Job 38 | New International Reader’s Version

New International Reader’s Version

The Lord speaks

1 The LORD spoke to Job out of a storm. He said, 2 ‘Who do you think you are to disagree with my plans? You do not know what you are talking about. 3 Get ready to stand up for yourself. I will ask you some questions. Then I want you to answer me. 4 ‘Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you know. 5 Who measured it? I am sure you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? 6 What was it built on? Who laid its most important stone? 7 When it happened, the morning stars sang together. All the angels shouted with joy. 8 ‘Who created the ocean? Who caused it to be born? 9 I put clouds over it as if they were its clothes. I wrapped it in thick darkness. 10 I set limits for it. I put its doors and metal bars in place. 11 I said, “You can come this far. But you can’t come any further. Here is where your proud waves have to stop.” 12 ‘Job, have you ever commanded the morning to come? Have you ever shown the sun where to rise? 13 The daylight takes the earth by its edges as if it were a blanket. Then it shakes sinful people out of it. 14 The earth takes shape like clay stamped with an official’s mark. Its features stand out like the different parts of your clothes. 15 Sinners would rather have darkness than light. When the light comes, their power is broken. 16 ‘Have you travelled to the springs at the bottom of the ocean? Have you walked in its deepest parts? 17 Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness? 18 Do you understand how big the earth is? Tell me, if you know all these things. 19 ‘Where does light come from? And where does darkness live? 20 Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their houses? 21 I am sure you know! After all, you were already born! You have lived so many years! 22 ‘Have you entered the places where the snow is kept? Have you seen the storerooms for the hail? 23 I store up snow and hail for times of trouble. I keep them for days of war and battle. 24 Where does lightning come from? Where do the east winds live that blow across the earth? 25 Who tells the rain where it should fall? Who makes paths for the thunderstorms? 26 They bring water to places where no one lives. They water deserts that do not have anyone in them. 27 They satisfy the needs of dry and empty lands. They make grass start growing there. 28 Does the rain have a father? Who is the father of the drops of dew? 29 Does the ice have a mother? Who is the mother of the frost from the heavens? 30 The waters become as hard as stone. The surface of the ocean freezes over. 31 ‘Can you tie up the cords of the Pleiades? Can you untie the belt that Orion wears? 32 Can you bring out all the stars in their seasons? Can you lead out the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper? 33 Do you know the laws that govern the heavens? Can you rule over the earth the way I do? 34 ‘Can you give orders to the clouds? Can you make them pour rain down on you? 35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, “Here we are”? 36 Who gives the ibis wisdom? Who gives the cockerel understanding? 37 Who is wise enough to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens? 38 I tip them over when the ground becomes hard. I do it when the soil sticks together. 39 ‘Do you hunt for food for mother lions? Do you satisfy the hunger of their cubs? 40 Some of them lie low in their dens. Others lie waiting in the bushes. 41 Who provides food for ravens when their babies cry out to me? They wander around because they do not have anything to eat.

English Standard Version

The Lord Answers Job

1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: (Job 13:22; Job 40:6) 2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? (Job 35:16; Job 42:3) 3 Dress for action^[1] like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. (1Ki 18:46) 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. (Ps 104:5; Pr 8:24; Pr 30:4; Isa 40:12)

Ps 104:5Pr 8:24Pr 30:4Isa 40:12

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 sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 1:6; Ps 19:1; Lu 2:13) 8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, (Ge 1:9; Ps 33:7; Ps 104:8; Jer 5:22)

Ge 1:9Ps 33:7Ps 104:8Jer 5:22

9 when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, (Job 22:13) 10 and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, (Job 38:33) 11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’? (Ps 65:7; Ps 89:9; Ps 93:4) 12 “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, (Ps 65:8; Ps 74:16) 13 that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? (Ne 5:13; Job 37:3) 14 It is changed like clay under the seal, and its features stand out like a garment. 15 From the wicked their light is withheld, and their uplifted arm is broken. (Job 18:5; Job 24:13; Ps 10:15; Ps 37:17; Eze 30:21; Mt 6:23)

Job 18:5Job 24:13Ps 10:15Ps 37:17Eze 30:21Mt 6:23

16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? (Ps 77:19) 17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? (Job 3:5; Ps 9:13; Ps 107:18; Isa 38:10; Mt 16:18)

Job 3:5Ps 9:13Ps 107:18Isa 38:10Mt 16:18

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 the paths to its home? (Job 24:13) 21 You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great! (Job 15:7) 22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, (Ps 135:7) 23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war? (Jos 10:11; Job 37:13; Isa 28:17; Isa 30:30; Eze 13:11; Eze 13:13; Eze 38:22; Re 16:21)

Jos 10:11Job 37:13Isa 28:17Isa 30:30Eze 13:11Eze 13:13Eze 38:22Re 16:21

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 a way for the thunderbolt, (Job 28:26) 26 to bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no man, (Job 37:13; Ps 107:35) 27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground sprout with grass? (Ge 1:11; 2Sa 23:4) 28 “Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew? (Ps 147:8; Jer 14:22) 29 From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the frost of heaven? (Ps 147:16) 30 The waters become hard like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. (Job 37:10) 31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion? (Job 9:9; Am 5:8) 32 Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth^[2] in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children? (Job 38:31) 33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth? (Jer 31:35) 34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of waters may cover you? (Job 22:11) 35 Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’? 36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts^[3] or given understanding to the mind?^[4] (Job 32:8; Ps 51:6) 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 the clods stick fast together? (Job 21:33) 39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, (Ps 104:21) 40 when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in their thicket? (Job 37:8; Ps 17:12) 41 Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and wander about for lack of food? (Ps 147:9; Mt 6:26; Lu 12:24)