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37 At this also my heart pounds
and leaps from its place.
2 Listen carefully[a] to the thunder of his voice,
to the rumbling[b] that proceeds from his mouth.
3 Under the whole heaven he lets it go,
even his lightning to the far corners[c] of the earth.
4 After that a voice roars;
he thunders with an exalted voice,
and he does not hold back his lightning bolts[d]
when his voice is heard.
5 God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways;[e]
he does great things beyond our understanding.[f]
6 For to the snow he says, ‘Fall[g] to earth,’
and to the torrential rains,[h] ‘Pour down.’[i]
7 He causes everyone to stop working,[j]
so that all people[k] may know[l] his work.
8 The wild animals go to their lairs,
and in their dens they remain.
9 A tempest blows out from its chamber,
icy cold from the driving winds.[m]
10 The breath of God produces ice,
and the breadth of the waters freeze solid.
11 He loads the clouds with moisture;[n]
he scatters his lightning through the clouds.
12 The clouds[o] go round in circles,
wheeling about according to his plans,
to carry out[p] all that he commands them
over the face of the whole inhabited world.
13 Whether it is for punishment,[q]
or for his land,
or for mercy,
he causes it to find its mark.[r]
14 “Pay attention to this, Job!
Stand still and consider the wonders God works.
15 Do you know how God commands them,[s]
how he makes lightning flash in his storm cloud?[t]
16 Do you know about the balancing[u] of the clouds,
that wondrous activity of him who is perfect in knowledge?
17 You, whose garments are hot
when the earth is still because of the south wind,
18 will you, with him, spread out[v] the clouds,
solid as a mirror of molten metal?
19 Tell us what we should[w] say to him.
We cannot prepare a case[x]
because of the darkness.
20 Should he be informed that I want[y] to speak?
If a man speaks, surely he will be swallowed up!
21 But now, the sun[z] cannot be looked at[aa]—
it is bright in the skies—
after a wind passed and swept the clouds away.[ab]
22 From the north he comes in golden splendor;[ac]
around God is awesome majesty.
23 As for the Almighty,[ad] we cannot attain to him!
He is great in power,
but justice[ae] and abundant righteousness he does not oppress.
24 Therefore people fear him,
for he does not regard all the wise in heart.”[af]
VI. The Divine Speeches (38:1-42:6)
The Lord’s First Speech[ag]
38 Then the Lord answered[ah] Job out of the whirlwind:[ai]
2 “Who is this[aj] who darkens counsel[ak]
with words without knowledge?
3 Get ready for a difficult task[al] like a man;
I will question you
and you will inform me.
God’s questions to Job
4 “Where were you
when I laid the foundation[am] of the earth?
Tell me,[an] if you possess understanding.
5 Who set its measurements—if[ao] you know—
or who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what[ap] were its bases[aq] set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 when the morning stars[ar] sang[as] in chorus,[at]
and all the sons of God[au] shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up[av] the sea with doors
when it burst forth,[aw] coming out of the womb,
9 when I made[ax] the storm clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,[ay]
10 when I prescribed[az] its limits,
and set in place[ba] its bolts and doors,
11 when I said, ‘To here you may come[bb]
and no farther,[bc]
here your proud waves will be confined’?[bd]
12 Have you ever in your life[be] commanded the morning,
or made the dawn know[bf] its place,
13 that it might seize the corners of the earth,[bg]
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;[bh]
its features[bi] are dyed[bj] like a garment.
15 Then from the wicked the light is withheld,
and the arm raised in violence[bk] is broken.[bl]
16 Have you gone to the springs that fill the sea,[bm]
or walked about in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you?[bn]
Have you seen the gates of deepest darkness?[bo]
18 Have you considered the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know it all.
19 “In what direction[bp] does light reside,
and darkness, where is its place,
20 that you may take them to their borders
and perceive the pathways to their homes?[bq]
21 You know, for you were born before them;[br]
and the number of your days is great!
22 Have you entered the storehouse[bs] of the snow,
or seen the armory[bt] of the hail,
23 which I reserve for the time of trouble,
for the day of war and battle?[bu]
24 In what direction is lightning[bv] dispersed,
or the east winds scattered over the earth?
25 Who carves out a channel for the heavy rains,
and a path for the rumble of thunder,
26 to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land,[bw]
a wilderness where there are no human beings,[bx]
27 to satisfy a devastated and desolate land,
and to cause it to sprout with vegetation?[by]
28 Does the rain have a father,
or who has fathered the drops of the dew?
29 From whose womb does the ice emerge,
and the frost from the sky,[bz] who gives birth to it,
30 when the waters become hard[ca] like stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen solid?
31 Can you tie the bands[cb] of the Pleiades,
or release the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead out
the constellations[cc] in their seasons,
or guide the Bear with its cubs?[cd]
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens,
or can you set up their rule over the earth?
34 Can you raise your voice to the clouds
so that a flood of water covers you?[ce]
35 Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go?
Will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the heart,[cf]
or has imparted understanding to the mind?
37 Who by wisdom can count the clouds,
and who can tip over[cg] the water jars of heaven,
38 when the dust hardens[ch] into a mass,
and the clumps of earth stick together?
39 “Do you hunt prey for the lioness,
and satisfy the appetite[ci] of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens,
when they wait in ambush in the thicket?
41 Who prepares prey for the raven,
when its young cry out to God
and wander about[cj] for lack of food?
