Job 38
Names of God Bible
The Lord Speaks: Who Is Able to Challenge Me?
38 Then Yahweh answered Job out of the storm.
2 “Who is this that belittles my advice
with words that do not show any knowledge about it?
3 Brace yourself like a man!
I will ask you, and you will teach me.
The Lord Speaks about Creation
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me if you have such insight.
5 Who determined its dimensions?
Certainly, you know!
Who stretched a measuring line over it?
6 On what were its footings sunk?
Who laid its cornerstone
7 when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of Elohim shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut the sea behind gates
when it burst through and came out of the womb,
9 when I clothed it with clouds
and wrapped it up in dark clouds,
10 when I set a limit for it
and put up bars and gates,
11 when I said, ‘You may come this far but no farther.
Here your proud waves will stop’?
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning
or assigned a place for the dawn
13 so that it could grab the earth by its edges
and shake wicked people out of it?
14 The earth changes like clay stamped by a seal,
and parts of it stand out like folds in clothing.
15 Wicked people are deprived of their light,
and an arm raised in victory is broken.
16 Have you gone to the springs in the sea
or walked through the valleys of the ocean depths?
17 Have the gateways to death been revealed to you,
or have you seen the gateways to total darkness?
18 Have you even considered how wide the earth is?
Tell me, if you know all of this!
19 “What is the way to the place where light lives?
Where is the home of darkness
20 so that you may lead it to its territory,
so that you may know the path to its home?
21 You must know because you were born then
and have lived such a long time!
22 Have you been to the warehouses where snow is stored
or seen the warehouses for hail
23 that I have stored up for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?
24 Which is the way to the place where light is scattered
and the east wind is spread across the earth?
25 “Who made a channel for the flooding rains
and a path for the thunderstorms
26 to bring rain on a land where no one lives,
on a desert where there are no humans,
27 to saturate the desolate wasteland
in order to make it sprout with grass?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Who gave birth to the dewdrops?
29 From whose womb came the ice,
and who has given birth to the frost in the air?
30 The water hardens like a stone,
and the surface of the ocean freezes over.
31 “Can you connect the chains of the constellation Pleiades
or untie the ropes of Orion?
32 Can you bring out the constellations at the right time
or guide Ursa Major with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the sky
or make them rule the earth?
34 Can you call to the clouds
and have a flood of water cover you?
35 Can you send lightning flashes so that they may go and say to you,
‘Here we are’?
36 Who put wisdom in the heart
or gave understanding to the mind?[a]
37 Who is wise enough to count the clouds
or pour out the water jars of heaven
38 when the dirt hardens into clumps
and the soil clings together?
The Lioness
39 “Can you hunt prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of her cubs
40 as they crouch in their dens
and lie ready to ambush from their lairs?
The Crow
41 “Who provides food for the crow
when its young ones cry to El
and wander around in need of food?
Footnotes
- Job 38:36 Hebrew meaning uncertain.
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.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.