Job 38-39 | ESV | STEP | Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said :

1 Then the Lord ^aanswered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

2 “Who is this that ^bdarkens counsel by words ^cwithout knowledge?
3 ^dDress for action ^{▼▼Hebrew Gird up your loins} like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
4 “Where were you when I ^flaid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars ^gsang together
and all ^hthe sons of God ⁱshouted for joy?
8 “Or who ^jshut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,
9 when I made clouds its garment
and ^kthick darkness its swaddling band,
10 and prescribed ^llimits for it
and set bars and doors,
11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your ^mproud waves be stayed’?
12 “Have you ⁿcommanded the morning since your days began,
and caused the dawn to know its place,
13 that it might take hold of ^othe skirts of the earth,
and the wicked be ^pshaken out of it?
14 It is changed like clay under the seal,
and its features stand out like a garment.
15 From the wicked their ^qlight is withheld,
and ^rtheir uplifted arm is broken.
16 “Have you ^sentered into the springs of the sea,
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have ^tthe gates of death been revealed to you,
or have you seen the gates of ^udeep darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
Declare, if you know all this.
19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
and where is the place of darkness,
20 that you may take it to its territory
and that you may discern ^vthe paths to its home?
21 You know, for ^wyou were born then,
and the number of your days is great!
22 “Have you entered ^xthe storehouses of the snow,
or have you seen ^ythe storehouses of the hail,
23 which I have reserved ^zfor the time of trouble,
^aafor the day of battle and war?
24 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?
25 “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain
and ^aba way for the thunderbolt,
26 to bring rain on ^aca land where no man is,
on ^adthe desert in which there is no man,
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground sprout with ^aegrass?
28 “Has ^afthe rain a father,
or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb did ^agthe ice come forth,
and who has given birth to ^ahthe frost of heaven?
30 The waters become hard like stone,
and the face of the deep is ^aifrozen.
31 “Can you bind the chains of ^ajthe Pleiades
or loose the cords of ^akOrion?
32 Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth ^{▼▼Probably the name of a constellation} in their season,
or can you guide ^amthe Bear with its children?
33 Do you know ^anthe ordinances of the heavens?
Can you establish their rule on the earth?
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
that ^aoa flood of waters may cover you?
35 Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go
and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has ^apput wisdom in ^aqthe inward parts ^{▼▼Or in the ibis}
or given understanding to the mind? ^{▼▼Or rooster}
37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
38 when the dust runs into a mass
and ^atthe clods stick fast together?
39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
or ^ausatisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their ^avdens
or lie in wait ^awin their thicket?
41 Who provides for ^axthe raven its prey,
when its young ones cry to God for help,
and wander about for lack of food?

Job 39

1 “Do you know when ^aythe mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe ^azthe calving of the does?
2 Can you number the months that they fulfill,
and do you know the time when they give birth,
3 when they ^bacrouch, bring forth their offspring,
and are delivered of their young?
4 Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open;
they go out and ^bbdo not return to them.
5 “Who has let the wild donkey go free?
Who has ^bcloosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
6 to whom I have given ^bdthe arid plain for his home
and ^bethe salt land for his dwelling place?
7 He scorns the tumult of the city;
he hears not the shouts of the driver.
8 He ranges the mountains as his pasture,
and he searches after every green thing.
9 “Is ^bfthe wild ox willing to serve you?
Will he spend the night at your ^bgmanger?
10 Can you bind ^bhhim in the furrow with ropes,
or will he harrow the valleys after you?
11 Will you depend on him because his strength is great,
and will you leave to him your labor?
12 Do you have faith in him that he will return your grain
and gather it to your threshing floor?
13 “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,
but are they the pinions and plumage of love? ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain}
14 For she leaves her eggs to the earth
and lets them be warmed on the ground,
15 forgetting that a foot may crush them
and that the wild beast may trample them.
16 She ^bjdeals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers;
though her ^bklabor be in vain, yet she has no fear,
17 because God has made her forget wisdom
and ^blgiven her no share in understanding.
18 When she rouses herself to flee, ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain}
she laughs at the horse and his rider.
19 “Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
20 Do you make him leap like the locust?
His majestic ^bnsnorting is terrifying.
21 He paws ^{▼▼Hebrew They paw} in the valley and exults in his strength;
he ^bpgoes out to meet the weapons.
22 He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
he does not turn back from the sword.
23 Upon him rattle the quiver,
the flashing spear, and the javelin.
24 With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground;
he cannot stand still at ^bqthe sound of the trumpet.
25 When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’
He smells the battle from afar,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars
and spreads his wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
and makes his ^brnest on high?
28 On the rock he dwells and makes his home,
on ^bsthe rocky crag and stronghold.
29 From there he spies out the prey;
his eyes behold it from far away.
30 His young ones suck up blood,
and ^btwhere the slain are, there is he.”