Job 38-41
Contemporary English Version
The Lord Speaks
From Out of a Storm
38 From out of a storm,
the Lord said to Job:
2 Why do you talk so much
when you know so little?
3 Now get ready to face me!
Can you answer
the questions I ask?
4 How did I lay the foundation
for the earth?
Were you there?
5 Doubtless you know who decided
its length and width.
6 What supports the foundation?
Who placed the cornerstone,
7 (A) while morning stars sang,
and angels rejoiced?
8 (B) When the ocean was born,
I set its boundaries
9 and wrapped it in blankets
of thickest fog.
10 Then I built a wall around it,
locked the gates, 11 and said,
“Your powerful waves stop here!
They can go no farther.”
Did You Ever Tell the Sun To Rise?
12 Did you ever tell the sun to rise?
And did it obey?
13 Did it take hold of the earth
and shake out the wicked
like dust from a rug?
14 Early dawn outlines the hills
like stitches on clothing
or sketches on clay.
15 But its light is too much
for those who are evil,
and their power is broken.
16 Job, have you ever walked
on the ocean floor?
17 Have you seen the gate
to the world of the dead?
18 And how large is the earth?
Tell me, if you know!
19 Where is the home of light,
and where does darkness live?
20 Can you lead them home?
21 I'm certain you must be able to,
since you were already born
when I created everything.
22 Have you been to the places
where I keep snow and hail,
23 until I use them to punish
and conquer nations?
24 From where does lightning leap,
or the east wind blow?
25 Who carves out a path
for thunderstorms?
Who sends torrents of rain
26 on empty deserts
where no one lives?
27 Rain that changes barren land
to meadows green with grass.
28 Who is the father of the dew
and of the rain?
29 Who gives birth to the sleet
and the frost
30 that fall in winter,
when streams and lakes
freeze solid as a rock?
Can You Arrange Stars?
31 (C) Can you arrange stars in groups
such as Orion
and the Pleiades?
32 Do you control the stars
or set in place the Big Dipper
and the Little Dipper?
33 Do you know the laws
that govern the heavens,
and can you make them rule
the earth?
34 Can you order the clouds
to send a downpour,
35 or will lightning flash
at your command?
36 Did you teach birds to know
that rain or floods
are on their way?[a]
37 Can you count the clouds
or pour out their water
38 on the dry, lumpy soil?
39 When lions are hungry,
do you help them hunt?
40 Do you send an animal
into their den?
41 And when starving young ravens
cry out to me for food,
do you satisfy their hunger?
The Lord Continues
When Do Mountain Goats Give Birth?
39 When do mountain goats
and deer give birth?
Have you been there
when their young are born?
* 2 How long are they pregnant
3 before they deliver?
4 Soon their young grow strong
and then leave
to be on their own.
5 Who set wild donkeys free?
6 I alone help them survive
in salty desert sand.
7 They stay far from crowded cities
and refuse to be tamed.
8 Instead, they roam the hills,
searching for pastureland.
9 Would a wild ox agree
to live in your barn
and labor for you?
10 Could you force him to plow
or to drag a heavy log
to smooth out the soil?
11 Can you depend on him
to use his great strength
and do your heavy work?
12 Can you trust him
to harvest your grain
or take it to your barn
from the threshing place?
An Ostrich Proudly Flaps Her Wings
13 An ostrich proudly
flaps her wings,
but not because
she loves her young.[b]
14 She abandons her eggs
and lets the dusty ground
keep them warm.
15 And she doesn't seem to worry
that the feet of an animal
could crush them all.
16 She treats her eggs as though
they were not her own,
unconcerned that her work
might be for nothing.
17 I myself made her foolish
and without common sense.
18 But once she starts running,[c]
she laughs at a rider
on the fastest horse.
Did You Give Horses Their Strength?
19 Did you give horses their strength
and the flowing hair
along their necks?
20 Did you make them able
to jump like grasshoppers
or to frighten people
with their snorting?
21 Before horses are ridden
into battle,
they paw at the ground,
proud of their strength.
22 Laughing at fear, they rush
toward the fighting,
23 while the weapons of their riders
rattle and flash in the sun.
24 Unable to stand still,
they gallop eagerly into battle
when trumpets blast.
25 Stirred by the distant smells
and sounds of war, they snort
in reply to the trumpet.
26 Did you teach hawks to fly south
for the winter?
* 27 Did you train eagles[d] to build
28 their nests on rocky cliffs,
29 where they can look down
to spot their next meal?
30 (D) Then their young gather to feast
wherever the victim lies.
The Lord Continues
I Am the Lord All-Powerful
* 40 1 I am the Lord All-Powerful,
2 but you have argued
that I am wrong.
Now you must answer me.
3 Job said to the Lord:
4 Who am I to answer you?
5 I did speak once or twice,
but never again.
6 Then out of the storm
the Lord said to Job:
7 Face me and answer
the questions I ask!
8 Are you trying to prove
that you are innocent
by accusing me of injustice?
9 Do you have a powerful arm
and a thundering voice
that compare with mine?
10 If so, then surround yourself
with glory and majesty.
* 11 Show your furious anger!
Throw down and crush
12 all who are proud and evil.
13 Wrap them in grave clothes
and bury them together
in the dusty soil.
14 Do this, and I will agree
that you have won
this argument.
I Created You
15 I created both you
and the hippopotamus.[e]
It eats only grass like an ox,
16 but look at the mighty muscles
in its body 17 and legs.
Its tail is like a cedar tree,
and its thighs are thick.
18 The bones in its legs
are like bronze or iron.
19 I made it more powerful
than any other creature,
yet I am stronger still.
20 Undisturbed, it eats grass
while the other animals
play nearby.[f]
* 21 It rests in the shade of trees
along the riverbank
22 or hides among reeds
in the swamp.
23 It remains calm and unafraid
with the Jordan River rushing
and splashing in its face.
24 There is no way to capture
a hippopotamus—
not even by hooking its nose
or blinding its eyes.
The Lord Continues
Can You Catch a Sea Monster?
41 (E) Can you catch a sea monster[g]
by using a fishhook?
Can you tie its mouth shut
with a rope?
2 Can it be led around
by a ring in its nose
or a hook in its jaw?
3 Will it beg for mercy?
4 Will it surrender
as a slave for life?
5 Can it be tied by the leg
like a pet bird
for little girls?
6 Is it ever chopped up
and its pieces bargained for
in the fish-market?
7 Can it be killed
with harpoons or spears?
8 Wrestle it just once—
that will be the end.
9 Merely a glimpse of this monster
makes all courage melt.
10 And if it is too fierce
for anyone to attack,
who would dare oppose me?
11 I am in command of the world
and in debt to no one.
12 What powerful legs,
what a stout body
this monster possesses!
13 Who could strip off its armor
or bring it under control
with a harness?
14 Who would try to open its jaws,
full of fearsome teeth?
* 15 Its back[h] is covered
with shield after shield,
16 firmly bound and closer together
17 than breath to breath.
When This Monster Sneezes
18 When this monster sneezes,
lightning flashes, and its eyes
glow like the dawn.
19 Sparks and fiery flames
explode from its mouth.
20 And smoke spews from its nose
like steam
from a boiling pot,
21 while its blazing breath
scorches everything in sight.
22 Its neck is so tremendous
that everyone trembles,
23 the weakest parts of its body
are harder than iron,
24 and its heart is stone.
25 When this noisy monster appears,
even the most powerful[i]
turn and run in fear.
26 No sword or spear can harm it,
27 and weapons of bronze or iron
are as useless as straw
or rotten wood.
28 Rocks thrown from a sling
cause it no more harm
than husks of grain.
This monster fears no arrows,
29 it simply smiles at spears,
and striking it with a stick
is like slapping it with straw.
30 As it crawls through the mud,
its sharp and spiny hide
tears the ground apart.
31 And when it swims down deep,
the sea starts churning
like boiling oil,
32 and it leaves behind a trail
of shining white foam.
33 No other creature on earth
is so fearless.
34 It is king of all proud creatures,
and it looks upon the others
as nothing.
Footnotes
- 38.36 way: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 36.
- 39.13 young: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 13.
- 39.18 starts running: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 39.27 eagles: Or “vultures.”
- 40.15 the hippopotamus: The Hebrew text has “Behemoth,” which was sometimes understood to be a sea monster like Rahab (9.13; 26.12), Leviathan (3.8; 41.1), and Tannin (7.12).
- 40.20 nearby: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 20.
- 41.1 sea monster: The Hebrew text has “Leviathan,” which may refer to a sea monster or possibly to a crocodile in this verse (see the note at 3.8).
- 41.15 back: Two ancient translations; Hebrew “pride.”
- 41.25 most powerful: Or “gods.”
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.