Job 38

The LORD speaks to Job ^{▼▼38:0 In chapters 38 to 41, God speaks to Job. He tells Job all about himself. He tells Job how he made the world and the stars. He tells Job about all the animals that he has made. He tells Job about the biggest animals in the world. Job could not catch such animals – but God made them.} ^{▼▼38:0 There are a lot of things that only God knows. Job does not know these things. There are a lot of things that only God can do. Job cannot do any of these things. All God’s words show that only he is really wise. And only he is really powerful. And only he is always fair.}

1 While a storm continued, the LORD spoke to Job. And this is what he said.

2 ‘You have asked many questions about the things that I do, Job.

But you do not really understand the things that you say.

3 Now be brave, and listen to me.

There are many things that I want to tell you.

4 You were not there when I made the world.

If you know so many things, tell me about that.

5 I decided how large the world should be.

I am sure that you know that!

6 You do not know how I made the world.

But it was I who put it in the right place.

7 When I did this, the angels sang. They were so happy.

And even the stars seemed to sing, too.

8 At the beginning of time, I made the sea.

I decided where it should begin. And I decided how far it should go.

9 Above the sea, I made the clouds.

And everything was dark.

10 I decided where the land would be.

And the sea could not come there.

11 I said to the sea, “This is as far as you can come.

This is where you must stop.”

12 You, Job, have never said when night should end.

And you could not tell the morning when it should start.

13 Bad things happen at night. And when day comes, they stop.

But you could not tell the light when to cover the earth.

14 When the day comes, people can see things clearly.

And the shape of the earth becomes clear, like someone who is wearing a coat.

15 The light of day is too bright for people who do bad things.

In the day, they stop doing things that are wrong.

16 You have not explored where the water in the sea comes from.

Nor have you gone to the deepest part of the sea.

17 You have not seen the place where dead people go.

Nor do you know the way to that place.

18 You do not understand how big the world is.

Tell me, Job, if you know all these things.

19 You do not know where light comes from.

And you do not know how the dark begins.

20 You do not know where to find them.

You do not know how to get there.

21 But you have lived for many years.

So perhaps you do know all these things.

22 You have not visited the place where I keep all the snow.

And you have not seen the place where I keep the hail.

23 I keep the snow and the hail until trouble comes.

I keep them to use when there are wars.

24 You do not understand where lightning comes from.

Nor do you know how the wind from the east blows over the earth.

25 I decide where the rivers should go.

And I tell the storm which way to go.

26 I send the rain to places where no one lives.

And it falls in the desert.

27 It falls on ground where there has been no rain for a long time.

And it makes the grass grow again.

28 The rain does not have a father.

No one knows where dew comes from.

29 Ice does not have a mother.

No one knows why the ground is cold and hard in the morning.

30 In very cold weather, water becomes hard like stone.

And there is even ice on top of the sea.

31 You cannot tie together the beautiful Pleiades.

And you cannot change the shape of Orion.

32 You cannot put the stars in the right place at different times of the year.

And you cannot tell the Great Bear and Little Bear where they should go in the sky. ^{▼▼38:32 Pleiades, Orion, the Great Bear and the Little Bear are groups of stars.}

33 You do not know how everything in the sky stays in the right place.

And you do not understand, either, how I rule the earth.

34 You cannot speak to the clouds.

You cannot tell them to cover the earth with water.

35 You cannot send the lightning to the place where it must go.

Even if you tried to do that, nothing would happen.

36 Wisdom does not come from you, Job.

And you do not understand everything about the weather, either.

37 You are not clever enough to count the clouds.

Nor can you send water from the sky, like a person who pours it from a pot.

38 Rain can make the soil wet.

But you cannot cause the rain to fall.

39 You do not look for food to feed hungry lions.

The mother of the young lions does that herself.

40 She looks for food while the young lions hide in their holes.

She brings them food while they wait in the bushes.

41 You do not feed the ravens.

When the young ravens are hungry, they ask me for food.’