Job 38
International Standard Version
The Lord Speaks to Job
38 The Lord responded to Job from the whirlwind and said:
2 “Who is this who keeps darkening my counsel
without knowing what he’s talking about?
3 Stand up[a] like a man!
I’ll ask you some questions,
and you give me some answers!”
On the Natural World
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of my earth?
Tell me,[b] since you’re so informed!
5 Who set its measurement? Am I to assume you know?
Who stretched a boundary line over it?
6 On what were its bases set?
Who laid its corner stone
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the divine beings[c] shouted joyfully?
8 “Who[d] enclosed the sea with limits[e]
when it gushed out of the womb,
9 when I made clouds to be its clothes
and thick darkness its swaddling blanket,
10 when I proscribed a boundary for it,
set in place bars and doors for it;
11 and said, ‘You may come only this far and no more.
Your majestic waves will stop here.’?
12 “Have you ever commanded the morning at any time during your life?[f]
Do you know where the dawn lives,
13 where it seizes the edge of the earth
and shakes the wicked out of it?
14 Like clay is molded by a signet ring,
the earth’s hills and valleys[g] then stand out
like the colors of a garment.
15 Then from the wicked their light is withheld
and their upraised arm is broken.
16 “Have you been to the source of the sea
and walked about in the recesses of the deepest ocean?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
18 Do you understand the breadth of the earth?
Tell me, since you know it all!
19 “Where is the road to where the light lives?
Or where does the darkness live?
20 Can you take it to its homeland,
since you know the path to his house?
21 You should know! After all, you had been born back then,
so the number of your days is great!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
or seen where the hail is stored,
23 which I’ve reserved for the tribulation to come,
for the day of battle and war?
24 Where is the lightning diffused
or the east wind scattered around the earth?
25 “Who cuts canals for storm floods,
and paths for the lightning and thunder,
26 to bring rain upon a land without inhabitants,
a desert in which no human beings live,
27 to satisfy a desolate and devastated desert,
causing it to sprout vegetation?
28 “Does the rain have a father?
Who fathered the dew?
29 Whose womb brings forth the ice?
Who gives birth to frost out of an empty[h] sky,
30 when water solidifies[i] like stone
and the surface of the deepest sea freezes?
On the Heavens
31 “Can you bind the chains of Pleiades
or loosen the cords of Orion?
32 Can you bring out constellations in their season?
Can you guide the Bear with her cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you regulate their authority over the earth?
34 “Can you call out to the clouds,
so that abundant water drenches you?
35 Can you command the lightning,
so that it goes forth and calls to you, ‘Look at us!’[j]
36 “Who sets wisdom within you,
or imbues your mind with understanding?
37 Who has the wisdom to be able to count the clouds,
or to empty[k] the water jars of heaven,
38 when dust dries into a mass
and then breaks apart into clods?
On the Animal World
39 “Can you hunt prey for the lioness
to satisfy young lions
40 when they crouch in their dens
and lie in ambush in their lairs?
41 Who prepares food for the raven,
when its offspring cry out to God
as they wander for lack of food?”
Footnotes
- Job 38:3 Lit. Gird up your loins
- Job 38:4 Or declare
- Job 38:7 Lit. sons of God
- Job 38:8 Lit. and he
- Job 38:8 Lit. doors
- Job 38:12 Lit. morning in your days
- Job 38:14 The Heb. lacks the earth’s hills and valleys
- Job 38:29 The Heb. lacks an empty
- Job 38:30 Or harden
- Job 38:35 Lit. Here we are
- Job 38:37 Lit. cause to rest, lie down
Job 38
Easy-to-Read Version
God Speaks to Job
38 Then the Lord spoke to Job from a whirlwind and said,
2 “Who is this ignorant person
saying these foolish things?[a]
3 Prepare yourself for an attack!
Get ready to answer the questions I will ask you.
4 “Where were you when I made the earth?
If you are so smart, answer me.
5 And who decided how big the earth should be?
Who measured it with a measuring line?
