Job 38:1-7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Lord Answers Job
38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:(A)
2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?(B)
3 Gird up your loins like a man;
I will question you, and you shall declare to me.(C)
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.(D)
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone(E)
7 when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beings[a] shouted for joy?(F)
Footnotes
- 38.7 Heb sons of God
Job 38:1-11
The Message
God Confronts Job
Have You Gotten to the Bottom of Things?
38 1-11 And now, finally, God answered Job from the eye of a violent storm. He said:
“Why do you confuse the issue?
Why do you talk without knowing what you’re talking about?
Pull yourself together, Job!
Up on your feet! Stand tall!
I have some questions for you,
and I want some straight answers.
Where were you when I created the earth?
Tell me, since you know so much!
Who decided on its size? Certainly you’ll know that!
Who came up with the blueprints and measurements?
How was its foundation poured,
and who set the cornerstone,
While the morning stars sang in chorus
and all the angels shouted praise?
And who took charge of the ocean
when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb?
That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds,
and tucked it in safely at night.
Then I made a playpen for it,
a strong playpen so it couldn’t run loose,
And said, ‘Stay here, this is your place.
Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.’
Job 38:34-41
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
so that a flood of waters may cover you?(A)
35 Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go
and say to you, ‘Here we are’?(B)
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts[a]
or given understanding to the mind?[b](C)
37 Who has the wisdom to number the clouds?
Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens
38 when the dust runs into a mass
and the clods cling together?
39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,(D)
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in their covert?(E)
41 Who provides for the raven its prey,
when its young ones cry to God
and wander about for lack of food?(F)
Job 38:34-41
The Message
34-35 “Can you get the attention of the clouds,
and commission a shower of rain?
Can you take charge of the lightning bolts
and have them report to you for orders?
What Do You Have to Say for Yourself?
36-38 “Who do you think gave weather-wisdom to the ibis,
and storm-savvy to the rooster?
Does anyone know enough to number all the clouds
or tip over the rain barrels of heaven
When the earth is cracked and dry,
the ground baked hard as a brick?
39-41 “Can you teach the lioness to stalk her prey
and satisfy the appetite of her cubs
As they crouch in their den,
waiting hungrily in their cave?
And who sets out food for the ravens
when their young cry to God,
fluttering about because they have no food?”
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson