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Job 38-41
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
Job 38-41
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
The Lord Answers Job
38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:
2 ‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Gird up your loins like a man,
I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
4 ‘Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
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
7 when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beings[a] shouted for joy?
8 ‘Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb?—
9 when I made the clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors,
11 and said, “Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stopped”?
12 ‘Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
and caused the dawn to know its place,
13 so that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,
and the wicked be shaken out of it?
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.
16 ‘Have you entered into the springs of the sea,
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
Declare, if you know all this.
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?
21 Surely you know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great!
22 ‘Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?
24 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?
25 ‘Who has cut a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a way for the thunderbolt,
26 to bring rain on a land where no one lives,
on the desert, which is empty of human life,
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground put forth grass?
28 ‘Has the rain a father,
or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb did the ice come forth,
and who has given birth to the hoar-frost of heaven?
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?
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?
34 ‘Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
so that a flood of waters may cover you?
35 Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go
and say to you, “Here we are”?
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts,[c]
or given understanding to the mind?[d]
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?
39 ‘Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their dens,
or lie in wait in their covert?
41 Who provides for the raven its prey,
when its young ones cry to God,
and wander about for lack of food?
39 ‘Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the deer?
2 Can you number the months that they fulfil,
and do you know the time when they give birth,
3 when they crouch to give birth to their offspring,
and are delivered of their young?
4 Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open;
they go forth, and do not return to them.
5 ‘Who has let the wild ass go free?
Who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass,
6 to which I have given the steppe for its home,
the salt land for its dwelling-place?
7 It scorns the tumult of the city;
it does not hear the shouts of the driver.
8 It ranges the mountains as its pasture,
and it searches after every green thing.
9 ‘Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will it spend the night at your crib?
10 Can you tie it in the furrow with ropes,
or will it harrow the valleys after you?
11 Will you depend on it because its strength is great,
and will you hand over your labour to it?
12 Do you have faith in it that it will return,
and bring your grain to your threshing-floor?[e]
13 ‘The ostrich’s wings flap wildly,
though its pinions lack plumage.[f]
14 For it leaves its eggs to the earth,
and lets them be warmed on the ground,
15 forgetting that a foot may crush them,
and that a wild animal may trample them.
16 It deals cruelly with its young, as if they were not its own;
though its labour should be in vain, yet it has no fear;
17 because God has made it forget wisdom,
and given it no share in understanding.
18 When it spreads its plumes aloft,[g]
it laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 ‘Do you give the horse its might?
Do you clothe its neck with mane?
20 Do you make it leap like the locust?
Its majestic snorting is terrible.
21 It paws[h] violently, exults mightily;
it goes out to meet the weapons.
22 It laughs at fear, and is not dismayed;
it does not turn back from the sword.
23 Upon it rattle the quiver,
the flashing spear, and the javelin.
24 With fierceness and rage it swallows the ground;
it cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
25 When the trumpet sounds, it says “Aha!”
From a distance it smells the battle,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26 ‘Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars,
and spreads its wings towards the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
and makes its nest on high?
28 It lives on the rock and makes its home
in the fastness of the rocky crag.
29 From there it spies the prey;
its eyes see it from far away.
30 Its young ones suck up blood;
and where the slain are, there it is.’
40 And the Lord said to Job:
2 ‘Shall a fault-finder contend with the Almighty?[i]
Anyone who argues with God must respond.’
Job’s Response to God
3 Then Job answered the Lord:
4 ‘See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
5 I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but will proceed no further.’
God’s Challenge to Job
6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:
7 ‘Gird up your loins like a man;
I will question you, and you declare to me.
8 Will you even put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that you may be justified?
9 Have you an arm like God,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?
10 ‘Deck yourself with majesty and dignity;
clothe yourself with glory and splendour.
11 Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
and look on all who are proud, and abase them.
12 Look on all who are proud, and bring them low;
tread down the wicked where they stand.
13 Hide them all in the dust together;
bind their faces in the world below.[j]
14 Then I will also acknowledge to you
that your own right hand can give you victory.
15 ‘Look at Behemoth,
which I made just as I made you;
it eats grass like an ox.
16 Its strength is in its loins,
and its power in the muscles of its belly.
17 It makes its tail stiff like a cedar;
the sinews of its thighs are knit together.
18 Its bones are tubes of bronze,
its limbs like bars of iron.
19 ‘It is the first of the great acts of God—
only its Maker can approach it with the sword.
