Job 38
New Catholic Bible
The Intervention of God[a]
The Lord’s First Speech
Chapter 38
Gird Up Your Loins.[b] 1 Then from the heart of the storm the Lord answered Job:
2 “Who is this who obscures my intentions
with words devoid of knowledge?
3 Gird up your loins now like a man.
I will ask you questions,
and you will give me the answers.
A1: The Mysteries of the Cosmos
Where Were You When I Laid the Earth’s Foundations?
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements? Do you know?
Who stretched out the measuring line over it?
6 What supports the pillars at its bases?
Who laid its cornerstone
7 while the morning stars sang in unison
and the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I established bounds for it
and set its barred doors in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far may you come, but no farther;
here is where your proud waves must halt’?
Have You Ever Commanded the Morning?[c]
12 “During your entire life have you ever commanded the morning to appear
or caused the dawn to rise in the east
13 so that it might grasp the ends of the earth
and shake the wicked from its surface?
14 She turns it like clay under a seal
and dyes it as though it were a garment.
15 But light[d] is withheld from the wicked,
and their raised arm is broken.
Have You Ever Walked at the Bottom of the Abyss?
16 “Have you ever descended to the depths of the sea
and walked at the bottom of the abyss?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you
or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanse of the earth?
Tell me if you know all this.
19 “Can you point out the way to the dwelling of light
and show the abode of darkness,
20 so that you may assign each to its designated boundary
and escort them on their homeward paths?
21 Surely you must know this,
for you had already been born
and the years of your life are beyond numbering!
Have You Entered the Place Where the Snow Is Stored?[e]
22 [f]“Have you entered the place where the snow is stored,
or seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I have reserved for times of distress,
for the times of war and battle?
24 Can you show me the place where lightning is dispersed
or where the east wind is scattered over the earth?
25 “Who has cut a channel for the downpour of rain
and cleared a path for the thunderstorm
26 so that rain may fall on uninhabited lands,
on the wilderness devoid of human life,
27 and thus reinvigorate the wastes and the desolate land,
enabling grass to sprout on the thirsty ground?
28 “Does the rain have a father?
Who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 Whose womb brings forth the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost of heaven,
30 causing a layer of stone to cover the waters
and the surface of the earth to congeal?
Do You Know the Ordinances of the Heavens?
31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades
or loosen the bonds of Orion?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their season
or indicate which way to go to the Bear[g] and its cubs?
33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you put into effect their rule on the earth?
34 “Can you raise up your voice to command the clouds
to envelop you in a deluge of rain?
35 Will flashes of lightning come forth at your command
and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has endowed the heart with wisdom
and given understanding to the mind?
37 Who can number all the rain clouds
and empty the cisterns of the heavens
38 so that the dust solidifies into a thick mass
and the clods of earth cling together?
A2: The Astonishing World of the Animals[h]
The Lion and the Raven
39 “Can you hunt prey for the lioness
or satisfy the hunger of young lions
40 while they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in the bushes?
41 Who provides the raven with prey
when its little ones cry out to God
in their need for sustenance?
Footnotes
- Job 38:1 The Almighty comes in the storm. He is the Lord (Yahweh), the fearsome God of Sinai (Ex 19:16). The meeting both abashes and fascinates Job. God does not answer Job’s irksome questions; the roles are reversed. The Lord presses him hard with his own questions. God does not defend himself, nor does he debate: he calls for adoration and silence.
These chapters form part of the biblical songs of creation and are among the loftiest lyrical compositions of humankind. The wonders and secrets of the universe are evoked in splendid poetic images that are intended to give us a better insight into the inaccessibility of the mystery of God. And yet, Job has seen God. This man who has encountered God remains abashed. All his arguments have been immediately transcended; the only thing left is to make an act of unconditional faith. - Job 38:1 Gird up your loins: it is God who calls Job to account for his pretensions. In the East, people tightened their belts and tucked up their garments in preparation for a struggle or for work (see Jer 1:17; Lk 12:35-37).
- Job 38:12 Each day the dawn comes to shake the earth, ridding it of the wicked as one shakes dust from a rug. The human race cannot help but stand in admiration.
- Job 38:15 Light: the uncertain light of night that favors evildoers (see Job 24:13; Isa 5:20).
- Job 38:22 Human beings cannot foresee or comprehend this play of natural forces; for the ancients, God seems to make sport of them and utilize them at his whim (Ex 9:18-26; Jos 10:11). As for us, we are better acquainted with the laws of nature, but the spectacle of the universe remains always a symbol of God’s great freedom.
