Job 38:1-41
38 Then Jehovah answered Job out of the windstorm:+
2 “Who is this who is obscuring my counselAnd speaking without knowledge?+
3 Brace yourself, please, like a man;I will question you, and you inform me.
4 Where were you when I founded the earth?+
Tell me, if you think you understand.
5 Who set its measurements, in case you know,Or who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 Into what were its pedestals sunk,Or who laid its cornerstone,+
7 When the morning stars+ joyfully cried out together,And all the sons of God*+ began shouting in applause?
8 And who barricaded the sea behind doors+When it burst out from the womb,
9 When I clothed it with cloudsAnd wrapped* it in thick gloom,
10 When I established my limit for itAnd put its bars and doors in place,+
11 And I said, ‘You may come this far, and no farther;Here is where your proud waves will stop’?+
12 Have you ever* commanded the morningOr made the dawn know its place,+
13 To take hold of the ends of the earthAnd to shake the wicked out of it?+
14 It is transformed like clay under a seal,And its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 But the light of the wicked is held back from them,And their uplifted arm is broken.
16 Have you gone down to the sources of the seaOr explored the deep waters?+
17 Have the gates of death+ been revealed to you,Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?*+
18 Have you understood the vast expanse of the earth?+
Tell me, if you know all of this.
19 In which direction does the light reside?+
And where is the place of darkness,
20 That you should take it to its territoryAnd understand the paths to its home?
21 Do you know this because you were already bornAnd the number of your years* is great?
22 Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,+Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,+
23 Which I have reserved for the time of distress,For the day of battle and war?+
24 From what direction is light* dispersed,And from where does the east wind blow on the earth?+
25 Who has cut a channel for the floodAnd made a path for the thunderous storm cloud,+
26 To make it rain where no man lives,On the wilderness where there are no humans,+
27 To satisfy devastated wastelandsAnd cause the grass to sprout?+
28 Does the rain have a father,+Or who fathered the dewdrops?+
29 From whose womb did the ice emerge,And who gave birth to the frost of heaven+
30 When the waters are covered as if with stone,And the surface of the deep waters is frozen solid?+
31 Can you tie the ropes of the Kiʹmah constellation*Or untie the cords of the Keʹsil constellation?*+
32 Can you lead out a constellation* in its seasonOr guide the Ash constellation* along with its sons?
33 Do you know the laws governing the heavens,+Or can you impose their* authority on the earth?
34 Can you raise your voice to the cloudsTo cause a flood of water to cover you?+
35 Can you send out lightning bolts?
Will they come and say to you, ‘Here we are!’
36 Who put wisdom within the clouds*+Or gave understanding to the sky phenomenon?*+
37 Who is wise enough to count the clouds,Or who can tip over the water jars of heaven+
38 When the dust pours into a massAnd the clods of earth stick together?
39 Can you hunt prey for a lionOr satisfy the appetites of young lions+
40 When they crouch in their lairsOr lie in ambush in their dens?
41 Who prepares food for the raven+When its young cry to God for helpAnd wander about because there is nothing to eat?
Footnotes
^ A Hebrew idiom that refers to angelic sons of God.
^ Or “swaddled.”
^ Lit., “in your days.”
^ Or “death’s shadow.”
^ Lit., “days.”
^ Or possibly, “lightning.”
^ Possibly the Pleiades stars in the Taurus constellation.
^ Possibly the Orion constellation.
^ Lit., “Mazzaroth.” At 2Ki 23:5, the related term in plural form refers to the constellations of the zodiac.
^ Possibly the Great Bear constellation (Ursa Major).
^ Or possibly, “His.”
^ Or possibly, “within man.”
^ Or possibly, “to the mind.”
