Job 38

1 Then Yahweh called to Job out of a fierce storm and said,

And after Elius had ceased from speaking, the Lord spoke to Job through the whirlwind and clouds, [saying],

2 “Who is this who brings darkness to plans by means of words without knowledge?

Who is this that hides counsel from me, and confines words in [his] heart, and thinks to conceal [them] from me?

3 Now gird up your loins like a man for I will ask you questions, and you must answer me.

Gird thy loins like a man; and I will ask thee, and do thou answer me.

4 Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations? Tell me, if you have so much understanding.

Where wast thou when I founded the earth? tell me now, if thou hast knowledge,

5 Who determined its dimensions? Tell me, if you know. Who stretched the measuring line over it?

who set the measures of it, if thou knowest? or who stretched a line upon it?

6 On what were its foundations laid? Who laid its cornerstone

On what are its rings fastened? and who is he that laid the corner-stone upon it?

7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

When the stars were made, all my angels praised me with a loud voice.

8 Who shut up the sea with doors when it burst out, as if it had come out of the womb—

And I shut up the sea with gates, when it rushed out, coming forth out its mother's womb.

9 when I made clouds its clothing, and thick darkness its swaddling bands?

And I made a cloud its clothing, and swathed it in mist.

10 That was when I marked out for the sea my boundary, and when I placed its bars and doors,

And I set bounds to it, surrounding it with bars and gates.

11 and when I said to it, 'You may come this far, but no farther; here is where I will put a boundary to the pride of your waves.'

And I said to it, Hitherto shalt thou come, but thou shalt not go beyond, but thy waves shall be confined within thee.

12 Have you given orders to the morning, or caused the dawn to know its place,

Or did I order the morning light in thy time; and [did] the morning star [then first] see his appointed place;

13 so that it might take hold of the edges of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?

to lay hold of the extremities of the earth, to cast out the ungodly out of it?

14 The earth is changed in appearance like clay changes under a seal; all things on it stand out clearly like the folds of a piece of clothing.

Or didst thou take clay of the ground, and form a living creature, and set it with the power of speech upon the earth?

15 From wicked people their 'light' is taken away; their uplifted arm is broken.

And hast thou removed light from the ungodly, and crushed the arm of the proud?

16 Have you gone to the sources of the waters of the sea? Have you walked in the lowest parts of the deep?

Or hast thou gone to the source of the sea, and walked in the tracks of the deep?

17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

And do the gates of death open to thee for fear; and did the porters of hell quake when they saw thee? (questioned)

18 Have you understood the earth in its expanse? Tell me, if you know it all.

And hast thou been instructed in the breadth of the [whole earth] under heaven? tell me now, what is the extent of it?

19 Where is the way to the resting place of light— as for darkness, where is its place?

And in what kind of a land does the light dwell? and of what kind is the place of darkness?

20 Can you lead light and darkness to their places of work? Can you find the way back to their houses for them?

If thou couldest bring me to their [utmost] boundaries, and if also thou knowest their paths;

21 Undoubtedly you know, for you were born then; the number of your days is so large!

I know then that thou wert born at that time, and the number of thy years is great.

22 Have you entered the storehouses for the snow, or have you seen the storehouses for the hail,

But hast thou gone to the treasures of snow? and hast thou seen the treasures of hail?

23 these things that I have kept for times of trouble, for days of battle and war?

And is there a store [of them], for thee against the time of [thine] enemies, for the day of wars and battle?

24 What is the path to where the lightning bolts are distributed or to where the winds are scattered from the east over the earth?

And whence proceeds the frost? or [whence] is the south wind dispersed over the [whole world] under heaven?

25 Who has created the channels for the floods of rain, or who has made a path for the thunder,

And who prepared a course for the violent rain, and a way for the thunders;

26 to cause it to rain on lands where no person exists, and on the wilderness, in which there is no one,

to rain upon the land where [there is] no man, the wilderness, where there is not a man in it; so as to feed the untrodden and uninhabited [land],

27 to satisfy the devastated and desolate places, and to make the ground sprout with grass?

and cause it to send forth a crop of green herbs?

28 Does the rain have a father, or, who fathers the drops of dew?

Who is the rain's father? and who has generated the drops of dew?

29 Out of whose womb did the ice come? Who bore the white frost out of the sky?

And out of whose womb comes the ice? and who has produced the frost in the sky,

30 The waters hide themselves and become like stone; the surface of the deep becomes frozen.

which descends like flowing water? who has terrified the face of the ungodly?

31 Can you fasten chains on the Pleiades, or undo the cords of Orion?

And dost thou understand the band of Pleias, and hast thou opened the barrier of Orion?

32 Can you lead the constellations to appear at their proper times? Can you guide the Bear with its children?

Or wilt thou reveal Mazuroth in his season, and the evening star with his rays? Wilt thou guide them?

33 Do you know the regulations of the sky? Could you set in place the sky's rule over the earth?

And knowest thou the changes of heaven, or the events which take place together under heaven?

34 Can you raise your voice up to the clouds, so that an abundance of rainwater may cover you?

And wilt thou call a cloud with thy voice, and will it obey thee with a violent shower of much rain?

35 Can you send out bolts of lightning that they may go out, that they say to you, 'Here we are'?

And wilt thou send lightnings, and they shall go? and shall they say to thee, What is [thy pleasure]?

36 Who has put wisdom in the clouds or has given understanding to the mists?

And who has given to women skill in weaving, or knowledge of embroidery?

37 Who can number the clouds by his skill? Who can pour out the water skins of the sky

And who is he that numbers the clouds in wisdom, and has bowed the heaven [down] to the earth?

38 when the dust runs into a hard mass and the clods of earth clump tightly together?

For it is spread out as dusty earth, and I have cemented it as one hewn stone to another.

39 Can you hunt down a victim for a lioness or satisfy the appetite of her young lion cubs

And wilt thou hunt a prey for the lions? and satisfy the desires of the serpents?

40 when they are crouching in their dens and sheltering in hiding to lie in wait?

For they fear in their lairs, and lying in wait couch in the woods.

41 Who provides victims for the ravens when their young ones cry out to God and stagger about for lack of food?

And who has prepared food for the raven? for its young ones wander and cry to the Lord, in search of food.