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
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
VIII. The Lord and Job Meet
Chapter 38
1 Then the Lord[a] answered Job out of the storm and said:
2 Who is this who darkens counsel
with words of ignorance?
3 Gird up your loins[b] now, like a man;
I will question you, and you tell me the answers!(A)
4 Where were you when I founded the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its size? Surely you know?
Who stretched out the measuring line for it?
6 Into what were its pedestals sunk,
and who laid its cornerstone,
7 While the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God[c] shouted for joy?
8 Who shut within doors the sea,
when it burst forth from the womb,(B)
9 When I made the clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling bands?
10 When I set limits for it
and fastened the bar of its door,
11 And said: Thus far shall you come but no farther,
and here shall your proud waves stop?
12 Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning
and shown the dawn its place
13 For taking hold of the ends of the earth,
till the wicked are shaken from it?
14 The earth is changed as clay by the seal,
and dyed like a garment;
15 But from the wicked their light is withheld,
and the arm of pride is shattered.
16 Have you entered into the sources of the sea,
or walked about on the bottom of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you,
or have you seen the gates of darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell me, if you know it all.
19 What is the way to the dwelling of light,
and darkness—where is its place?
20 That you may take it to its territory
and know the paths to its home?
21 You know, because you were born then,
and the number of your days is great![d]
22 Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
and seen the storehouses of the hail
23 Which I have reserved for times of distress,
for a day of war and battle?(C)
24 What is the way to the parting of the winds,
where the east wind spreads over the earth?
25 Who has laid out a channel for the downpour
and a path for the thunderstorm
26 To bring rain to uninhabited land,
the unpeopled wilderness;
27 To drench the desolate wasteland
till the desert blooms with verdure?
28 Has the rain a father?
Who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 Out of whose womb comes the ice,
and who gives the hoarfrost its birth in the skies,
30 When the waters lie covered as though with stone
that holds captive the surface of the deep?
31 Have you tied cords to the Pleiades,[e]
or loosened the bonds of Orion?
32 Can you bring forth the Mazzaroth in their season,
or guide the Bear with her children?
33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens;
can you put into effect their plan on the earth?
34 Can you raise your voice to the clouds,
for them to cover you with a deluge of waters?
35 Can you send forth the lightnings on their way,
so that they say to you, “Here we are”?
36 Who gives wisdom to the ibis,
and gives the rooster[f] understanding?
37 Who counts the clouds with wisdom?
Who tilts the water jars of heaven
38 So that the dust of earth is fused into a mass
and its clods stick together?
39 Do you hunt the prey for the lion
or appease the hunger of young lions,
40 While they crouch in their dens,
or lie in ambush in the thicket?
41 Who provides nourishment for the raven
when its young cry out to God,(D)
wandering about without food?
Footnotes
- 38:1 Now the Lord enters the debate and addresses two discourses (chaps. 38–39 and 40–41) to Job, speaking of divine wisdom and power. Such things are altogether beyond the capacity of Job. Out of the storm: frequently the background of the appearances of the Lord in the Old Testament; cf. Ps 18; 50; Na 1:3; Hb 3:2–15.
- 38:3 Gird up your loins: prepare for combat—figuratively, be ready to defend yourself in debate.
- 38:7 Sons of God: see note on 1:6.
- 38:21 Ironic, but not a harsh rebuke.
- 38:31–32 Pleiades…Orion…Bear: cf. 9:9. Mazzaroth: it is uncertain what astronomical group is meant by this Hebrew word; perhaps a southern constellation.
- 38:36 Ibis…rooster: the translation is uncertain.
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