Job 38

Yahweh Answers Job

1 Then Yahweh answered Job out of the ^{▼▼Or storm}whirlwind and said,

2 “Who is this that darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
3 “Now gird up your loins like a man,
And I will ask you, and you make Me know!
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know understanding,
5 Who set its measurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the line on it?
6 “On what were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars sang together
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 “Or who enclosed the sea with doors
When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb,
9 When I made a cloud its garment
And dense gloom its swaddling band,
10 And I ^{▼▼Lit broke My decree on it}placed boundaries on it
And set a bolt and doors,
11 And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther;
And here shall your proud waves stop’?

Yahweh Answers Job, “Have You?”

12 “Have you ^{▼▼Lit from your days}ever in your life commanded the morning,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
13 That it might seize the ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?
14 “It is changed like clay under the seal;
And they stand forth like clothing.
15 “From the wicked their light is withheld,
And the arm raised high is broken.
16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea
Or walked ^{▼▼Or in search of}in the recesses of the deep?
17 “Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 “Have you carefully considered the ^{▼▼Or width}expanse of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.
19 “Where is the way to where the light dwells?
And darkness, where is its place,
20 That you may take it to its territory
And that you may discern the paths to its ^{▼▼Lit house}home?
21 “You know, for you were born then,
And the number of your days is great!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 Which I have reserved for the time of distress,
For the day of war and battle?
24 “Where is the way that the light is divided,
Or the east wind scattered on the earth?
25 “Who has cleft a conduit for the flood,
Or a way for the thunderbolt,
26 To bring rain on a land without ^{▼▼Lit man}people,
On a desert without a man in it,
27 To satisfy the waste and desolate land
And to make the growth of grass to sprout?
28 “Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 “From whose womb has come the ice?
And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?
30 “Water ^{▼▼Lit hides itself}becomes hard like stone,
And the surface of the deep ^{▼▼Or is frozen}is interlocked.
31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades,
Or loose the cords of Orion?
32 “Can you lead forth a ^{▼▼Heb Mazzaroth}constellation in its season,
And guide the Bear with her ^{▼▼Lit sons}satellites?
33 “Do you know the statutes of the heavens,
Or fix their rule over the earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice up to the clouds,
So that an abundance of water will cover you?
35 “Can you send forth lightnings that they may go
And say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 “Who has given wisdom in the ^{▼▼Or ibis}innermost being
Or given understanding to the ^{▼▼Or rooster}mind?
37 “Who can count the clouds by wisdom,
Or tip the water jars of the heavens,
38 When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together?

Yahweh Answers Job, “Where Were You?”

39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
Or fulfill the appetite of the young lions,
40 When they crouch in their dens
And lie in wait in their lair?
41 “Who prepares for the raven its provision
When its young cry for help to God
And wander about without food?