Job 38-39 (Contemporary English Version)

Job 38

The LORD Speaks

From Out of a Storm

 ¹From out of a storm,

   the LORD said to Job:

    ²Why do you talk so much

   when you know so little?

    ³Now get ready to face me!

   Can you answer

   the questions I ask?

    ⁴How did I lay the foundation

   for the earth?

   Were you there?

    ⁵Doubtless you know who decided

   its length and width.

    ⁶What supports the foundation?

   Who placed the cornerstone,

    ⁷while morning stars sang,

   and angels rejoiced?

    ⁸When the ocean was born,

   I set its boundaries

    ⁹and wrapped it in blankets

   of thickest fog.

    ¹⁰Then I built a wall around it,

   locked the gates, ¹¹and said,

   "Your powerful waves stop here!

   They can go no farther."

   

Did You Ever Tell the Sun To Rise?

 ¹²Did you ever tell the sun to rise?

   And did it obey?

    ¹³Did it take hold of the earth

   and shake out the wicked

   like dust from a rug?

    ¹⁴Early dawn outlines the hills

   like stitches on clothing

   or sketches on clay.

    ¹⁵But its light is too much

   for those who are evil,

   and their power is broken.

    ¹⁶Job, have you ever walked

   on the ocean floor?

    ¹⁷Have you seen the gate

   to the world of the dead?

    ¹⁸And how large is the earth?

   Tell me, if you know!

    ¹⁹Where is the home of light,

   and where does darkness live?

    ²⁰Can you lead them home?

    ²¹I'm certain you must be able to,

   since you were already born

   when I created everything.

    ²²Have you been to the places

   where I keep snow and hail,

    ²³until I use them to punish

   and conquer nations?

    ²⁴From where does lightning leap,

   or the east wind blow?

    ²⁵Who carves out a path

   for thunderstorms?

   Who sends torrents of rain

    ²⁶on empty deserts

   where no one lives?

    ²⁷Rain that changes barren land

   to meadows green with grass.

    ²⁸Who is the father of the dew

   and of the rain?

    ²⁹Who gives birth to the sleet

   and the frost

    ³⁰that fall in winter,

   when streams and lakes

   freeze solid as a rock?

   

Can You Arrange Stars?

 ³¹Can you arrange stars in groups

   such as Orion

   and the Pleiades?

    ³²Do you control the stars

   or set in place the Big Dipper

   and the Little Dipper?

    ³³Do you know the laws

   that govern the heavens,

   and can you make them rule

   the earth?

    ³⁴Can you order the clouds

   to send a downpour,

    ³⁵or will lightning flash

   at your command?

    ³⁶Did you teach birds to know

   that rain or floods

   are on their way? ^{[a] 37}Can you count the clouds

   or pour out their water

    ³⁸on the dry, lumpy soil?

    ³⁹When lions are hungry,

   do you help them hunt?

    ⁴⁰Do you send an animal

   into their den?

    ⁴¹And when starving young ravens

   cry out to me for food,

   do you satisfy their hunger?

   

Job 39

The LORD Continues

When Do Mountain Goats Give Birth?

 ¹When do mountain goats

   and deer give birth?

   Have you been there

   when their young are born?

    ²How long are they pregnant

    ³before they deliver?

    ⁴Soon their young grow strong

   and then leave

   to be on their own.

    ⁵Who set wild donkeys free?

    ⁶I alone help them survive

   in salty desert sand.

    ⁷They stay far from crowded cities

   and refuse to be tamed.

    ⁸Instead, they roam the hills,

   searching for pastureland.

    ⁹Would a wild ox agree

   to live in your barn

   and labor for you?

    ¹⁰Could you force him to plow

   or to drag a heavy log

   to smooth out the soil?

    ¹¹Can you depend on him

   to use his great strength

   and do your heavy work?

    ¹²Can you trust him

   to harvest your grain

   or take it to your barn

   from the threshing place?

   

An Ostrich Proudly Flaps Her Wings

 ¹³An ostrich proudly

   flaps her wings,

   but not because

   she loves her young.

    ¹⁴She abandons her eggs

   and lets the dusty ground

   keep them warm.

    ¹⁵And she doesn't seem to worry

   that the feet of an animal

   could crush them all.

    ¹⁶She treats her eggs as though

   they were not her own,

   unconcerned that her work

   might be for nothing.

    ¹⁷I myself made her foolish

   and without common sense.

    ¹⁸But once she starts running, ^[b] she laughs at a rider

   on the fastest horse.

   

Did You Give Horses Their Strength?

 ¹⁹Did you give horses their strength

   and the flowing hair

   along their necks?

    ²⁰Did you make them able

   to jump like grasshoppers

   or to frighten people

   with their snorting?

    ²¹Before horses are ridden

   into battle,

   they paw at the ground,

   proud of their strength.

    ²²Laughing at fear, they rush

   toward the fighting,

    ²³while the weapons of their riders

   rattle and flash in the sun.

    ²⁴Unable to stand still,

   they gallop eagerly into battle

   when trumpets blast.

    ²⁵Stirred by the distant smells

   and sounds of war,

   they snort

   in reply to the trumpet.

    ²⁶Did you teach hawks to fly south

   for the winter?

    ²⁷Did you train eagles ^[c] to build ²⁸their nests on rocky cliffs,

    ²⁹where they can look down

   to spot their next meal?

    ³⁰Then their young gather to feast

   wherever the victim lies.