Job 38
1 Then Yahweh called to Job out of a fierce storm and said,
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
2 “Who is this who brings darkness to plans by means of words without knowledge?
Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Now gird up your loins like a man for I will ask you questions, and you must answer me.
Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto 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 laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast the understanding.
5 Who determined its dimensions? Tell me, if you know. Who stretched the measuring line over it?
Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its foundations laid? Who laid its cornerstone
Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,
7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 Who shut up the sea with doors when it burst out, as if it had come out of the womb—
Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth, and issued out of the womb;
9 when I made clouds its clothing, and thick darkness its swaddling bands?
When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
10 That was when I marked out for the sea my boundary, and when I placed its bars and doors,
And prescribed for it My decree, and set bars and doors,
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 said: 'Thus far shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed'?
12 Have you given orders to the morning, or caused the dawn to know its place,
Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began, and caused the dayspring to know its place;
13 so that it might take hold of the edges of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?
That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked be shaken 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.
It is changed as clay under the seal; and they stand as a garment.
15 From wicked people their 'light' is taken away; their uplifted arm is broken.
But from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm is broken.
16 Have you gone to the sources of the waters of the sea? Have you walked in the lowest parts of the deep?
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Have you understood the earth in its expanse? Tell me, if you know it all.
Hast thou surveyed unto the breadths of the earth? Declare, if thou knowest it all.
19 Where is the way to the resting place of light— as for darkness, where is its place?
Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and as for darkness, where is the place thereof;
20 Can you lead light and darkness to their places of work? Can you find the way back to their houses for them?
That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?
21 Undoubtedly you know, for you were born then; the number of your days is so large!
Thou knowest it, for thou wast then born, and the number of thy days is great!
22 Have you entered the storehouses for the snow, or have you seen the storehouses for the hail,
Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, or hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail,
23 these things that I have kept for times of trouble, for days of battle and war?
Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
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?
By what way is the light parted, or the east wind scattered upon the earth?
25 Who has created the channels for the floods of rain, or who has made a path for the thunder,
Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood, or a way for the lightning of the thunder;
26 to cause it to rain on lands where no person exists, and on the wilderness, in which there is no one,
To cause it to rain on a land where no man is, on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
27 to satisfy the devastated and desolate places, and to make the ground sprout with grass?
To satisfy the desolate and waste ground, and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?
28 Does the rain have a father, or, who fathers the drops of dew?
Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
29 Out of whose womb did the ice come? Who bore the white frost out of the sky?
Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoar-frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
30 The waters hide themselves and become like stone; the surface of the deep becomes frozen.
The waters are congealed like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
31 Can you fasten chains on the Pleiades, or undo the cords of Orion?
Canst thou bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
32 Can you lead the constellations to appear at their proper times? Can you guide the Bear with its children?
Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? Or canst thou guide the Bear with her sons?
33 Do you know the regulations of the sky? Could you set in place the sky's rule over the earth?
Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?
34 Can you raise your voice up to the clouds, so that an abundance of rainwater may cover you?
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?
35 Can you send out bolts of lightning that they may go out, that they say to you, 'Here we are'?
Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee: 'Here we are'?
36 Who has put wisdom in the clouds or has given understanding to the mists?
Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who hath given understanding to the mind?
37 Who can number the clouds by his skill? Who can pour out the water skins of the sky
Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,
38 when the dust runs into a hard mass and the clods of earth clump tightly together?
When the dust runneth into a mass, and the clods cleave fast together?
39 Can you hunt down a victim for a lioness or satisfy the appetite of her young lion cubs
Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lioness? Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they are crouching in their dens and sheltering in hiding to lie in wait?
When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?
41 Who provides victims for the ravens when their young ones cry out to God and stagger about for lack of food?
Who provideth for the raven his prey, when his young ones cry unto God, and wander for lack of food?
