Job 38

God Speaks Now to Job

1 Then the Lord ^aanswered Job out of the whirlwind and said, 2 “Who is this that ^bdarkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
3 “Now ^cgird up your loins like a man,
And ^dI will ask you, and you instruct Me!
4 “Where were you ^ewhen I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you ^{▼▼ Lit know understanding}have understanding,
5 Who set its ^gmeasurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the line on it?
6 “On what ^hwere its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars sang together
And all the ⁱsons of God shouted for joy?

8 “Or who ^jenclosed the sea with doors
When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;
9 When I made a cloud its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 And I ^{▼▼ Lit broke My decree on it
,} ^lplaced 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’?

God’s Mighty Power

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 take hold of ⁿthe ends of the earth,
And ^othe wicked be shaken out of it?
14 “It is changed like clay under the seal;
And they stand forth like a garment.
15 ^p“From the wicked their light is withheld,
And the ^quplifted arm is broken.

16 “Have you entered into ^rthe 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 ^tdeep darkness?
18 “Have you understood the ^{▼▼ Or width}expanse of ^vthe earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.

19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,
20 That you may take it to ^wits territory
And that you may discern the paths to its ^{▼▼ Lit house}home?
21 “You know, for ^yyou were born then,
And the number of your days is great!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses ^zof the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the ^aahail,
23 Which I have reserved for the time of distress,
For the day of war and battle?
24 “Where is the way that ^abthe light is divided,
Or the east wind scattered on the earth?

25 “Who has cleft a channel for the flood,
Or a way for the thunderbolt,
26 To bring ^acrain on a land without ^{▼▼ Lit man}people,
On a desert without a man in it,
27 To ^aesatisfy the waste and desolate land
And to make the ^{▼▼ Or growth}seeds of grass to sprout?
28 “Has ^agthe rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 “From whose womb has come the ^ahice?
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 is imprisoned.

31 “Can you bind the chains of the ^ajPleiades,
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 ^amordinances of the heavens,
Or fix their rule over the earth?

34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
So that an ^anabundance of water will cover you?
35 “Can you ^aosend forth lightnings that they may go
And say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 “Who has ^apput wisdom in the innermost being
Or given ^aqunderstanding to the ^{▼▼ Or rooster}mind?
37 “Who can count the clouds by wisdom,
Or ^astip the water jars of the heavens,
38 When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together?

39 “Can you hunt the ^atprey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 When they ^aucrouch in their dens
And lie in wait in their lair?
41 “Who prepares for ^avthe raven its nourishment
When its young cry to God
And wander about without food?