Job 38
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
And the Lord made answer to Job out of the storm-wind, and said,
2 Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Who is this who makes the purpose of God dark by words without knowledge?
3 Gird up now your loins like a man; for I will demand of you, and answer you me.
Get your strength together like a man of war; I will put questions to you, and you will give me the answers.
4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if you have understanding.
Where were you when I put the earth on its base? Say, if you have knowledge.
5 Who has laid the measures thereof, if you know? or who has stretched the line on it?
By whom were its measures fixed? Say, if you have wisdom; or by whom was the line stretched out over it?
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
On what were its pillars based, or who put down its angle-stone,
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
When the morning stars made songs together, and all the sons of the gods gave cries of joy?
8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
Or where were you when the sea came to birth, pushing out from its secret place;
9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling cloth for it,
When I made the cloud its robe, and put thick clouds as bands round it,
10 And broke up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
Ordering a fixed limit for it, with locks and doors;
11 And said, Till now shall you come, but no further: and here shall your proud waves be stayed?
And said, So far you may come, and no farther; and here the pride of your waves will be stopped?
12 Have you commanded the morning since your days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;
Have you, from your earliest days, given orders to the morning, or made the dawn conscious of its place;
13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
So that it might take a grip of the skirts of the earth, shaking all the evil-doers out of it?
14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.
It is changed like wet earth under a stamp, and is coloured like a robe;
15 And from the wicked their light is withheld, and the high arm shall be broken.
And from the evil-doers their light is kept back, and the arm of pride is broken.
16 Have you entered into the springs of the sea? or have you walked in the search of the depth?
Have you come into the springs of the sea, walking in the secret places of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been opened to you? or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
Have the doors of death been open to you, or have the door-keepers of the dark ever seen you?
18 Have you perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if you know it all.
Have you taken note of the wide limits of the earth? Say, if you have knowledge of it all.
19 Where is the way where light dwells? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
Which is the way to the resting-place of the light, and where is the store-house of the dark;
20 That you should take it to the bound thereof, and that you should know the paths to the house thereof?
So that you might take it to its limit, guiding it to its house?
21 Know you it, because you were then born? or because the number of your days is great?
No doubt you have knowledge of it, for then you had come to birth, and the number of your days is great.
22 Have you entered into the treasures of the snow? or have you seen the treasures of the hail,
Have you come into the secret place of snow, or have you seen the store-houses of the ice-drops,
23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
Which I have kept for the time of trouble, for the day of war and fighting?
24 By what way is the light parted, which scatters the east wind on the earth?
Which is the way to the place where the wind is measured out, and the east wind sent out over the earth?
25 Who has divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;
By whom has the way been cut for the flowing of the rain, and the flaming of the thunder;
26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
Causing rain to come on a land where no man is living, on the waste land which has no people;
27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?
To give water to the land where there is waste and destruction, and to make the dry land green with young grass?
28 Has the rain a father? or who has begotten the drops of dew?
Has the rain a father? or who gave birth to the drops of night mist?
29 Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who has gendered it?
Out of whose body came the ice? and who gave birth to the cold mist of heaven?
30 The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
The waters are joined together, hard as a stone, and the face of the deep is covered.
31 Can you bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
Are the bands of the Pleiades fixed by you, or are the cords of Orion made loose?
32 Can you bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or can you guide Arcturus with his sons?
Do you make Mazzaroth come out in its right time, or are the Bear and its children guided by you?
33 Know you the ordinances of heaven? can you set the dominion thereof in the earth?
Have you knowledge of the laws of the heavens? did you give them rule over the earth?
34 Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover you?
Is your voice sent up to the cloud, so that you may be covered by the weight of waters?
35 Can you send lightning, that they may go and say to you, Here we are?
Do you send out the thunder-flames, so that they may go, and say to you, Here we are?
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? or who has given understanding to the heart?
Who has put wisdom in the high clouds, or given knowledge to the lights of the north?
37 Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,
By whose wisdom are the clouds numbered, or the water-skins of the heavens turned to the earth,
38 When the dust grows into hardness, and the clods stuck fast together?
When the earth becomes hard as metal, and is joined together in masses?
39 Will you hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,
Do you go after food for the she-lion, or get meat so that the young lions may have enough,
40 When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?
When they are stretched out in their holes, and are waiting in the brushwood?
41 Who provides for the raven his food? when his young ones cry to God, they wander for lack of meat.
Who gives in the evening the meat he is searching for, when his young ones are crying to God; when the young lions with loud noise go wandering after their food?