20 For the mountains yield food for it
where all the wild animals play.
21 Under the lotus plants it lies,
in the covert of the reeds and in the marsh.
22 The lotus trees cover it for shade;
the willows of the wadi surround it.
23 Even if the river is turbulent, it is not frightened;
it is confident though Jordan rushes against its mouth.
24 Can one take it with hooks[k]
or pierce its nose with a snare?
41 [l] ‘Can you draw out Leviathan[m] with a fish-hook,
or press down its tongue with a cord?
2 Can you put a rope in its nose,
or pierce its jaw with a hook?
3 Will it make many supplications to you?
Will it speak soft words to you?
4 Will it make a covenant with you
to be taken as your servant for ever?
5 Will you play with it as with a bird,
or will you put it on a leash for your girls?
6 Will traders bargain over it?
Will they divide it up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill its skin with harpoons,
or its head with fishing-spears?
8 Lay hands on it;
think of the battle; you will not do it again!
9 [n] Any hope of capturing it[o] will be disappointed;
were not even the gods[p] overwhelmed at the sight of it?
10 No one is so fierce as to dare to stir it up.
Who can stand before it?[q]
11 Who can confront it[r] and be safe?[s]
—under the whole heaven, who?[t]
12 ‘I will not keep silence concerning its limbs,
or its mighty strength, or its splendid frame.
13 Who can strip off its outer garment?
Who can penetrate its double coat of mail?[u]
14 Who can open the doors of its face?
There is terror all around its teeth.
15 Its back[v] is made of shields in rows,
shut up closely as with a seal.
16 One is so near to another
that no air can come between them.
17 They are joined one to another;
they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
18 Its sneezes flash forth light,
and its eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
19 From its mouth go flaming torches;
sparks of fire leap out.
20 Out of its nostrils comes smoke,
as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21 Its breath kindles coals,
and a flame comes out of its mouth.
22 In its neck abides strength,
and terror dances before it.
23 The folds of its flesh cling together;
it is firmly cast and immovable.
24 Its heart is as hard as stone,
as hard as the lower millstone.
25 When it raises itself up the gods are afraid;
at the crashing they are beside themselves.
26 Though the sword reaches it, it does not avail,
nor does the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27 It counts iron as straw,
and bronze as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make it flee;
slingstones, for it, are turned to chaff.
29 Clubs are counted as chaff;
it laughs at the rattle of javelins.
30 Its underparts are like sharp potsherds;
it spreads itself like a threshing-sledge on the mire.
31 It makes the deep boil like a pot;
it makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 It leaves a shining wake behind it;
one would think the deep to be white-haired.
33 On earth it has no equal,
a creature without fear.
34 It surveys everything that is lofty;
it is king over all that are proud.’
Footnotes
- Job 38:7 Heb sons of God
- Job 38:14 Cn: Heb and they stand forth
- Job 38:36 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 38:36 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 39:12 Heb your grain and your threshing-floor
- Job 39:13 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 39:18 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Job 39:21 Gk Syr Vg: Heb they dig
- Job 40:2 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- Job 40:13 Heb the hidden place
- Job 40:24 Cn: Heb in his eyes
- Job 41:1 Ch 40.25 in Heb
- Job 41:1 Or the crocodile
- Job 41:9 Ch 41.1 in Heb
- Job 41:9 Heb of it
- Job 41:9 Cn Compare Symmachus Syr: Heb one is
- Job 41:10 Heb me
- Job 41:11 Heb me
- Job 41:11 Gk: Heb that I shall repay
- Job 41:11 Heb to me
- Job 41:13 Gk: Heb bridle
- Job 41:15 Cn Compare Gk Vg: Heb pride
Job 38-41
New International Version
Job 38-41
New International Version
The Lord Speaks
38 Then the Lord spoke to Job(A) out of the storm.(B) He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans(C)
with words without knowledge?(D)
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.(E)
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?(F)
Tell me, if you understand.(G)
