Job 38
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh Answers Job
38 Then Yahweh (A)answered Job out of the [a]whirlwind and said,
2 “Who is this that (B)darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
3 Now (C)gird up your loins like a man,
And (D)I will ask you, and you make Me know!
4 Where were you (E)when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know understanding,
5 Who set its (F)measurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the line on it?
6 On what (G)were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars sang together
And all the (H)sons of God shouted for joy?
8 “Or who (I)enclosed the sea with doors
When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb,
9 When I made a cloud its garment
And dense gloom its swaddling band,
10 And I [b](J)placed boundaries on it
And set a bolt and doors,
11 And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther;
And here shall your proud waves stop’?
Yahweh Answers Job, “Have You?”
12 “Have you [c]ever in your life commanded the morning,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
13 That it might seize (K)the ends of the earth,
And (L)the wicked be shaken out of it?
14 It is changed like clay under the seal;
And they stand forth like clothing.
15 (M)From the wicked their light is withheld,
And the arm (N)raised high is broken.
16 “Have you entered into (O)the springs of the sea
Or walked [d]in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
Or have you seen the gates of the (P)shadow of death?
18 Have you carefully considered the [e]expanse of (Q)the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.
19 “Where is the way to where the light dwells?
And darkness, where is its place,
20 That you may take it to (R)its territory
And that you may discern the paths to its [f]home?
21 You know, for (S)you were born then,
And the number of your days is great!
22 Have you entered the storehouses (T)of the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the (U)hail,
23 Which I have reserved for the time of distress,
For the day of war and battle?
24 Where is the way that (V)the light is divided,
Or the east wind scattered on the earth?
25 “Who has cleft a conduit for the flood,
Or a way for the thunderbolt,
26 To bring (W)rain on a land without [g]people,
On a desert without a man in it,
27 To (X)satisfy the waste and desolate land
And to make the growth of grass to sprout?
28 Has (Y)the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb has come the (Z)ice?
And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?
30 Water [h]becomes hard like stone,
And the surface of the deep [i]is interlocked.
31 “Can you bind the chains of the (AA)Pleiades,
Or loose the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead forth a [j]constellation in its season,
And guide the Bear with her [k]satellites?
33 Do you know the (AB)statutes of the heavens,
Or fix their rule over the earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice up to the clouds,
So that an (AC)abundance of water will cover you?
35 Can you (AD)send forth lightnings that they may go
And say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has (AE)given wisdom in the [l]innermost being
Or given (AF)understanding to the [m]mind?
37 Who can count the clouds by wisdom,
Or (AG)tip the water jars of the heavens,
38 When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together?
Yahweh Answers Job, “Where Were You?”
39 “Can you hunt the (AH)prey for the lion,
Or fulfill the appetite of the young lions,
40 When they (AI)crouch in their dens
And lie in wait in their lair?
41 Who prepares for (AJ)the raven its provision
When its young cry for help to God
And wander about without food?
Footnotes
Job 38
American Standard Version
38 Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
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 declare thou unto me.
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Declare, [a]if thou hast understanding.
5 Who determined the measures thereof, [b]if thou knowest?
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 Whereupon were the [c]foundations thereof [d]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, [e]as if it had issued out of the womb;
9 When I made clouds the garment thereof,
And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,
10 And [f]marked out for it my bound,
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 began,
And caused the dayspring to know its place;
13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?
14 It is changed as clay under the seal;
And all things stand forth [g]as a garment:
15 And from the wicked their light is withholden,
And the high arm is broken.
16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?
Or hast thou walked in the [h]recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee?
Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth?
Declare, if thou knowest it all.
19 Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
20 That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof,
And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?
21 Doubtless, thou knowest, for thou wast then born,
And the number of thy days is great!
22 Hast thou entered the treasuries 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 [i]By what way is the light parted,
Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?
25 Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood,
Or the way for the lightning of the thunder;
26 To cause it to rain on a land where no man is;
On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
27 To satisfy the waste and desolate ground,
And to cause the [j]tender grass 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 [k]gendered it?
30 The waters [l]hide themselves and become like stone,
And the face of the deep [m]is frozen.
31 Canst thou bind the [n]cluster of the Pleiades,
Or loose the bands of Orion?
32 Canst thou lead forth [o]the Mazzaroth in their season?
Or canst thou guide the Bear with her [p]train?
33 Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens?
Canst thou establish 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 forth lightnings, that they may go,
And say unto thee, Here we are?
36 Who hath put wisdom in the [q]inward parts?
Or who hath given understanding to the [r]mind?
37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can [s]pour out the bottles of heaven,
38 When the dust runneth into a mass,
And the clods cleave fast together?
39 Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness,
Or satisfy 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 prey,
When his young ones cry unto God,
And wander for lack of food?
Footnotes
- Job 38:4 Hebrew if thou knowest understanding.
- Job 38:5 Or, seeing
- Job 38:6 Hebrew sockets.
- Job 38:6 Hebrew made to sink.
- Job 38:8 Or, and issued
- Job 38:10 Hebrew brake.
- Job 38:14 Or, as in a garment
- Job 38:16 Or, search
- Job 38:24 Or, Which is the way to the place where the light is etc.
- Job 38:27 Or, greensward
- Job 38:29 Or, given it birth
- Job 38:30 Or, are congealed like stone
- Job 38:30 Hebrew cohereth.
- Job 38:31 Or, chain Or, sweet influences
- Job 38:32 Or, the signs of the Zodiac
- Job 38:32 Hebrew sons.
- Job 38:36 Or, dark clouds
- Job 38:36 Or, meteor
- Job 38:37 Hebrew cause to lie down.
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