- Job 38:22 For hail as a divine weapon, see Gen 10:11; Ex 9:18-19; Isa 28:17; 30:30.
- Job 38:32 Pleiades . . . Orion . . . Bear: see note on Job 9:9.
- Job 38:39 The animal world, too, is a bewildering world for human beings. God brings them before Job as he once did before Adam (Gen 2:19-20); however, his purpose now is to show not the power, but the weakness and ignorance of human beings: the life of the animals has secrets that elude the human grasp and depend on a higher wisdom.
Job 38
Het Boek
Het antwoord van God
38 Toen gaf de Here Job vanuit een storm zijn antwoord:
2 ‘Wie is het die door onzinnig gepraat mijn besluiten onbegrijpelijk probeert te maken?
3 Maak u maar klaar, zet u schrap, want Ik ga u vragen stellen om te zien wat u weet.
4 Waar was u toen Ik het fundament legde voor deze aarde? Zeg het Mij, u weet immers zoveel!
5 Weet u hoe haar afmetingen werden vastgesteld en wie dat alles heeft nagemeten? Kom, vertel op!
6,7 Waarop steunen de fundamenten en wie plaatste de hoekstenen, terwijl de morgensterren samen zongen en alle engelen juichten van blijdschap?
8,9 Wie stelde de grenzen van de zeeën vast toen zij vanuit het verborgene omhoogspoten? Wie hulde hen in dikke wolken en diepe duisternis,
10 sloot hen in door hun kusten vast te stellen
11 en zei: “Tot zover en niet verder! Hier zullen uw trotse golven tot stilstand komen”?
12 Hebt u ooit een nieuwe morgen opgeroepen en de zonsopgang in het oosten laten verschijnen?
13 Hebt u het daglicht ooit bevolen zich tot de uithoeken van de aarde te verspreiden om zo een eind te maken aan het nachtelijk werk van de goddelozen?
14 De aarde krijgt haar vorm zoals een zegel een klomp klei vormt, het oppervlak golft als de plooien van een kledingstuk.
15 Zo worden de goddelozen gestoord in hun praktijken en wordt een halt toegeroepen aan de arm die klaar stond om toe te slaan.
16 Bent u doorgedrongen tot de bronnen van de zee en hebt u de spelonken van haar onpeilbare diepte bezocht?
17,18 Heeft men u verteld waar u de poorten van het dodenrijk kunt vinden? Hebt u ook maar enig begrip van de afmetingen van de aarde? Vertel het Mij maar als u het weet!
19 Waar komt het licht vandaan en hoe kunt u daar komen? Of vertel Mij iets over de duisternis. Waar komt die vandaan?
20 Kunt u haar grenzen bepalen of de plaats waar zij vandaan komt?
21 Maar dat weet u natuurlijk allemaal al lang. Want u werd geboren voordat alles werd geschapen en u heeft zoʼn lange ervaring!
22,23 Bent u in de opslagplaatsen van de sneeuw geweest of hebt u gezien waar de hagel wordt gemaakt en opgeslagen ligt? De sneeuw en hagel die Ik heb bewaard voor de tijd van oorlog en rampen.
24 Waar loopt de weg naar het punt waar het licht zich verdeelt? En waar ligt de oorsprong van de oostenwind?
25-27 Wie groef het kanaal voor de stortregens? Wie baande een weg voor het onweer en zorgde ervoor dat de regen in barre woestijnen neervalt, zodat de gescheurde en troosteloze bodem wordt doordrenkt met water en het jonge gras weer kan opschieten?
28 Heeft de regen een vader? Waar komen de dauwdruppels vandaan?
29 Wie is de moeder van het ijs en van de rijp die neerdaalt uit de hemel?
30 Hoe komt het dat water verandert in ijs, dat zo hard is als steen?
31 Kunt u de Pleiaden aan elkaar vastbinden of de ketens van Orion losmaken?
32 Kunt u de dierenriem op tijd laten schijnen en de Grote en Kleine Beer de weg wijzen?
33 Kent u de wetten van het heelal en kunt u bepalen welke invloed zij op de aarde uitoefenen?
34 Kunt u tot de wolken roepen en ervoor zorgen dat u doordrenkt wordt met regen?
35 Kunt u de bliksem tevoorschijn roepen, die u dan vraagt: “Waar moet ik inslaan”?
36 Wie heeft wijsheid gelegd in de wolken en aan de regen inzicht gegeven?
37,38 Wie is wijs genoeg om de wolken te tellen en ze als waterkruiken uit te gieten, zodat het stof op de aarde tot harde klei wordt?’
