule over the earth?
Numquid nosti ordinem cæli, et pones rationem eius in terra?
34 Dost thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that floods of waters may cover thee?
Numquid elevabis in nebula vocem tuam, et impetus aquarum operiet te?
35 Dost thou send forth lightnings that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?
Numquid mittes fulgura, et ibunt, et revertentia dicent tibi: Adsumus?
36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the mind?
Quis posuit in visceribus hominis sapientiam? vel quis dedit gallo intelligentiam?
37 Who numbereth the clouds with wisdom? or who poureth out the bottles of the heavens,
Quis enarrabit cælorum rationem, et concentum cæli quis dormire faciet?
38 When the dust runneth as into a molten mass, and the clods cleave fast together?
Quando fundebatur pulvis in terra, et glebæ compingebantur?
39 Dost thou hunt the prey for the lioness, and dost thou satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
Numquid capies leænæ prædam, et animam catulorum eius implebis,
40 When they crouch in [their] dens, [and] abide in the thicket to lie in wait?
Quando cubant in antris, et in specubus insidiantur?
41 Who provideth for the raven his food, when his young ones cry unto God, [and] they wander for lack of meat?
Quis præparat corvo escam suam, quando pulli eius clamant ad Deum, vagantes, eo quod non habeant cibos?

< Job 38 >