Job 37-38

New Living Translation

37 “My heart pounds as I think of this.
    It trembles within me.
² Listen carefully to the thunder of God’s voice
    as it rolls from his mouth.
³ It rolls across the heavens,
    and his lightning flashes in every direction.
⁴ Then comes the roaring of the thunder—
    the tremendous voice of his majesty.
    He does not restrain it when he speaks.
⁵ God’s voice is glorious in the thunder.
    We can’t even imagine the greatness of his power.

⁶ “He directs the snow to fall on the earth
    and tells the rain to pour down.
⁷ Then everyone stops working
    so they can watch his power.
⁸ The wild animals take cover
    and stay inside their dens.
⁹ The stormy wind comes from its chamber,
    and the driving winds bring the cold.
¹⁰ God’s breath sends the ice,
    freezing wide expanses of water.
¹¹ He loads the clouds with moisture,
    and they flash with his lightning.
¹² The clouds churn about at his direction.
    They do whatever he commands throughout the earth.
¹³ He makes these things happen either to punish people
    or to show his unfailing love.

¹⁴ “Pay attention to this, Job.
    Stop and consider the wonderful miracles of God!
¹⁵ Do you know how God controls the storm
    and causes the lightning to flash from his clouds?
¹⁶ Do you understand how he moves the clouds
    with wonderful perfection and skill?
¹⁷ When you are sweltering in your clothes
    and the south wind dies down and everything is still,
¹⁸ he makes the skies reflect the heat like a bronze mirror.
    Can you do that?

¹⁹ “So teach the rest of us what to say to God.
    We are too ignorant to make our own arguments.
²⁰ Should God be notified that I want to speak?
    Can people even speak when they are confused?^[a]
21 We cannot look at the sun,
    for it shines brightly in the sky
    when the wind clears away the clouds.
²² So also, golden splendor comes from the mountain of God.^[b]
    He is clothed in dazzling splendor.
²³ We cannot imagine the power of the Almighty;
    but even though he is just and righteous,
    he does not destroy us.
²⁴ No wonder people everywhere fear him.
    All who are wise show him reverence.^[c]”

² “Who is this that questions my wisdom
    with such ignorant words?
³ Brace yourself like a man,
    because I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.

⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know so much.
⁵ Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?
⁶ What supports its foundations,
    and who laid its cornerstone
⁷ as the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels^[d] shouted for joy?

⁸ “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
    as it burst from the womb,
⁹ and as I clothed it with clouds
    and wrapped it in thick darkness?
¹⁰ For I locked it behind barred gates,
    limiting its shores.
¹¹ I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
    Here your proud waves must stop!’

¹² “Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
    and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
¹³ Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
    to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?
¹⁴ As the light approaches,
    the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal;
    it is robed in brilliant colors.^[e]
15 The light disturbs the wicked
    and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

¹⁶ “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?
    Have you explored their depths?
¹⁷ Do you know where the gates of death are located?
    Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
¹⁸ Do you realize the extent of the earth?
    Tell me about it if you know!

¹⁹ “Where does light come from,
    and where does darkness go?
²⁰ Can you take each to its home?
    Do you know how to get there?
²¹ But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created,
    and you are so very experienced!

²² “Have you visited the storehouses of the snow
    or seen the storehouses of hail?
²³ (I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble,
    for the day of battle and war.)
²⁴ Where is the path to the source of light?
    Where is the home of the east wind?

²⁵ “Who created a channel for the torrents of rain?
    Who laid out the path for the lightning?
²⁶ Who makes the rain fall on barren land,
    in a desert where no one lives?
²⁷ Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground
    and make the tender grass spring up?

²⁸ “Does the rain have a father?
    Who gives birth to the dew?
²⁹ Who is the mother of the ice?
    Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?
³⁰ For the water turns to ice as hard as rock,
    and the surface of the water freezes.

³¹ “Can you direct the movement of the stars—
    binding the cluster of the Pleiades
    or loosening the cords of Orion?
³² Can you direct the constellations through the seasons
    or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?
³³ Do you know the laws of the universe?
    Can you use them to regulate the earth?

³⁴ “Can you shout to the clouds
    and make it rain?
³⁵ Can you make lightning appear
    and cause it to strike as you direct?
³⁶ Who gives intuition to the heart
    and instinct to the mind?
³⁷ Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?
    Who can tilt the water jars of heaven
³⁸ when the parched ground is dry
    and the soil has hardened into clods?

³⁹ “Can you stalk prey for a lioness
    and satisfy the young lions’ appetites
⁴⁰ as they lie in their dens
    or crouch in the thicket?
⁴¹ Who provides food for the ravens
    when their young cry out to God
    and wander about in hunger?