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The Lord asks Job some questions[a]

38 The Lord spoke to Job from the middle of the storm. This is what he said:

‘Who do you think you are?
    Why do you ask questions about my wisdom?
You speak many words,
    but you do not understand anything.
Prepare yourself for a difficult job!
    I will ask you some questions and you must answer them.

Were you with me when I made the world?
    If you think you are so clever,
    tell me all about it!
It was me who decided the size of the world.
    You surely must know that!
    I measured it as I made it.
Tell me how I fixed the foundations of the earth.
    Who made it stay in its right place? I did!
At the dawn of that day, the stars sang together.
    They sang for joy with all the angels.
When the sea poured out of the ground,
    I decided where its borders should be.
    I kept the water in its right place.
I caused the clouds to come over the sea.
    I covered it with complete darkness.
10 I put a border around the sea.
    I locked it in its place.
11 I said to the sea, “This is as far as you can come.
    You may come no further.
    Your powerful waves must stop there!”

12 But you, Job, did you ever command the morning to begin?
    No! You have never in your whole life told the sun when it should rise.
13 You have not told the light of day to cover the earth.
    You have not told it to chase away the wicked things that happen in the night.
14 When the light of day comes,
    people see the land clearly.
    Its shape and colours show like bright clothes.
15 The light of day is too bright for wicked people.
    It destroys their power to do cruel things.
16 You have not gone to the springs
    that fill the seas with water.
You have not walked on the bottom of the deep seas.
17 Nobody has showed you the gates of death.
    People go through them to that very dark place.
18 You do not understand the great size of the earth.
    If you know all about that, tell me!
19 You do not know where light comes from.
    You do not know where darkness has its home.
20 Can you take them to the places where they belong?
    Do you know the roads that go there?
21 Surely you must know all this,
    because you have lived for so long!
It seems that you were already born
    when I created these things![b]

22 Have you visited the place where I keep all the snow?
    Or the place where I keep the hail?
23 I keep the snow and the hail ready to use.
    I use them in times of trouble and wars.
24 You do not know where lightning comes from.
    Or where the east wind starts
    when it blows across the earth.
25 I make a path for the storms to travel along.
    I tell the thunder and the strong rain which way to go.
26 I cause rain to fall in places where no person lives.
    It makes even a desert become a wet place.
27 The rain falls on dry ground where nothing grows.
    It causes grass to grow there again.
28 Do you know if the rain has a father?
    Who is a father to the dew?
29 Who is a mother to the ice?
    Who gives birth to the frost that makes the air so cold?
30 It causes the water to become as hard as stone.
    The water of the sea also becomes ice.
31 You cannot make the stars of the Pleiades stay in their places.
    You cannot change the shape of Orion.
32 You bring out the groups of stars
    for people to see at different times of the year.
You cannot put the stars of the Great Bear and the Little Bear
    in their right places in the sky.[c]
33 You do not know the rules that the stars above obey.
    You cannot make the earth obey those rules.
34 You cannot shout commands to the clouds.
You cannot tell them to pour down their rain,
    so that a flood of water covers you.
35 You cannot send the lightning
    to hit the place that you want it to go.
The lightning does not say to you,
    “We are ready to go wherever you want.”
36 Who has given people wisdom,
    so that they understand things with their minds?
37 Is anyone wise enough to count the clouds?
    Can anyone cause the clouds to pour down rain from above?
38 The rain causes the dust of the dry ground to become hard.
    The dry soil becomes pieces of mud.
39 When the lions become hungry,
    can you find food for the young lions to eat?
40 You cannot do that for them
    when they sit in their caves.
You cannot help them as they hide in the bushes,
    ready to attack other animals.
41 You cannot find food for the ravens to eat.
You cannot help them when their babies cry to me
    because they are weak and hungry.’

Footnotes

  1. 38:1 In chapters 38 to 41, God speaks to Job. He asks Job questions. He knows that Job must answer ‘No.’ There are a lot of things that only God knows. Job does not know these things. There are a lot of things that only God can do. Job cannot do any of these things. God tells Job that only he is completely wise and powerful. He knows what is right and fair.
  2. 38:21 God is laughing at Job. Job thinks that he knows everything about God. But Job was not with God when God made the world. So Job cannot know about all the things that God has done.
  3. 38:32 Pleiades, Orion, the Great Bear and the Little Bear are groups of stars.

