1Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:2‘Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?3Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.4‘Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.5Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?6On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone –7while the morning stars sang together and all the angels[1] shouted for joy?8‘Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,9when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,10when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,11when I said, “This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt”?12‘Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place,13that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?14The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment.15The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken.16‘Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?17Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?18Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.19‘What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?20Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings?21Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years!22‘Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail,23which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?24What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?25Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,26to water a land where no-one lives, an uninhabited desert,27to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?28Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew?29From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens30when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen?31‘Can you bind the chains[2] of the Pleiades? Can you loosen Orion’s belt?32Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons[3] or lead out the Bear[4] with its cubs?33Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s[5] dominion over the earth?34‘Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?35Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, “Here we are”?36Who gives the ibis wisdom[6] or gives the cockerel understanding?[7]37Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens38when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together?39‘Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions40when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket?41Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?
Job 38
English Standard Version
The Lord Answers Job
1Then 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)3Dress 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)5Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?6On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone,7when 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)9when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, (Job 22:13)10and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, (Job 38:33)11and 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)13that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? (Ne 5:13; Job 37:3)14It is changed like clay under the seal, and its features stand out like a garment.15From 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)16“Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? (Ps 77:19)17Have 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)18Have 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,20that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home? (Job 24:13)21You 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)23which 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)24What 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)26to bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no man, (Job 37:13; Ps 107:35)27to 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)29From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the frost of heaven? (Ps 147:16)30The 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)32Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth[2] in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children? (Job 38:31)33Do 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)35Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’?36Who has put wisdom in the inward parts[3] or given understanding to the mind?[4] (Job 32:8; Ps 51:6)37Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,38when 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)40when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in their thicket? (Job 37:8; Ps 17:12)41Who 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)