Job 38
1 And the Lord made answer to Job out of the storm-wind, and said,
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
2 Who is this who makes the purpose of God dark by words without knowledge?
Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Get your strength together like a man of war; I will put questions to you, and you will give me the answers.
Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
4 Where were you when I put the earth on its base? Say, if you have knowledge.
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 By whom were its measures fixed? Say, if you have wisdom; or by whom was the line stretched out over it?
Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its pillars based, or who put down its angle-stone,
Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
7 When the morning stars made songs together, and all the sons of the gods gave cries of joy?
When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 Or where were you when the sea came to birth, pushing out from its secret place;
[Or who] shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, [as if] it had issued out of the womb;
9 When I made the cloud its robe, and put thick clouds as bands round it,
When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
10 Ordering a fixed limit for it, with locks and doors;
And prescribed for it my decree, and set bars and doors,
11 And said, So far you may come, and no farther; and here the pride of your waves will be stopped?
And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
12 Have you, from your earliest days, given orders to the morning, or made the dawn conscious of its place;
Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days [began, and] caused the dayspring to know its place;
13 So that it might take a grip of the skirts of the earth, shaking all the evil-doers out of it?
That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?
14 It is changed like wet earth under a stamp, and is coloured like a robe;
It is changed as clay under the seal; and [all things] stand forth as a garment:
15 And from the evil-doers their light is kept back, and the arm of pride is broken.
And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm is broken.
16 Have you come into the springs of the sea, walking in the secret places of the deep?
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the doors of death been open to you, or have the door-keepers of the dark ever seen you?
Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Have you taken note of the wide limits of the earth? Say, if you have knowledge of it all.
Hast thou comprehended the breadth of the earth? declare, if thou knowest it all.
19 Which is the way to the resting-place of the light, and where is the store-house of the dark;
Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and as for darkness, where is the place thereof;
20 So that you might take it to its limit, guiding it to its house?
That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?
21 No doubt you have knowledge of it, for then you had come to birth, and the number of your days is great.
[Doubtless], thou knowest, for thou wast then born, and the number of thy days is great!
22 Have you come into the secret place of snow, or have you seen the store-houses of the ice-drops,
Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, or hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail,
23 Which I have kept for the time of trouble, for the day of war and fighting?
Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
24 Which is the way to the place where the wind is measured out, and the east wind sent out over the earth?
By what way is the light parted, or the east wind scattered upon the earth?
25 By whom has the way been cut for the flowing of the rain, and the flaming of the thunder;
Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood, or a way for the lightning of the thunder;
26 Causing rain to come on a land where no man is living, on the waste land which has no people;
To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
27 To give water to the land where there is waste and destruction, and to make the dry land green with young grass?
To satisfy the waste and desolate [ground]; and to cause the tender grass to spring forth?
28 Has the rain a father? or who gave birth to the drops of night mist?
Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
29 Out of whose body came the ice? and who gave birth to the cold mist of heaven?
Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
30 The waters are joined together, hard as a stone, and the face of the deep is covered.
The waters are hidden as [with] stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
31 Are the bands of the Pleiades fixed by you, or are the cords of Orion made loose?
Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
32 Do you make Mazzaroth come out in its right time, or are the Bear and its children guided by you?
Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? or canst thou guide the Bear with her train?
33 Have you knowledge of the laws of the heavens? did you give them rule over the earth?
Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?
34 Is your voice sent up to the cloud, so that you may be covered by the weight of waters?
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?
35 Do you send out the thunder-flames, so that they may go, and say to you, Here we are?
Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?
36 Who has put wisdom in the high clouds, or given knowledge to the lights of the north?
Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the mind?
37 By whose wisdom are the clouds numbered, or the water-skins of the heavens turned to the earth,
Who can number the clouds by wisdom? or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,
38 When the earth becomes hard as metal, and is joined together in masses?
When the dust runneth into a mass, and the clods cleave fast together?
39 Do you go after food for the she-lion, or get meat so that the young lions may have enough,
Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lioness? or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 When they are stretched out in their holes, and are waiting in the brushwood?
When they couch in their dens, [and] abide in the covert to lie in wait?
41 Who gives in the evening the meat he is searching for, when his young ones are crying to God; when the young lions with loud noise go wandering after their food?
Who provideth for the raven his food, when his young ones cry unto God, [and] wander for lack of meat?