Job 38
King James Version
38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
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 brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his 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 as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.
15 And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.
16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?
17 Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?
18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.
19 Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
20 That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?
21 Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?
22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures 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 parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?
25 Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;
26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?
28 Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
29 Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
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?
33 Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?
34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?
35 Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go and say unto thee, Here we are?
36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?
37 Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,
38 When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?
39 Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,
40 When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?
41 Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.
Иов 38
Библия, синодално издание
38 (A)(К огато Елиуй престана да говори) Господ отговори на Иова из бурята и рече:
2 кой е тоя, който омрачава Провидението с думи без смисъл?
3 (B)Препаши сега кръста си като мъж: Аз ще те питам, и ти Ми обяснявай:
4 (C)де беше ти, когато полагах основите на земята? – кажи, ако знаеш.
5 (D)Кой ѝ определи мярката, ако знаеш? Или кой е опъвал по нея въжето?
6 (E)На какво са закрепени основите ѝ, или кой положи крайъгълния ѝ камък,
7 (F)при общото ликуване на утринните звезди, когато всички Божии синове възклицаваха от радост?
8 (G)Кой затвори морето с врата, когато се то изтръгна, та излезе като из утроба,
9 когато облаците направих негово облекло и мъглата – негови пелени,
10 (H)и му утвърдих Моя наредба и поставих ключалки и врата,
11 и казах: дотука ще дойдеш и няма да преминуваш, и тука е границата на гордите твои вълни?
12 Давал ли си ти някога през живота си заповед на утринта и посочвал ли си на зората мястото ѝ,
13 за да обгърне тя краищата на земята и да изтърси от нея нечестивците,
14 за да се измени земята като глина под печат и да стане като разноцветно облекло,
15 (I)да се отнеме от нечестивците светлината им и да се съкруши дръзката им ръка?
16 (J)Слизал ли си в дълбочината морска и влизал ли си да изследваш бездната?
17 (K)Отваряли ли са се за тебе вратата на смъртта, и видял ли си ти вратата на смъртната сянка?
18 Изгледал ли си ширината на земята? Разправи, ако знаеш всичко това.
19 Де е пътят към жилището на светлината, и де е мястото на тъмата?
20 Ти трябва да си стигал до границите ѝ и знаеш пътеките към дома ѝ.
21 (L)Ти знаеш това, защото тогава си бил вече роден, и броят на дните ти е твърде голям.
22 Влизал ли си ти в пазилищата на снега и видял ли си съкровищата на градушката,
23 (M)които Аз пазя за смутно време, за ден на битка и война?
24 По кой път се разлива светлината и се разнася източният вятър по земята?
25 (N)Кой отваря потоците за изливане на водата и път за гръмоносни светкавици,
26 за да вали дъжд върху безлюдната земя, върху пустинята, дето няма човек,
27 (O)за да насища пустинята и степта и да възбужда злачните зародиши да изникват?
28 (P)Дъждът има ли баща? Или кой ражда капките на росата?
29 Из чия утроба излиза ледът, и небесния скреж, – кой го ражда?
30 Водите като камък се затвърдяват, и повърхността на бездната замръзва.
31 (Q)Можеш ли върза възела на Хима и да развържеш връзките на Кесил?
32 Можеш ли да извеждаш съзвездията на времето им и да водиш Ас с децата ѝ?
33 (R)Знаеш ли наредбите на небето, можеш ли натъкми то да владее над земята?
34 Можеш ли дигна гласа си до облаците, за да те покрие обилно вода?
35 Можеш ли да пращаш светкавици, и те ще тръгнат ли и ще ти кажат ли: ето ни?
36 (S)Кой вложи мъдрост в сърцето, или кой даде смисъл на разума?
37 (T)Кой може да преброи облаците със своята мъдрост и да удържи съдовете на небето,
38 когато прахът се обръща в кал, и буците се слепват?
39 (U)Ти ли ловиш плячка за лъвицата и насищаш лъвчетата,
40 когато те лежат в леговищата или почиват под сянка в засада?
41 (V)Кой приготвя на враната храната ѝ, кога пиленцата ѝ, скитайки се без храна, викат към Бога?
Het Boek Copyright © 1979, 1988, 2007 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Дигитална версия: Copyright by © Българско библейско дружество 2016. Използвани с разрешение.
