Job 38
Expanded Bible
The Lord Questions Job
38 Then the Lord answered Job from the ·storm [whirlwind; 9:17]. He said:
2 “Who is this that makes my ·purpose [L counsel; advice] ·unclear [L dark]
·by saying things that are not true [L with ignorant words]?
3 ·Be strong [Brace yourself; L Gird your loins] like a man!
I will ask you questions,
and you must ·answer [inform] me.
4 Where were you when I made the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off ·how big it should be [L its measurements]? Surely you know!
Who stretched a ·ruler [line; C surveyor’s instrument] across it?
6 What were the earth’s foundations ·set on [L sunk in],
or who put its cornerstone in place
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the ·angels [L sons of god] shouted with joy?
8 “Who shut the doors to keep the sea in
when it broke through ·and was born [L coming out of the womb],
9 when I made the clouds like a coat for the sea
and ·wrapped [swaddled] it in dark clouds,
10 when I ·put [prescribed] ·limits [boundaries] on the sea
and put its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said to the sea, ‘You may come this far, but no farther;
this is where your proud waves must stop’?
12 “Have you ever ordered the morning to begin,
or ·shown [informed] the dawn where its place was
13 in order to ·take hold of [grasp] the earth by its edges [C the horizon]
and shake evil people out of it [C the light exposes the wicked]?
14 At dawn the earth changes like clay being pressed by a seal;
·the hills and valleys [L They] stand out like ·folds in a coat [L a garment].
15 Light is ·not given to [held back from] evil people;
their arm is raised to do harm, but it is broken.
16 “Have you ever gone to ·where the sea begins [L the sources of the sea]
or walked in the ·valleys under the sea [L depths of the deep]?
17 Have the gates of death been ·opened [or revealed] to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deep darkness?
18 Do you understand how wide the earth is?
Tell me, if you know all these things.
19 “What is the path to light’s home,
and where does darkness live?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the ·way [path] to their homes?
21 Surely you know, if you were already born when all this happened!
Have you lived that many years?
22 “Have you ever gone into the storehouse of the snow
or seen the storehouses for hail,
23 which I save for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?
24 Where is the place from which light ·comes [L is distributed]?
Where is the place from which the east winds ·blow [scatter] over the earth?
25 Who cuts a waterway for the heavy rains
and sets a path for the thunderstorm?
26 Who waters the land where no one lives,
the ·desert [wilderness] that has no one in it?
27 Who sends rain to satisfy the ·empty [L ruined and desolate] land
so the grass begins to grow?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Who ·is father [L has given birth] to the drops of dew?
29 ·Who is the mother of the ice [L From whose womb did the ice come out]?
Who gives birth to the frost from the ·sky [heavens]
30 when the water becomes hard as stone,
and even the surface of the ·ocean [deep] is frozen?
31 “Can you tie up the ·stars [L chains] of the Pleiades
or ·loosen [open] the ·ropes of the stars in [L fetters of] Orion?
32 Can you bring out ·the stars [L Mazzeroth; C probably the name of a specific constellation] on time
or lead out the stars of the Bear with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the ·sky [heavens]
and ·understand [or set] their rule over the earth?
34 “Can you ·shout an order [L raise your voice] to the clouds
·and [or so that you] cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Can you send lightning bolts on their way?
Do they come to you and say, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who put wisdom ·inside the mind [or in the ibis; C an animal associated with wisdom and representing Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom]
or understanding ·in the heart [or to the rooster]?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can ·pour water from the jars [L tilt the wineskins] of the ·sky [heavens]
38 when the dust becomes hard
and the clumps of dirt stick together?
39 “Do you hunt food for the lioness
to satisfy the hunger of the young lions
40 while they ·lie [crouch] in their dens
or hide in the bushes waiting to attack?
41 Who gives food to the ·birds [L raven]
when their young cry out to God
and wander about without food?
Job 38
Living Bible
38 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
2 “Why are you using your ignorance to deny my providence? 3 Now get ready to fight, for I am going to demand some answers from you, and you must reply.
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. 5 Do you know how its dimensions were determined, and who did the surveying? 6-7 What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?
8-9 “Who decreed the boundaries of the seas when they gushed from the depths? Who clothed them with clouds and thick darkness 10 and barred them by limiting their shores, 11 and said, ‘Thus far and no farther shall you come, and here shall your proud waves stop’?
12 “Have you ever once commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? 13 Have you ever told the daylight to spread to the ends of the earth, to end the night’s wickedness? 14 Have you ever robed the dawn in red, 15 and disturbed the haunts of wicked men, and stopped the arm raised to strike?
16 “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come, or walked in the sources of their depths? 17-18 Has the location of the gates of death been revealed to you? Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know! 19 Where does the light come from, and how do you get there? Or tell me about the darkness. Where does it come from? 20 Can you find its boundaries, or go to its source? 21 But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!
22-23 “Have you visited the treasuries of the snow, or seen where hail is made and stored? For I have reserved it for the time when I will need it in war. 24 Where is the path to the distribution point of light? Where is the home of the east wind? 25-27 Who dug the valleys for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the lightning, causing the rain to fall upon the barren deserts, so that the parched and barren ground is satisfied with water and tender grass springs up?
28 “Has the rain a father? Where does dew come from? 29 Who is the mother of the ice and frost? 30 For the water changes and turns to ice as hard as rock.
31 “Can you hold back the stars? Can you restrain Orion or Pleiades? 32 Can you ensure the proper sequence of the seasons, or guide the constellation of the Bear with her satellites across the heavens? 33 Do you know the laws of the universe and how the heavens influence the earth? 34 Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain? 35 Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct it?
36 “Who gives intuition and instinct?[a] 37-38 Who is wise enough to number all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven, when everything is dust and clods? 39-40 Can you stalk prey like a lioness, to satisfy the young lions’ appetites as they lie in their dens or lie in wait in the jungle? 41 Who provides for the ravens when their young cry out to God as they try to struggle up from their nest in hunger?
Footnotes
- Job 38:36 Who gives intuition and instinct? or “Who has put wisdom in the inward parts and given understanding to the mind?”
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The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.