Job 38-42

Easy-to-Read Version

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?

39 “Do you know when the mountain goats are born?
    Do you watch when the mother deer gives birth?
² Do you know how many months they must carry their babies?
    Do you know when it is the right time for them to be born?
³ These animals lie down, they feel their birth pains,
    and their babies are born.
⁴ Their babies grow strong out in the wild.
    Then they leave their mothers and never come back.

⁵ “Who let the wild donkeys go free?
    Who untied their ropes and let them loose?
⁶ I let the wild donkey have the desert for a home.
    I gave the salt lands to them for a place to live.
⁷ They are happy to be away from the noise of the city.
    They never have to listen to their drivers shouting at them.
⁸ They live in the mountains.
    That is their pasture.
    That is where they look for food to eat.

⁹ “Will a wild bull agree to serve you?
    Will he stay in your barn at night?
¹⁰ Will he let you put ropes on him
    to plow your fields?
¹¹ A wild bull is very strong,
    but can you trust him to do your work?
¹² Can you trust him to gather your grain
    and bring it to your threshing place?

¹³ “An ostrich gets excited and flaps its wings, but it cannot fly.
    Its wings and feathers are not like the wings of a stork.
¹⁴ An ostrich lays her eggs on the ground
    and lets the sand keep them warm.
¹⁵ The ostrich forgets that someone might step on her eggs
    or that a wild animal might break them.
¹⁶ An ostrich leaves her little babies.
    She treats them as if they were not her own.
    If her babies die, she does not care that all her work was for nothing.
¹⁷ That’s because I did not give wisdom to the ostrich.
    She is foolish, and I made her that way.
¹⁸ But when the ostrich gets up to run, she laughs at the horse and its rider,
    because she can run faster than any horse.

¹⁹ “Did you give the horse its strength?
    Did you put the mane^[j] on its neck?
²⁰ Did you make it able to jump like a locust
    or snort^[k] so loudly that it scares people?
²¹ A horse is happy to be so strong.
    It scratches the ground with its foot and runs into battle.
²² It laughs at fear; nothing makes it afraid!
    It does not run away from battle.
²³ The soldier’s quiver shakes on the horse’s side.
    The spear and weapons its rider carries shine in the sun.
²⁴ The horse gets very excited and races over the ground.^[l]
    When it hears the trumpet blow, it cannot stand still.
²⁵ When the trumpet sounds, it snorts, ‘Hurray!’
    It can smell the battle from far away
    and hear the shouts of commanders with all the other sounds of battle.

²⁶ “Did you teach the hawk how to spread its wings and fly south^[m]?
²⁷ Are you the one who told the eagle^[n] to fly high into the sky?
    Did you tell it to build its nest high in the mountains?
²⁸ It lives high on a peak at the top of a cliff.
    That is its fortress.
²⁹ From there it looks far into the distance,
    searching for its food.
³⁰ The eagles gather around dead bodies,
    and their young eat the blood.”

² “You wanted to argue with God All-Powerful.
    You wanted to correct me and prove that I was wrong.
    So give me your answer!”

⁴ “I am not worthy to speak!
    What can I say to you?
I cannot answer you!
    I will put my hand over my mouth.
⁵ I spoke once, but I will not speak again.
    I spoke twice, but I will not say anything more.”

⁷ “Brace yourself^[o]
    and get ready to answer the questions I will ask you.

⁸ “Are you trying to show that I am unfair?
    Are you trying to look innocent by saying that I am guilty?
⁹ Are your arms as strong as mine?
    Do you have a voice like mine that is as loud as thunder?
¹⁰ If so, you can be proud
    and wear glory and honor like clothes.
¹¹ If you are as powerful as God, then show your anger!
    Punish those who are proud and humble them.
¹² Yes, just look at the proud and make them humble.
    Crush those evil people where they stand.
¹³ Bury them all in the dirt.
    Wrap their bodies up and put them in their graves.
¹⁴ If you can do any of these things, then even I will praise you.
    And I will admit that you can save yourself by your own power.

