Font Size
Job 38:2-39:30
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Job 38:2-39:30
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?(A)
3 Gird up your loins like a man;
I will question you, and you shall declare to me.(B)
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.(C)
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(D)
7 when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beings[a] shouted for joy?(E)
8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,(F)
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,(G)
10 and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors,(H)
11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stopped’?(I)
12 “Have you commanded the morning since your days began
and caused the dawn to know its place,(J)
13 so that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,
and the wicked be shaken out of it?(K)
14 It is changed like clay under the seal,
and it is dyed[b] like a garment.
15 Light is withheld from the wicked,
and their uplifted arm is broken.(L)
16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?(M)
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?(N)
18 Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
Declare, if you know all this.(O)
19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
and where is the place of darkness,
20 that you may take it to its territory
and that you may discern the paths to its home?(P)
21 Surely you know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great!(Q)
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,(R)
23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?(S)
24 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?(T)
25 “Who has cut a channel for the torrents of rain
and a way for the thunderbolt,(U)
26 to bring rain on a land where no one lives,
on the desert, which is empty of human life,(V)
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground put forth grass?(W)
28 “Has the rain a father,
or who has fathered the drops of dew?(X)
29 From whose womb did the ice come forth,
and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven?(Y)
30 The waters become hard like stone,
and the face of the deep is frozen.
31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades
or loose the cords of Orion?(Z)
32 Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season,
or can you guide the Bear with its children?
33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you establish their rule on the earth?(AA)
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
so that a flood of waters may cover you?(AB)
35 Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go
and say to you, ‘Here we are’?(AC)
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts[c]
or given understanding to the mind?[d](AD)
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,(AE)
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in their covert?(AF)
41 Who provides for the raven its prey,
when its young ones cry to God
and wander about for lack of food?(AG)
39 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the deer?(AH)
2 Can you number the months that they fulfill,
and do you know the time when they give birth,
3 when they crouch to give birth to their offspring
and are delivered of their young?(AI)
4 Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open;
they go forth and do not return to them.
5 “Who has let the wild ass go free?
Who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass,(AJ)
6 to which I have given the steppe for its home,
the salt land for its dwelling place?(AK)
7 It scorns the tumult of the city;
it does not hear the shouts of the driver.
8 It ranges the mountains as its pasture,
and it searches after every green thing.
9 “Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will it spend the night at your crib?(AL)
10 Can you tie it in the furrow with ropes,
or will it harrow the valleys after you?
11 Will you depend on it because its strength is great,
and will you hand over your labor to it?
12 Do you have faith in it that it will return
and bring your grain to your threshing floor?[e]
13 “The ostrich’s wings flap wildly,
though its pinions lack plumage.[f]
14 For it leaves its eggs to the earth
and lets them be warmed on the ground,
15 forgetting that a foot may crush them
and that a wild animal may trample them.
16 It deals cruelly with its young, as if they were not its own;
though its labor should be in vain, yet it has no fear;(AM)
17 because God has made it forget wisdom
and given it no share in understanding.(AN)
18 When it spreads its plumes aloft,[g]
it laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 “Do you give the horse its might?
Do you clothe its neck with mane?(AO)
20 Do you make it leap like the locust?
Its majestic snorting is terrible.(AP)
21 It paws[h] violently, exults mightily;
it goes out to meet the weapons.(AQ)
22 It laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
it does not turn back from the sword.
23 Upon it rattle the quiver,
the flashing spear, and the javelin.
24 With fierceness and rage it swallows the ground;
it cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.(AR)
25 When the trumpet sounds, it says ‘Aha!’
From a distance it smells the battle,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.(AS)
26 “Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars
and spreads its wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
and makes its nest on high?(AT)
28 It lives on the rock and makes its home
in the fastness of the rocky crag.
29 From there it spies the prey;
its eyes see it from far away.(AU)
30 Its young ones suck up blood,
and where the slain are, there it is.”(AV)
Job 38:2-39:30
New International Version
Job 38:2-39:30
New International Version
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans(A)
with words without knowledge?(B)
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.(C)
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?(D)
Tell me, if you understand.(E)
5 Who marked off its dimensions?(F) Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line(G) across it?
6 On what were its footings set,(H)
or who laid its cornerstone(I)—
7 while the morning stars(J) sang together(K)
and all the angels[a](L) shouted for joy?(M)
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors(N)
when it burst forth from the womb,(O)
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,(P)
10 when I fixed limits for it(Q)
and set its doors and bars in place,(R)
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;(S)
here is where your proud waves halt’?(T)
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,(U)
or shown the dawn its place,(V)
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked(W) out of it?(X)
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;(Y)
its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,(Z)
and their upraised arm is broken.(AA)
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?(AB)
17 Have the gates of death(AC) been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?(AD)
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?(AE)
Tell me, if you know all this.(AF)
19 “What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?(AG)
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths(AH) to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!(AI)
You have lived so many years!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow(AJ)
or seen the storehouses(AK) of the hail,(AL)
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,(AM)
for days of war and battle?(AN)
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,(AO)
or the place where the east winds(AP) are scattered over the earth?(AQ)
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,(AR)
26 to water(AS) a land where no one lives,
an uninhabited desert,(AT)
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?(AU)
28 Does the rain have a father?(AV)
Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens(AW)
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?(AX)
31 “Can you bind the chains[b] of the Pleiades?