39 “Are you acquainted with the way[ck]
the mountain goats[cl] give birth?
Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young?
2 Do you count the months they must fulfill,
and do you know the time they give birth?[cm]
3 They crouch, they bear[cn] their young,
they bring forth the offspring they have carried.[co]
4 Their young grow strong, and grow up in the open;[cp]
they go off, and do not return to them.
5 Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who released the bonds of the donkey,
6 to whom I appointed the arid rift valley[cq] for its home,
the salt wastes as its dwelling place?
7 It scorns the tumult in the town;
it does not hear the shouts of a driver.[cr]
8 It ranges the hills as its pasture,
and searches after every green plant.
9 Is the wild ox willing to be your servant?
Will it spend the night at your feeding trough?
10 Can you bind the wild ox[cs] to a furrow with its rope,
will it till the valleys, following after you?
11 Will you rely on it because its strength is great?
Will you commit[ct] your labor to it?
12 Can you count[cu] on it to bring in[cv] your grain,[cw]
and gather the grain[cx] to your threshing floor?[cy]
13 [cz] “The wings of the ostrich[da] flap with joy,[db]
but are they the pinions and plumage of a stork?[dc]
14 For she leaves[dd] her eggs on the ground,
and lets them be warmed on the soil.
15 She forgets that a foot might crush them,
or that a wild animal[de] might trample them.
16 She is harsh[df] with her young,
as if they were not hers;
she is unconcerned about the uselessness of her labor.
17 For God deprived her of wisdom,
and did not impart understanding to her.
18 But as soon as she springs up,[dg]
she laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 “Do you give the horse its strength?
Do you clothe its neck with a mane?[dh]
20 Do you make it leap[di] like a locust?
Its proud neighing[dj] is terrifying!
21 It[dk] paws the ground in the valley,[dl]
exulting mightily,[dm]
it goes out to meet the weapons.
22 It laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
it does not shy away from the sword.
23 On it the quiver rattles;
the lance and javelin[dn] flash.
24 In excitement and impatience it consumes the ground;[do]
it cannot stand still[dp] when the trumpet is blown.
25 At the sound of the trumpet, it says, ‘Aha!’
And from a distance it catches the scent of battle,
the thunderous shouting of commanders,
and the battle cries.
26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,[dq]
and spreads its wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command[dr] that the eagle soars,
and builds its nest on high?
28 It lives on a rock and spends the night there,
on a rocky crag[ds] and a fortress.[dt]
29 From there it spots[du] its prey,[dv]
its eyes gaze intently from a distance.
30 And its young ones devour the blood,
and where the dead carcasses[dw] are,
there it is.”
13 But since we have the same spirit of faith as that shown in[a] what has been written, “I believed; therefore I spoke,”[b] we also believe, therefore we also speak. 14 We do so[c] because we know that the one who raised up Jesus[d] will also raise us up with Jesus and will bring us with you into his presence. 15 For all these things are for your sake, so that the grace that is including[e] more and more people may cause thanksgiving to increase[f] to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not despair,[g] but even if our physical body[h] is wearing away, our inner person[i] is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary, light suffering[j] is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison 18 because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
Living by Faith, Not by Sight
5 For we know that if our earthly house, the tent we live in,[k] is dismantled,[l] we have a building from God, a house not built by human hands, that is eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this earthly house[m] we groan, because we desire to put on[n] our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed, after we have put on[o] our heavenly house,[p] we will not be found naked. 4 For we groan while we are in this tent,[q] since we are weighed down,[r] because we do not want to be unclothed, but clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose[s] is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.[t] 6 Therefore we are always full of courage, and we know that as long as we are alive here on earth[u] we are absent from the Lord— 7 for we live[v] by faith, not by sight. 8 Thus we are full of courage and would prefer to be away[w] from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So then whether we are alive[x] or away, we make it our ambition to please him.[y] 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,[z] so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil.[aa]
9 But[a] you rejected and embarrassed us.
You did not go into battle with our armies.[b]
10 You made us retreat[c] from the enemy.
Those who hate us take whatever they want from us.[d]
11 You handed us[e] over like sheep to be eaten;
you scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold[f] your people for a pittance;[g]
you did not ask a high price for them.[h]
13 You made us[i] an object of disdain to our neighbors;
those who live on our borders taunt and insult us.[j]
14 You made us[k] an object of ridicule[l] among the nations;
foreigners treat us with contempt.[m]
15 All day long I feel humiliated[n]
and am overwhelmed with shame,[o]
16 before the vindictive enemy
who ridicules and insults me.[p]
17 All this has happened to us, even though we have not rejected you[q]
or violated your covenant with us.[r]
18 We have not been unfaithful,[s]
nor have we disobeyed your commands.[t]
19 Yet you have battered us, leaving us a heap of ruins overrun by wild dogs;[u]
you have covered us with darkness.[v]
20 If we had rejected our God,[w]
and spread out our hands in prayer to another god,[x]
21 would not God discover it,
for he knows[y] a person’s secret thoughts?[z]
22 Yet because of you[aa] we are killed all day long;
we are treated like[ab] sheep at the slaughtering block.[ac]
23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?
Wake up![ad] Do not reject us forever.
24 Why do you look the other way,[ae]
and ignore[af] the way we are oppressed and mistreated?[ag]
25 For we lie in the dirt,
with our bellies pressed to the ground.[ah]
26 Rise up and help us.
Rescue us[ai] because of your loyal love.
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