Yahweh Answers Job

38 Then Yahweh (A)answered Job out of the [a]whirlwind and said,

“Who is this that (B)darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
Now (C)gird up your loins like a man,
And (D)I will ask you, and you make Me know!
Where were you (E)when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know understanding,
Who set its (F)measurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the line on it?
On what (G)were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
When the morning stars sang together
And all the (H)sons of God shouted for joy?

“Or who (I)enclosed the sea with doors
When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb,
When I made a cloud its garment
And dense gloom its swaddling band,
10 And I [b](J)placed boundaries on it
And set a bolt and doors,
11 And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther;
And here shall your proud waves stop’?

Yahweh Answers Job, “Have You?”

12 “Have you [c]ever in your life commanded the morning,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
13 That it might seize (K)the ends of the earth,
And (L)the wicked be shaken out of it?
14 It is changed like clay under the seal;
And they stand forth like clothing.
15 (M)From the wicked their light is withheld,
And the arm (N)raised high is broken.

16 “Have you entered into (O)the springs of the sea
Or walked [d]in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
Or have you seen the gates of the (P)shadow of death?
18 Have you carefully considered the [e]expanse of (Q)the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.

19 “Where is the way to where the light dwells?
And darkness, where is its place,
20 That you may take it to (R)its territory
And that you may discern the paths to its [f]home?
21 You know, for (S)you were born then,
And the number of your days is great!

22 Have you entered the storehouses (T)of the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the (U)hail,
23 Which I have reserved for the time of distress,
For the day of war and battle?
24 Where is the way that (V)the light is divided,
Or the east wind scattered on the earth?

25 “Who has cleft a conduit for the flood,
Or a way for the thunderbolt,
26 To bring (W)rain on a land without [g]people,
On a desert without a man in it,
27 To (X)satisfy the waste and desolate land
And to make the growth of grass to sprout?
28 Has (Y)the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb has come the (Z)ice?
And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?
30 Water [h]becomes hard like stone,
And the surface of the deep [i]is interlocked.

31 “Can you bind the chains of the (AA)Pleiades,
Or loose the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead forth a [j]constellation in its season,
And guide the Bear with her [k]satellites?
33 Do you know the (AB)statutes of the heavens,
Or fix their rule over the earth?

34 “Can you raise your voice up to the clouds,
So that an (AC)abundance of water will cover you?
35 Can you (AD)send forth lightnings that they may go
And say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has (AE)given wisdom in the [l]innermost being
Or given (AF)understanding to the [m]mind?
37 Who can count the clouds by wisdom,
Or (AG)tip the water jars of the heavens,
38 When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together?

Yahweh Answers Job, “Where Were You?”

39 “Can you hunt the (AH)prey for the lion,
Or fulfill the appetite of the young lions,
40 When they (AI)crouch in their dens
And lie in wait in their lair?
41 Who prepares for (AJ)the raven its provision
When its young cry for help to God
And wander about without food?

Footnotes

  1. Job 38:1 Or storm
  2. Job 38:10 Lit broke My decree on it
  3. Job 38:12 Lit from your days
  4. Job 38:16 Or in search of
  5. Job 38:18 Or width
  6. Job 38:20 Lit house
  7. Job 38:26 Lit man
  8. Job 38:30 Lit hides itself
  9. Job 38:30 Or is frozen
  10. Job 38:32 Heb Mazzaroth
  11. Job 38:32 Lit sons
  12. Job 38:36 Or ibis
  13. Job 38:36 Or rooster

The Lord Speaks

38 Then the Lord spoke to Job(A) out of the storm.(B) He said:

“Who is this that obscures my plans(C)
    with words without knowledge?(D)
Brace yourself like a man;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.(E)

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?(F)
    Tell me, if you understand.(G)
Who marked off its dimensions?(H) Surely you know!
    Who stretched a measuring line(I) across it?
On what were its footings set,(J)
    or who laid its cornerstone(K)
while the morning stars(L) sang together(M)
    and all the angels[a](N) shouted for joy?(O)

“Who shut up the sea behind doors(P)
    when it burst forth from the womb,(Q)
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)

Footnotes

  1. Job 38:7 Hebrew the sons of God
  2. Job 38:31 Septuagint; Hebrew beauty
  3. Job 38:32 Or the morning star in its season
  4. Job 38:32 Or out Leo
  5. Job 38:33 Or their
  6. Job 38:36 That is, wisdom about the flooding of the Nile
  7. Job 38:36 That is, understanding of when to crow; the meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.