Can you loosen Orion’s belt?(AY)
32 Can you bring forth the constellations(AZ) in their seasons[c]
or lead out the Bear[d] with its cubs?(BA)
33 Do you know the laws(BB) of the heavens?(BC)
Can you set up God’s[e] dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?(BD)
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?(BE)
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom[f](BF)
or gives the rooster understanding?[g](BG)
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars(BH) of the heavens(BI)
38 when the dust becomes hard(BJ)
and the clods of earth stick together?(BK)
39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of the lions(BL)
40 when they crouch in their dens(BM)
or lie in wait in a thicket?(BN)
41 Who provides food(BO) for the raven(BP)
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?(BQ)
39 “Do you know when the mountain goats(BR) give birth?
Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?(BS)
2 Do you count the months till they bear?
Do you know the time they give birth?(BT)
3 They crouch down and bring forth their young;
their labor pains are ended.
4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
they leave and do not return.
5 “Who let the wild donkey(BU) go free?
Who untied its ropes?
6 I gave it the wasteland(BV) as its home,
the salt flats(BW) as its habitat.(BX)
7 It laughs(BY) at the commotion in the town;
it does not hear a driver’s shout.(BZ)
8 It ranges the hills(CA) for its pasture
and searches for any green thing.
9 “Will the wild ox(CB) consent to serve you?(CC)
Will it stay by your manger(CD) at night?
10 Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness?(CE)
Will it till the valleys behind you?
11 Will you rely on it for its great strength?(CF)
Will you leave your heavy work to it?
12 Can you trust it to haul in your grain
and bring it to your threshing floor?
13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
though they cannot compare
with the wings and feathers of the stork.(CG)
14 She lays her eggs on the ground
and lets them warm in the sand,
15 unmindful that a foot may crush them,
that some wild animal may trample them.(CH)
16 She treats her young harshly,(CI) as if they were not hers;
she cares not that her labor was in vain,
17 for God did not endow her with wisdom
or give her a share of good sense.(CJ)
18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
she laughs(CK) at horse and rider.
19 “Do you give the horse its strength(CL)
or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
20 Do you make it leap like a locust,(CM)
striking terror(CN) with its proud snorting?(CO)
21 It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,(CP)
and charges into the fray.(CQ)
22 It laughs(CR) at fear, afraid of nothing;
it does not shy away from the sword.
23 The quiver(CS) rattles against its side,
along with the flashing spear(CT) and lance.
24 In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;
it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.(CU)
25 At the blast of the trumpet(CV) it snorts, ‘Aha!’
It catches the scent of battle from afar,
the shout of commanders and the battle cry.(CW)
26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
and spread its wings toward the south?(CX)
27 Does the eagle soar at your command
and build its nest on high?(CY)
28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
a rocky crag(CZ) is its stronghold.
29 From there it looks for food;(DA)
its eyes detect it from afar.
30 Its young ones feast on blood,
and where the slain are, there it is.”(DB)
Footnotes
- Job 38:7 Hebrew the sons of God
- Job 38:31 Septuagint; Hebrew beauty
- Job 38:32 Or the morning star in its season
- Job 38:32 Or out Leo
- Job 38:33 Or their
- Job 38:36 That is, wisdom about the flooding of the Nile
- Job 38:36 That is, understanding of when to crow; the meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
Job 38:2-39:30
King James Version
Job 38:2-39:30
King James Version
2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6 Whereupon are 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?
8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;
13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.
15 And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.
16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?
17 Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?
18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.
19 Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
20 That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?
21 Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?
22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures 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 light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?
25 Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;
26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?
28 Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
29 Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
30 The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?
33 Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?
34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?
35 Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go and say unto thee, Here we are?
36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?
37 Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,
38 When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?
39 Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,
40 When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?
41 Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.
39 Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?
2 Canst thou number the months that they fulfil? or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?
3 They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows.
4 Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn; they go forth, and return not unto them.
5 Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?
6 Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings.
7 He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver.
8 The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.
9 Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?
10 Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
11 Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?
12 Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?
13 Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?
14 Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust,
15 And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them.
16 She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not her's: her labour is in vain without fear;
17 Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding.
18 What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.
19 Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?
20 Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible.
21 He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men.
22 He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword.
23 The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.
24 He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet.
25 He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26 Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?
27 Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?
28 She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place.
29 From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.
30 Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she.
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
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.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.