5 Who marked off its dimensions?(H) Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line(I) across it?
6 On what were its footings set,(J)
or who laid its cornerstone(K)—
7 while the morning stars(L) sang together(M)
and all the angels[a](N) shouted for joy?(O)
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors(P)
when it burst forth from the womb,(Q)
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,(R)
10 when I fixed limits for it(S)
and set its doors and bars in place,(T)
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;(U)
here is where your proud waves halt’?(V)
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,(W)
or shown the dawn its place,(X)
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked(Y) out of it?(Z)
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;(AA)
its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,(AB)
and their upraised arm is broken.(AC)
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?(AD)
17 Have the gates of death(AE) been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?(AF)
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?(AG)
Tell me, if you know all this.(AH)
19 “What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?(AI)
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths(AJ) to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!(AK)
You have lived so many years!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow(AL)
or seen the storehouses(AM) of the hail,(AN)
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,(AO)
for days of war and battle?(AP)
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,(AQ)
or the place where the east winds(AR) are scattered over the earth?(AS)
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,(AT)
26 to water(AU) a land where no one lives,
an uninhabited desert,(AV)
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?(AW)
28 Does the rain have a father?(AX)
Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens(AY)
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?(AZ)
31 “Can you bind the chains[b] of the Pleiades?
Can you loosen Orion’s belt?(BA)
32 Can you bring forth the constellations(BB) in their seasons[c]
or lead out the Bear[d] with its cubs?(BC)
33 Do you know the laws(BD) of the heavens?(BE)
Can you set up God’s[e] dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?(BF)
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?(BG)
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom[f](BH)
or gives the rooster understanding?[g](BI)
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars(BJ) of the heavens(BK)
38 when the dust becomes hard(BL)
and the clods of earth stick together?(BM)
39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of the lions(BN)
40 when they crouch in their dens(BO)
or lie in wait in a thicket?(BP)
41 Who provides food(BQ) for the raven(BR)
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?(BS)
39 “Do you know when the mountain goats(BT) give birth?
Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?(BU)
2 Do you count the months till they bear?
Do you know the time they give birth?(BV)
3 They crouch down and bring forth their young;
their labor pains are ended.
4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
they leave and do not return.
5 “Who let the wild donkey(BW) go free?
Who untied its ropes?
6 I gave it the wasteland(BX) as its home,
the salt flats(BY) as its habitat.(BZ)
7 It laughs(CA) at the commotion in the town;
it does not hear a driver’s shout.(CB)
8 It ranges the hills(CC) for its pasture
and searches for any green thing.
9 “Will the wild ox(CD) consent to serve you?(CE)
Will it stay by your manger(CF) at night?
10 Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness?(CG)
Will it till the valleys behind you?
11 Will you rely on it for its great strength?(CH)
Will you leave your heavy work to it?
12 Can you trust it to haul in your grain
and bring it to your threshing floor?
13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
though they cannot compare
with the wings and feathers of the stork.(CI)
14 She lays her eggs on the ground
and lets them warm in the sand,
15 unmindful that a foot may crush them,
that some wild animal may trample them.(CJ)
16 She treats her young harshly,(CK) as if they were not hers;
she cares not that her labor was in vain,
17 for God did not endow her with wisdom
or give her a share of good sense.(CL)
18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
she laughs(CM) at horse and rider.
19 “Do you give the horse its strength(CN)
or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
20 Do you make it leap like a locust,(CO)
striking terror(CP) with its proud snorting?(CQ)
21 It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,(CR)
and charges into the fray.(CS)
22 It laughs(CT) at fear, afraid of nothing;
it does not shy away from the sword.
23 The quiver(CU) rattles against its side,
along with the flashing spear(CV) and lance.
24 In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;
it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.(CW)
25 At the blast of the trumpet(CX) it snorts, ‘Aha!’
It catches the scent of battle from afar,
the shout of commanders and the battle cry.(CY)
26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
and spread its wings toward the south?(CZ)
27 Does the eagle soar at your command
and build its nest on high?(DA)
28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
a rocky crag(DB) is its stronghold.
29 From there it looks for food;(DC)
its eyes detect it from afar.
30 Its young ones feast on blood,
and where the slain are, there it is.”(DD)
40 The Lord said to Job:(DE)
2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty(DF) correct him?(DG)
Let him who accuses God answer him!”(DH)
3 Then Job answered the Lord:
4 “I am unworthy(DI)—how can I reply to you?
I put my hand over my mouth.(DJ)
5 I spoke once, but I have no answer(DK)—
twice, but I will say no more.”(DL)
6 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:(DM)
7 “Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.(DN)
8 “Would you discredit my justice?(DO)
Would you condemn me to justify yourself?(DP)
9 Do you have an arm like God’s,(DQ)
and can your voice(DR) thunder like his?(DS)
10 Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.(DT)
11 Unleash the fury of your wrath,(DU)
look at all who are proud and bring them low,(DV)
12 look at all who are proud(DW) and humble them,(DX)
crush(DY) the wicked where they stand.