6 What is the earth resting on?
Who put the first stone in its place
7 when the morning stars sang together
and the angels[b] shouted with joy?
8 “Who closed the flood gates
as the sea gushed from the womb?
9 Who covered it with clouds
and wrapped it in darkness?
10 I set the limits for the sea
and put it behind locked gates.
11 I said to the sea, ‘You can come this far, but no farther.
This is where your proud waves will stop.’
12 “Did you ever in your life command the morning to begin
or the day to dawn?
13 Did you ever tell the morning light to grab the earth
and shake those who are evil out of their hiding places?
14 The morning light makes the hills
and valleys easy to see.
When the daylight comes to the earth,
the shapes of these places stand out like the folds of a coat.
They take shape like soft clay
that is pressed with a stamp.
15 Evil people don’t like the daylight.
When it shines bright, it keeps them from doing the bad things they do.
16 “Have you ever gone to the deepest parts of the sea?
Have you ever walked on the ocean bottom?
17 Has anyone shown you the gates to the world of the dead?
Have you ever seen those gates that lead to the dark place of death?
18 Do you really understand how big the earth is?
Tell me, if you know all this.
19 “Where does light come from?
Where does darkness come from?
20 Can you take them back to where they belong?
Do you know how to get there?
21 Surely you know these things, since you are so old and wise.
You were alive when I made them, weren’t you?[c]
22 “Have you ever gone into the storerooms
where I keep the snow and the hail?
23 I save them there for times of trouble,
for the times of war and battle.
24 Have you ever gone to the place where the sun comes up,
where it makes the east wind blow all over the earth?[d]
25 Who dug ditches in the sky for the heavy rain?
Who made a path for the thunderstorm?
26 Who makes it rain even in desert places
where no one lives?
27 The rain gives that dry empty land all the water it needs,
and grass begins to grow.
28 Does the rain have a father?
Who produces the drops of dew?
29 Does ice have a mother?
Who gives birth to the frost?
30 That’s when the water freezes as hard as a rock.
Even the deep sea freezes over!
31 “Can you tie up the Pleiades[e]?
Can you unfasten the belt of Orion[f]?
32 Can you bring out the other constellations[g] at the right times?
Can you lead out the Bear[h] with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws that control the sky?
Can you put each star in its place above the earth?[i]
34 “Can you shout at the clouds
and command them to cover you with rain?
35 Can you give a command to the lightning?
Will it come to you and say, ‘Here we are; what do you want, sir?’
Will it go wherever you want it to go?
36 “Who makes people wise?
Who puts wisdom deep inside them?
37 Who is wise enough to count the clouds
and tip them over to pour out their rain?
38 The rain makes the dust become mud,
and the clumps of dirt stick together.
39 “Do you find food for the lions?
Do you feed their hungry babies?
40 No, they hide in their caves
or wait in the grass, ready to attack their prey.
41 Who feeds the ravens when their babies cry out to God
and wander around without food?
Footnotes
- Job 38:2 Or “Who is this person darkening advice with ignorant words.”
- Job 38:7 angels Literally, “sons of God.”
- Job 38:21 This is sarcasm—saying something in a way that everyone understands it is not really true.
- Job 38:24 Or “Where is the place that the fog disperses and the place where the east wind scatters it all over the earth?”
- Job 38:31 Pleiades A famous group of stars. It is often called, “The Seven Sisters.”
- Job 38:31 Orion A famous group of stars. It looks like a hunter or powerful soldier.
- Job 38:32 constellations Groups of stars in the night sky. Here, this probably means the twelve constellations of the Zodiac. They seem to pass through the sky so that a new constellation is in a certain part of the sky each month.
- Job 38:32 Bear A famous group of stars. It looks like a bear. It is often called, “the Big Dipper.” Near it is a smaller constellation that looks like a small bear. It is often called, “the Little Dipper.”
- Job 38:33 Can you … earth Or “Can you put it in charge over the earth?”
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