Job 38
Good News Translation
The Lord Answers Job
38 Then out of the storm the Lord spoke to Job.
The Lord
2 Who are you to question my wisdom
with your ignorant, empty words?
3 Now stand up straight
and answer the questions I ask you.
4 Were you there when I made the world?
If you know so much, tell me about it.
5 Who decided how large it would be?
Who stretched the measuring line over it?
Do you know all the answers?
6 What holds up the pillars that support the earth?
Who laid the cornerstone of the world?
7 (A)In the dawn of that day the stars sang together,
and the heavenly beings[a] shouted for joy.
8 (B)Who closed the gates to hold back the sea[b]
when it burst from the womb of the earth?
9 It was I who covered the sea with clouds
and wrapped it in darkness.
10 I marked a boundary for the sea
and kept it behind bolted gates.
11 I told it, “So far and no farther!
Here your powerful waves must stop.”
12 Job, have you ever in all your life
commanded a day to dawn?
13 Have you ordered the dawn to seize the earth
and shake the wicked from their hiding places?
14 Daylight makes the hills and valleys stand out
like the folds of a garment,
clear as the imprint of a seal on clay.
15 The light of day is too bright for the wicked
and restrains them from doing violence.
16 Have you been to the springs in the depths of the sea?
Have you walked on the floor of the ocean?
17 Has anyone ever shown you the gates
that guard the dark world of the dead?
18 Have you any idea how big the world is?
Answer me if you know.
19 Do you know where the light comes from
or what the source of darkness is?
20 Can you show them how far to go,
or send them back again?
21 I am sure you can, because you're so old
and were there when the world was made!
22 Have you ever visited the storerooms,
where I keep the snow and the hail?
23 I keep them ready for times of trouble,
for days of battle and war.
24 Have you been to the place where the sun comes up,
or the place from which the east wind blows?
25 Who dug a channel for the pouring rain
and cleared the way for the thunderstorm?
26 Who makes rain fall where no one lives?
27 Who waters the dry and thirsty land,
so that grass springs up?
28 Does either the rain or the dew have a father?
29 Who is the mother of the ice and the frost,
30 which turn the waters to stone
and freeze the face of the sea?
31 (C)Can you tie the Pleiades together
or loosen the bonds that hold Orion?
32 Can you guide the stars season by season
and direct the Big and the Little Dipper?
33 Do you know the laws that govern the skies,
and can you make them apply to the earth?
34 Can you shout orders to the clouds
and make them drench you with rain?
35 And if you command the lightning to flash,
will it come to you and say, “At your service”?
36 Who tells the ibis[c] when the Nile will flood,
or who tells the rooster that rain will fall?[d]
37 Who is wise enough to count the clouds
and tilt them over to pour out the rain,
38 rain that hardens the dust into lumps?
39 Do you find food for lions to eat,
and satisfy hungry young lions
40 when they hide in their caves,
or lie in wait in their dens?
41 Who is it that feeds the ravens
when they wander about hungry,
when their young cry to me for food?
Job 38
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)
8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,(G)
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,(H)
10 and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors,(I)
11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stopped’?(J)
12 “Have you commanded the morning since your days began
and caused the dawn to know its place,(K)
13 so that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,
and the wicked be shaken out of it?(L)
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.(M)
16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?(N)
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?(O)
18 Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
Declare, if you know all this.(P)
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?(Q)
21 Surely you know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great!(R)
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,(S)
23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?(T)
24 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?(U)
25 “Who has cut a channel for the torrents of rain
and a way for the thunderbolt,(V)
26 to bring rain on a land where no one lives,
on the desert, which is empty of human life,(W)
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground put forth grass?(X)
28 “Has the rain a father,
or who has fathered the drops of dew?(Y)
29 From whose womb did the ice come forth,
and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven?(Z)
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?(AA)
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?(AB)
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
so that a flood of waters may cover you?(AC)
35 Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go
and say to you, ‘Here we are’?(AD)
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts[c]
or given understanding to the mind?[d](AE)
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?
Job 38
Complete Jewish Bible
38 Then Adonai answered Iyov out of the storm:
2 “Who is this, darkening my plans
with his ignorant words?
3 Stand up like a man, and brace yourself;
I will ask questions; and you, give the answers!
4 “Where were you when I founded the earth?
Tell me, if you know so much.
5 Do you know who determined its dimensions
or who stretched the measuring line across it?
6 On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind closed doors
when it gushed forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its blanket
and dense fog its swaddling cloth,
10 when I made the breakers its boundary
set its gates and bars,
11 and said, ‘You may come this far, but no farther;
here your proud waves must stop’?
12 “Have you ever in your life called up the dawn
and made the morning know its place,
13 so that it could take hold of the edges of the earth
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 Then the earth is changed like clay under a seal,
until its colors are fixed like those of a garment.
15 But from the wicked the light is withheld,
and the arm raised [to strike] is broken.
16 “Have you gone down to the springs of the sea
or explored the limits of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
the gates of death-like darkness?
18 Have you surveyed the full extent of the earth?
Say so, if you know it all!
19 “Which way leads to where light has its home?
and darkness, where does it dwell?
20 If you knew, you could take each to its place
and set it on its homeward path.
21 You know, of course, because you were born then;
by now you must be very old!
22 “Have you gone into the storehouses for snow
or seen the storehouses for hail,
23 which I save for times of trouble,
for days of battle and war?
24 “By what path is light dispersed,
or the east wind poured out on the land?
25 Who cut a channel for the downpours,
or a way for the lightning and thunder,
26 causing it to rain where no one is,
in a desert without anyone there,
27 drenching the waste and desolate [ground],
till the tender grass sprouts?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Who is the father of dewdrops?
29 From whose womb does ice come?
Who gives birth to the frost of heaven,
30 when water becomes as hard as stone,
and the surface of the deep freezes solid?
31 “Can you tie up the cords of the Pleiades
or loosen the belt of Orion?
32 Can you lead out the constellations of the zodiac in their season
or guide the Great Bear and its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the sky?
Can you determine how they affect the earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and make them cover you with a flood of rain?
35 Can you send lightning bolts on their way?
Will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 “Who put wisdom in people’s inner parts?
Who gave understanding to the mind?
37 Who, by wisdom, can number the clouds?
Who can tilt the water-skins of heaven,
38 so that the dust becomes a mass [of mud],
and its clods stick together?
39 “Can you hunt prey for a lioness
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in ambush in their lairs?
41 Who provides food for the raven
when his young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
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 © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.