Job 38
World English Bible
38 Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind,
2 “Who is this who darkens counsel
by words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man,
for I will question you, then you answer me!
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Declare, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measures, if you know?
Or who stretched the line on it?
6 What were its foundations fastened on?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
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 broke out of the womb,
9 when I made clouds its garment,
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 marked out for it my bound,
set bars and doors,
11 and said, ‘You may come here, but no further.
Your proud waves shall be stopped here’?
12 “Have you commanded the morning in your days,
and caused the dawn to know its place,
13 that it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 It is changed as clay under the seal,
and presented as a garment.
15 From the wicked, their light is withheld.
The high arm is broken.
16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Have you comprehended the earth in its width?
Declare, if you know it all.
19 “What is the way to the dwelling of light?
As for darkness, where is its place,
20 that you should take it to its bound,
that you should discern the paths to its house?
21 Surely you know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great!
22 Have you entered the treasuries of the snow,
or have you 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 lightning distributed,
or the east wind scattered on the earth?
25 Who has cut a channel for the flood water,
or the path for the thunder storm,
26 to cause it to rain on a land where there is no man,
on the wilderness, in which there is no man,
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate ground,
to cause the tender grass to grow?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Or who fathers the drops of dew?
29 Whose womb did the ice come out of?
Who has given birth to the gray frost of the sky?
30 The waters become hard like stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen.
31 “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades,
or loosen the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead the constellations out in their season?
Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you establish its dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
That abundance of waters may cover you?
35 Can you send out lightnings, that they may go?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts?
Or who has given understanding to the mind?
37 Who can count the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can pour out the containers of the sky,
38 when the dust runs into a mass,
and the clods of earth stick together?
39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lioness,
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their dens,
and lie in wait in the thicket?
41 Who provides for the raven his prey,
when his young ones cry to God,
and wander for lack of 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?
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