Job 38
1 Then Yahweh spoke to Job from inside a great windstorm. He said to him,
Forsothe the Lord answeride fro the whirlewynd to Joob,
2 “(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!
and seide, Who is this man, wlappynge sentences with vnwise wordis?
3 I want to ask you [some] questions, so, just like men prepare themselves for a difficult task [MET], prepare to answer my questions.
Girde thou as a man thi leendis; Y schal axe thee, and answere thou to me.
4 (“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].
Where were thou, whanne Y settide the foundementis of erthe? schewe thou to me, if thou hast vndurstondyng.
5 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!
Who settide mesures therof, if thou knowist? ethir who stretchide forth a lyne theronne?
6 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?]
On what thing ben the foundementis therof maad fast? ether who sente doun the corner stoon therof,
whanne the morew sterris herieden me togidere, and alle the sones of God sungun ioyfuli?
8 “When the seas poured forth from inside the earth, who prevented the water from flooding over the land?
Who closide togidere the see with doris, whanne it brak out comynge forth as of the wombe?
9 It was I, [not you, ] who caused clouds to come over the seas and caused it to become very dark [under those clouds].
Whanne Y settide a cloude the hilyng therof, and Y wlappide it with derknesse, as with clothis of yong childhed.
10 I set limits for the seas, and I put barriers [so that the water would not come over the land].
Y cumpasside it with my termes, and Y settide a barre, and doris;
11 [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!’
and Y seide, `Til hidur thou schalt come, and thou schalt not go forth ferthere; and here thou schalt breke togidere thi bolnynge wawis.
12 “Job, have you [ever] commanded the morning [to begin]? Have you [ever] told the dawn to start a new day?
Whethir aftir thi birthe thou comaundist to the bigynnyng of dai, and schewidist to the morewtid his place?
13 Have you [ever] told the dawn to spread out over the whole earth, with the result that wicked people run away from the light?
Whethir thou heldist schakynge togidere the laste partis of erthe, and schakedist awei wickid men therfro?
14 When it becomes light after the dawn, the hills and the valleys become clear like the folds in a cloth.
A seeling schal be restorid as cley, and it schal stonde as a cloth.
15 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.
The liyt of wickid men schal be takun awey fro hem, and an hiy arm schal be brokun.
16 “[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?
Whethir thou entridist in to the depthe of the see, and walkidist in the laste partis of the occian?
17 Has someone shown you the gates to the place where dead people are, the gates to the place where it is very dark?
Whether the yatis of deeth ben openyd to thee, and `siest thou the derk doris?
18 Do you know how big the earth is? Tell me, if you know all these things!
Whethir thou hast biholde the brede of erthe? Schewe thou to me, if thou knowist alle thingis,
19 “Where is the road to the place where light comes from? And [can you tell me] where darkness lives?
in what weie the liyt dwellith, and which is the place of derknesse;
20 Can take me to its home? Do you know where the road is that goes there?
that thou lede ech thing to hise termes, and thou vndurstonde the weies of his hows.
21 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!
Wistist thou thanne, that thou schuldist be borun, and knew thou the noumbre of thi daies?
22 “Have you entered the place where I store the snow and the place where I keep the hail?
Whethir thou entridist in to the tresours of snow, ether biheldist thou the tresours of hail?
23 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].
whiche thingis Y made redy in to the tyme of an enemy, in to the dai of fiytyng and of batel.
24 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?
Bi what weie is the liyt spred abrood, heete is departid on erthe?
25 Who created the channels in which the rain comes down from the sky? Who makes the roads for the thunder/lightning?
Who yaf cours to the strongeste reyn,
26 Who causes rain to fall in the desert, in places where no one lives?
and weie of the thundur sownynge? That it schulde reyne on the erthe with out man in desert, where noon of deedli men dwellith?
27 Who sends the rain that gives moisture/water to areas where nothing has grown, with the result that grass begins to grow again?
That it schulde fille a lond with out weie and desolat, and schulde brynge forth greene eerbis?
28 Does the rain have a father? Does the dew [also] have a father?
Who is fadir of reyn, ether who gendride the dropis of deew?
29 And from whose womb does ice come [in the (winter/cold season)]? Who gives birth to the frost that comes down from the sky?
Of whos wombe yede out iys, and who gendride frost fro heuene?
30 [In the winter, ] the water [freezes and] becomes hard, like a rock, and the surface of lakes becomes frozen.
Watris ben maad hard in the licnesse of stoon, and the ouer part of occian is streyned togidere.
31 “[Job], can you fasten the chains that hold the stars together in clusters/groups in the sky?
Whether thou schalt mowe ioyne togidere schynynge sterris Pliades, ethir thou schalt mowe distrie the cumpas of Arturis?
32 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?
Whether thou bryngist forth Lucifer, `that is, dai sterre, in his tyme, and makist euene sterre to rise on the sones of erthe?
33 Do you know the laws that the stars must obey? Can you cause those same laws to rule [everything here] on the earth?
Whether thou knowist the ordre of heuene, and schalt sette the resoun therof in erthe?
34 “Can you shout to the clouds and cause rain to pour down on you?
Whethir thou schalt reise thi vois in to a cloude, and the fersnesse of watris schal hile thee?
35 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?’
Whethir thou schalt sende leitis, and tho schulen go, and tho schulen turne ayen, and schulen seie to thee, We ben present?
36 Who enables the clouds to know when they should cause rain to fall?
Who puttide wisdoom in the entrailis of man, ethir who yaf vndurstondyng to the cok?
37 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],
Who schal telle out the resoun of heuenes, and who schal make acordyng of heuene to sleep?
38 with the result that the dry ground becomes hard as the dry (clods/lumps of soil) [become wet and] stick together?
Whanne dust was foundid in the erthe, and clottis weren ioyned togidere?
39 “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?
Whether thou schalt take prey to the lionesse, and schalt fille the soulis of hir whelpis,
whanne tho liggen in caues, and aspien in dennes?
41 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]?”
Who makith redi for the crowe his mete, whanne hise briddis crien to God, and wandren aboute, for tho han not meetis?