13 Bury them all in the dust together;(DZ)
shroud their faces in the grave.(EA)
14 Then I myself will admit to you
that your own right hand can save you.(EB)
15 “Look at Behemoth,
which I made(EC) along with you
and which feeds on grass like an ox.(ED)
16 What strength(EE) it has in its loins,
what power in the muscles of its belly!(EF)
17 Its tail sways like a cedar;
the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.(EG)
18 Its bones are tubes of bronze,
its limbs(EH) like rods of iron.(EI)
19 It ranks first among the works of God,(EJ)
yet its Maker(EK) can approach it with his sword.(EL)
20 The hills bring it their produce,(EM)
and all the wild animals play(EN) nearby.(EO)
21 Under the lotus plants it lies,
hidden among the reeds(EP) in the marsh.(EQ)
22 The lotuses conceal it in their shadow;
the poplars by the stream(ER) surround it.
23 A raging river(ES) does not alarm it;
it is secure, though the Jordan(ET) should surge against its mouth.
24 Can anyone capture it by the eyes,
or trap it and pierce its nose?(EU)
41 [h]“Can you pull in Leviathan(EV) with a fishhook(EW)
or tie down its tongue with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord through its nose(EX)
or pierce its jaw with a hook?(EY)
3 Will it keep begging you for mercy?(EZ)
Will it speak to you with gentle words?
4 Will it make an agreement with you
for you to take it as your slave for life?(FA)
5 Can you make a pet of it like a bird
or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?
6 Will traders barter for it?
Will they divide it up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons
or its head with fishing spears?(FB)
8 If you lay a hand on it,
you will remember the struggle and never do it again!(FC)
9 Any hope of subduing it is false;
the mere sight of it is overpowering.(FD)
10 No one is fierce enough to rouse it.(FE)
Who then is able to stand against me?(FF)
11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay?(FG)
Everything under heaven belongs to me.(FH)
12 “I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs,(FI)
its strength(FJ) and its graceful form.
13 Who can strip off its outer coat?
Who can penetrate its double coat of armor[i]?(FK)
14 Who dares open the doors of its mouth,(FL)
ringed about with fearsome teeth?
15 Its back has[j] rows of shields
tightly sealed together;(FM)
16 each is so close to the next
that no air can pass between.
17 They are joined fast to one another;
they cling together and cannot be parted.
18 Its snorting throws out flashes of light;
its eyes are like the rays of dawn.(FN)
19 Flames(FO) stream from its mouth;
sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke pours from its nostrils(FP)
as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
21 Its breath(FQ) sets coals ablaze,
and flames dart from its mouth.(FR)
22 Strength(FS) resides in its neck;
dismay goes before it.
23 The folds of its flesh are tightly joined;
they are firm and immovable.
24 Its chest is hard as rock,
hard as a lower millstone.(FT)
25 When it rises up, the mighty are terrified;(FU)
they retreat before its thrashing.(FV)
26 The sword that reaches it has no effect,
nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.(FW)
27 Iron it treats like straw(FX)
and bronze like rotten wood.
28 Arrows do not make it flee;(FY)
slingstones are like chaff to it.
29 A club seems to it but a piece of straw;(FZ)
it laughs(GA) at the rattling of the lance.
30 Its undersides are jagged potsherds,
leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.(GB)
31 It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron(GC)
and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.(GD)
32 It leaves a glistening wake behind it;
one would think the deep had white hair.
33 Nothing on earth is its equal(GE)—
a creature without fear.
34 It looks down on all that are haughty;(GF)
it is king over all that are proud.(GG)”
Footnotes
- Job 38:7 Hebrew the sons of God
- Job 38:31 Septuagint; Hebrew beauty
- Job 38:32 Or the morning star in its season
- Job 38:32 Or out Leo
- Job 38:33 Or their
- Job 38:36 That is, wisdom about the flooding of the Nile
- Job 38:36 That is, understanding of when to crow; the meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
- Job 41:1 In Hebrew texts 41:1-8 is numbered 40:25-32, and 41:9-34 is numbered 41:1-26.
- Job 41:13 Septuagint; Hebrew double bridle
- Job 41:15 Or Its pride is its
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)
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