Job 38
New Living Translation
The Lord Challenges Job
38 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
2 “Who is this that questions my wisdom
with such ignorant words?
3 Brace yourself like a man,
because I have some questions for you,
and you must answer them.
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell me, if you know so much.
5 Who determined its dimensions
and stretched out the surveying line?
6 What supports its foundations,
and who laid its cornerstone
7 as the morning stars sang together
and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?
8 “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
as it burst from the womb,
9 and as I clothed it with clouds
and wrapped it in thick darkness?
10 For I locked it behind barred gates,
limiting its shores.
11 I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
Here your proud waves must stop!’
12 “Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
13 Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?
14 As the light approaches,
the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal;
it is robed in brilliant colors.[b]
15 The light disturbs the wicked
and stops the arm that is raised in violence.
16 “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?
Have you explored their depths?
17 Do you know where the gates of death are located?
Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
18 Do you realize the extent of the earth?
Tell me about it if you know!
19 “Where does light come from,
and where does darkness go?
20 Can you take each to its home?
Do you know how to get there?
21 But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created,
and you are so very experienced!
22 “Have you visited the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of hail?
23 (I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war.)
24 Where is the path to the source of light?
Where is the home of the east wind?
25 “Who created a channel for the torrents of rain?
Who laid out the path for the lightning?
26 Who makes the rain fall on barren land,
in a desert where no one lives?
27 Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground
and make the tender grass spring up?
28 “Does the rain have a father?
Who gives birth to the dew?
29 Who is the mother of the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?
30 For the water turns to ice as hard as rock,
and the surface of the water freezes.
31 “Can you direct the movement of the stars—
binding the cluster of the Pleiades
or loosening the cords of Orion?
32 Can you direct the constellations through the seasons
or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?
33 Do you know the laws of the universe?
Can you use them to regulate 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?
36 Who gives intuition to the heart
and instinct to the mind?
37 Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?
Who can tilt the water jars of heaven
38 when the parched ground is dry
and the soil has hardened into clods?
39 “Can you stalk prey for a lioness
and satisfy the young lions’ appetites
40 as they lie in their dens
or crouch in the thicket?
41 Who provides food for the ravens
when their young cry out to God
and wander about in hunger?
Job 38
Modern English Version
The Lord Speaks to Job
38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
2 “Who is this who darkens counsel
by words without knowledge?
3 Prepare yourself like a man;
for I will question you,
and you shall answer Me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Declare, if you have understanding.
5 Who has determined its measurements, if you know?
Or who has stretched the line upon it?
6 To what are its foundations fastened?
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 forth and went out of the womb?
9 When I made the cloud its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 and broke up for it My decreed place,
and set bars and doors,
11 and said, ‘This far you will come but no farther,
and here your proud waves will be stopped’?
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,
that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
14 It is turned like clay by the seal,
and it stands out as a garment.
15 From the wicked their light is withheld,
and the high arm will be broken.
16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in search of the depths?
17 Have the gates of death been opened to you?
Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
18 Have you perceived the breadth of the earth?
Declare, if you know it all.
19 “Where is the path where light dwells?
And as for darkness, where is its place,
20 that you should take it to its boundary,
and that you should know the paths to its house?
21 Do you know it because you were born then,
or because the number of your days is many?
22 “Have you entered the treasuries of the snow?
Or have you seen the treasuries 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 light diffused,
or the east wind scattered upon the earth?
25 Who has divided a channel for the overflowing waters,
or a path for the thunderbolt,
26 to cause it to rain on the earth where no man is,
on the wilderness in which there are no people,
27 to satisfy the desolate waste,
and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Or who has produced the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb came the ice?
And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?
30 The waters harden like stone,
and the surface of the deep is frozen.
31 “Can you tie the cords to the Pleiades
or loosen the belt of Orion?
32 Can you bring out the constellation in its season?
Or can you guide the Bear with its cubs?
33 Do you know the ordinances of heaven?
Can you set their 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 lightning that they may go forth
and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts,
or who has given understanding to the heart?[a]
37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can empty out the bottles of heaven,
38 when the dust turns into hard clumps
and the clods stick together?
39 “Will you hunt the prey for the lion?
Or fill the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their dens
and lie in the thicket to wait in ambush?
41 Who provides for the raven his food
when his young ones cry unto God,
and they wander about for lack of food?
Footnotes
- Job 38:36 The Heb. may refer to celestial bodies.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.