< Job 38 >

1 respondens autem Dominus Iob de turbine dixit
Then the LORD 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; for I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
4 ubi eras quando ponebam fundamenta terrae indica mihi si habes intellegentiam
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 quis posuit mensuras eius 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 solidatae sunt aut quis dimisit lapidem angularem eius
Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
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
[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 eius et caligine illud quasi pannis infantiae obvolverem
When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
10 circumdedi illud terminis meis et posui vectem et ostia
And prescribed for it my decree, 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 praecepisti diluculo et ostendisti aurorae locum suum
Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days [began, and] caused the dayspring 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 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 abyssis deambulasti
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or 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? or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 numquid considerasti latitudines terrae indica mihi si nosti omnia
Hast thou comprehended the breadth 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 the dwelling of light, and as for darkness, where is the place thereof;
20 ut ducas unumquodque ad terminos suos et intellegas semitas domus eius
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 treasuries of the hail,
23 quae praeparavi in tempus hostis in diem pugnae 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 aestus 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 a 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 pluviae pater vel quis genuit stillas roris
Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
29 de cuius utero egressa est glacies et gelu de caelo quis genuit
Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
30 in similitudinem lapidis aquae durantur et superficies abyssi constringitur
The waters are hidden as [with] stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
31 numquid coniungere valebis micantes stellas Pliadis 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 terrae consurgere facis
Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? or canst thou guide the Bear with her train?
33 numquid nosti ordinem caeli et pones rationem eius 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 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 can number the clouds by wisdom? or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,
38 quando fundebatur pulvis in terram et glebae conpingebantur
When the dust runneth into a mass, and the clods cleave fast together?
39 numquid capies leaenae praedam et animam catulorum eius implebis
Wilt 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 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] wander for lack of meat?

< Job 38 >