¹⁵ “Look at the behemoth.^[p]
    I made the behemoth, and I made you.
    He eats grass like a cow.
¹⁶ But he has great strength in his body.
    The muscles in his stomach are powerful.
¹⁷ His tail stands strong like a cedar tree.
    His leg muscles are very strong.
¹⁸ His bones are as strong as bronze.
    His legs are like iron bars.
¹⁹ The behemoth is the most amazing animal I made,
    but I can defeat him.
²⁰ He eats the grass that grows on the hills
    where the wild animals play.
²¹ He lies under the lotus plants.
    He hides among the reeds of the swamp.
²² The lotus plants hide him in their shade.
    He lives under the willow trees that grow near the river.
²³ If the river floods, the behemoth will not run away.
    He is not afraid if the Jordan River splashes on his face.
²⁴ No one can blind his eyes and capture him.
    No one can catch him in a trap.

41 “Can you catch Leviathan^[q] with a fishhook?
    Can you tie his tongue with a rope?
² Can you put a rope through his nose
    or a hook through his jaw?
³ Will he beg you to let him go free?
    Will he speak to you with gentle words?
⁴ Will he make an agreement with you
    and promise to serve you forever?
⁵ Will you play with Leviathan as you would play with a bird?
    Will you put a rope on him so that your girls can play with him?
⁶ Will fishermen try to buy him from you?
    Will they cut him into pieces and sell him to the merchants?
⁷ Can you throw spears into his skin or head?

⁸ “If you ever lay a hand on Leviathan, you will never do it again!
    Just think about the battle that would be!
⁹ Do you think you can defeat him?
    Well, forget it! There is no hope.
    Just looking at him will scare you!
¹⁰ No one is brave enough to wake him up
    and make him angry.

“Well, no one can challenge me either!^[r]
11 I owe nothing to anyone.
    Everything under heaven belongs to me.^[s]

¹² “I will tell you about Leviathan’s legs,
    his strength, and his graceful shape.
¹³ No one can pierce his skin.
    It is like armor!^[t]
14 No one can force him to open his jaws.
    The teeth in his mouth scare people.
¹⁵ His back has rows of shields
    tightly sealed together.
¹⁶ They are so close to each other
    that no air can pass between them.
¹⁷ The shields are joined to each other.
    They hold together so tightly that they cannot be pulled apart.
¹⁸ When Leviathan sneezes, it is like lightning flashing out.
    His eyes shine like the light of dawn.
¹⁹ Burning torches come from his mouth.
    Sparks of fire shoot out.
²⁰ Smoke pours from his nose
    like burning weeds under a boiling pot.
²¹ His breath sets coals on fire,
    and flames shoot from his mouth.
²² His neck is very powerful.
    People are afraid and run away from him.
²³ There is no soft spot in his skin.
    It is as hard as iron.
²⁴ His heart is like a rock; he has no fear.
    It is as hard as a millstone.
²⁵ When he gets up, even the strongest people^[u] are afraid.
    They run away when he swings his tail.
²⁶ Swords, spears, and darts only bounce off when they hit him.
    These weapons don’t hurt him at all!
²⁷ He breaks iron as easily as straw.
    He breaks bronze like rotten wood.
²⁸ Arrows don’t make him run away.
    Rocks thrown at him seem as light as chaff.
²⁹ When a wood club hits him, it feels to him like a piece of straw.
    He laughs when anyone throws a spear at him.
³⁰ The skin on his belly is like sharp pieces of broken pottery.
    He leaves tracks in the mud like a threshing board.
³¹ He stirs up the water like a boiling pot.
    He makes it bubble like a pot of boiling oil.
³² When he swims, he leaves a sparkling path behind him.
    He stirs up the water and makes it white with foam.
³³ No animal on earth is like him.
    He is an animal made without fear.
³⁴ He looks down on the proudest of creatures.
    He is king over all the wild animals.”

² “I know you can do everything.
    You make plans, and nothing can change or stop them.
³ You asked, ‘Who is this ignorant person saying these foolish things?’^[v]
    I talked about things I did not understand.
    I talked about things too amazing for me to know.

⁴ “You said to me, ‘Listen, and I will speak.
    I will ask you questions, and you will answer me.’
⁵ In the past I heard about you,
    but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
⁶ And I am ashamed of myself.^[w]
    I am so sorry.
As I sit in the dust and ashes,^[x]
    I promise to change my heart and my life.”