Job 38
World English Bible
38 Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind,
2 “Who is this who darkens counsel
by words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man,
for I will question you, then you answer me!
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Declare, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measures, if you know?
Or who stretched the line on it?
6 What were its foundations fastened on?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 “Or who shut up the sea with doors,
when it broke out of the womb,
9 when I made clouds its garment,
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 marked out for it my bound,
set bars and doors,
11 and said, ‘You may come here, but no further.
Your proud waves shall be stopped here’?
12 “Have you commanded the morning in your days,
and caused the dawn to know its place,
13 that it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 It is changed as clay under the seal,
and presented as a garment.
15 From the wicked, their light is withheld.
The high arm is broken.
16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Have you comprehended the earth in its width?
Declare, if you know it all.
19 “What is the way to the dwelling of light?
As for darkness, where is its place,
20 that you should take it to its bound,
that you should discern the paths to its house?
21 Surely you know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great!
22 Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I have reserved against the time of trouble,
against the day of battle and war?
24 By what way is the lightning distributed,
or the east wind scattered on the earth?
25 Who has cut a channel for the flood water,
or the path for the thunderstorm,
26 to cause it to rain on a land where there is no man,
on the wilderness, in which there is no man,
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate ground,
to cause the tender grass to grow?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Or who fathers the drops of dew?
29 Whose womb did the ice come out of?
Who has given birth to the gray frost of the sky?
30 The waters become hard like stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen.
31 “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades,
or loosen the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead the constellations out in their season?
Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you establish its dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
that abundance of waters may cover you?
35 Can you send out lightnings, that they may go?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts?
Or who has given understanding to the mind?
37 Who can count the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can pour out the containers of the sky,
38 when the dust runs into a mass,
and the clods of earth stick together?
39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lioness,
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their dens,
and lie in wait in the thicket?
41 Who provides for the raven his prey,
when his young ones cry to God,
and wander for lack of food?
Job 38
Living Bible
38 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
2 “Why are you using your ignorance to deny my providence? 3 Now get ready to fight, for I am going to demand some answers from you, and you must reply.
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. 5 Do you know how its dimensions were determined, and who did the surveying? 6-7 What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?
8-9 “Who decreed the boundaries of the seas when they gushed from the depths? Who clothed them with clouds and thick darkness 10 and barred them by limiting their shores, 11 and said, ‘Thus far and no farther shall you come, and here shall your proud waves stop’?
12 “Have you ever once commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? 13 Have you ever told the daylight to spread to the ends of the earth, to end the night’s wickedness? 14 Have you ever robed the dawn in red, 15 and disturbed the haunts of wicked men, and stopped the arm raised to strike?
16 “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come, or walked in the sources of their depths? 17-18 Has the location of the gates of death been revealed to you? Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know! 19 Where does the light come from, and how do you get there? Or tell me about the darkness. Where does it come from? 20 Can you find its boundaries, or go to its source? 21 But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!
22-23 “Have you visited the treasuries of the snow, or seen where hail is made and stored? For I have reserved it for the time when I will need it in war. 24 Where is the path to the distribution point of light? Where is the home of the east wind? 25-27 Who dug the valleys for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the lightning, causing the rain to fall upon the barren deserts, so that the parched and barren ground is satisfied with water and tender grass springs up?
28 “Has the rain a father? Where does dew come from? 29 Who is the mother of the ice and frost? 30 For the water changes and turns to ice as hard as rock.
31 “Can you hold back the stars? Can you restrain Orion or Pleiades? 32 Can you ensure the proper sequence of the seasons, or guide the constellation of the Bear with her satellites across the heavens? 33 Do you know the laws of the universe and how the heavens influence 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 it?
36 “Who gives intuition and instinct?[a] 37-38 Who is wise enough to number all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven, when everything is dust and clods? 39-40 Can you stalk prey like a lioness, to satisfy the young lions’ appetites as they lie in their dens or lie in wait in the jungle? 41 Who provides for the ravens when their young cry out to God as they try to struggle up from their nest in hunger?
Footnotes
- Job 38:36 Who gives intuition and instinct? or “Who has put wisdom in the inward parts and given understanding to the mind?”
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