22-30 “Have you ever traveled to where snow is made,
    seen the vault where hail is stockpiled,
The arsenals of hail and snow that I keep in readiness
    for times of trouble and battle and war?
Can you find your way to where lightning is launched,
    or to the place from which the wind blows?
Who do you suppose carves canyons
    for the downpours of rain, and charts
    the route of thunderstorms
That bring water to unvisited fields,
    deserts no one ever lays eyes on,
Drenching the useless wastelands
    so they’re carpeted with wildflowers and grass?
And who do you think is the father of rain and dew,
    the mother of ice and frost?
You don’t for a minute imagine
    these marvels of weather just happen, do you?

31-33 “Can you catch the eye of the beautiful Pleiades sisters,
    or distract Orion from his hunt?
Can you get Venus to look your way,
    or get the Great Bear and her cubs to come out and play?
Do you know the first thing about the sky’s constellations
    and how they affect things on Earth?

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30 when the waters become hard as stone,
    when the surface of the deep is frozen?(A)

31 “Can you bind the chains[a] of the Pleiades?
    Can you loosen Orion’s belt?(B)
32 Can you bring forth the constellations(C) in their seasons[b]
    or lead out the Bear[c] with its cubs?(D)

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Footnotes

  1. Job 38:31 Septuagint; Hebrew beauty
  2. Job 38:32 Or the morning star in its season
  3. Job 38:32 Or out Leo

30 The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?

32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

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