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
Common English Bible
The Lord answers from a whirlwind
38 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
2 Who is this darkening counsel
with words lacking knowledge?
3 Prepare yourself like a man;
I will interrogate you, and you will respond to me.
The establishing of order
4 Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations?
Tell me if you know.
5 Who set its measurements? Surely you know.
Who stretched a measuring tape on it?
6 On what were its footings sunk;
who laid its cornerstone,
7 while the morning stars sang in unison
and all the divine beings shouted?
8 Who enclosed the Sea[a] behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment,
the dense clouds its wrap,
10 when I imposed[b] my limit for it,
put on a bar and doors
11 and said, “You may come this far, no farther;
here your proud waves stop”?
12 In your lifetime have you commanded the morning,
informed the dawn of its place
13 so it would take hold of earth by its edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 Do you turn it over like clay for a seal,
so it stands out like a colorful garment?
15 Light is withheld from the wicked,
the uplifted arm broken.
The vast beyond
16 Have you gone to the sea’s sources,
walked in the chamber of the deep?
17 Have death’s gates been revealed to you;
can you see the gates of deep darkness?
18 Have you surveyed earth’s expanses?
Tell me if you know everything about it.
19 Where’s the road to the place where light dwells;
darkness, where’s it located?
20 Can you take it to its territory;
do you know the paths to its house?
21 You know, for you were born then;
you have lived such a long time![c]
22 Have you gone to snow’s storehouses,
seen the storehouses of hail
23 that I have reserved for a time of distress,
for a day of battle and war?
24 What is the way to the place where light is divided up;
the east wind scattered over earth?
Meteorological facts
25 Who cut a channel for the downpours
and a way for blasts of thunder
26 to bring water to uninhabited land,
a desert with no human
27 to saturate dry wasteland
and make grass sprout?
28 Has the rain a father
who brought forth drops of dew?
29 From whose belly does ice come;
who gave birth to heaven’s frost?
30 Water hardens like stone;
the surface of the deep thickens.
31 Can you bind Pleiades’ chains
or loosen the reins of Orion?
32 Can you guide the stars
at their proper times,
lead the Bear with her cubs?
33 Do you know heaven’s laws,
or can you impose its rule on earth?
34 Can you issue an order to the clouds
so their abundant waters cover you?
35 Can you send lightning so that it goes
and then says to you, “I’m here”?
36 Who put wisdom in remote places,
or who gave understanding to a rooster?[d]
37 Who is wise enough to count the clouds,
and who can tilt heaven’s water containers
38 so that dust becomes mud
and clods of dirt adhere?
Lion and raven
39 Can you hunt prey for the lion
or fill the cravings of lion cubs?
40 They lie in their den,
lie in ambush in their lair.
41 Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry to God,
move about without food?
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