Job 38

The Lord Speaks

1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm. He said:

2 “Who is this that darkens my counsel
with words without knowledge?

3 Brace 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.

5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?

6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—

7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?

8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,

9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,

10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,

11 when 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,

13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?

14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.

15 The 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?

17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

18 Have 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?

20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?

21 Surely 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,

23 which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?

24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?

25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,

26 to water a land where no man lives,
a desert with no one in it,

27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?

28 Does the rain have a father?
Who fathers the drops of dew?

29 From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens

30 when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?

31 “Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades?
Can you loose the cords of Orion?

32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons
or lead out the Bear with its cubs?

33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set up God's dominion over the earth?

34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?

35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

36 Who endowed the heart with wisdom
or gave understanding to the mind?

37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens

38 when 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 lions

40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in a thicket?

41 Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?

JOB 38

The [Lord] Speaks

From Out of a Storm

1 From out of a storm,
the [Lord] said to Job:

2 Why do you talk so much
when you know so little?

3 Now get ready to face me!
Can you answer
the questions I ask?

4 How did I lay the foundation
for the earth?
Were you there?

5 Doubtless you know who decided
its length and width.

6 What supports the foundation?
Who placed the cornerstone,

7  t while morning stars sang,
and angels rejoiced?

8  t When the ocean was born,
I set its boundaries

9 and wrapped it in blankets
of thickest fog.

10 Then I built a wall around it,
locked the gates,

11 and said,
“Your powerful waves stop here!
They can go no farther.”

Did You Ever //Tell the Sun To Rise?

12 Did you ever tell the sun to rise?
And did it obey?

13 Did it take hold of the earth
and shake out the wicked
like dust from a rug?

14 Early dawn outlines the hills
like stitches on clothing
or sketches on clay.

15 But its light is too much
for those who are evil,
and their power is broken.

16 Job, have you ever walked
on the ocean floor?

17 Have you seen the gate
to the world of the dead?

18 And how large is the earth?
Tell me, if you know!

19 Where is the home of light,
and where does darkness live?

20 Can you lead them home?

21 I'm certain you must be able to,
since you were already born
when I created everything.

22 Have you been to the places
where I keep snow and hail,

23 until I use them to punish
and conquer nations?

24 From where does lightning leap,
or the east wind blow?

25 Who carves out a path
for thunderstorms?
Who sends torrents of rain

26 on empty deserts
where no one lives?

27 Rain that changes barren land
to meadows green with grass.

28 Who is the father of the dew
and of the rain?

29 Who gives birth to the sleet
and the frost

30 that fall in winter,
when streams and lakes
freeze solid as a rock?

Can You Arrange Stars?

31  t Can you arrange stars in groups
such as Orion
and the Pleiades?

32 Do you control the stars
or set in place the Big Dipper
and the Little Dipper?

33 Do you know the laws
that govern the heavens,
and can you make them rule
the earth?

34 Can you order the clouds
to send a downpour,

35 or will lightning flash
at your command?

36 Did you teach birds to know
that rain or floods
are on their way?t

37 Can you count the clouds
or pour out their water

38 on the dry, lumpy soil?

39 When lions are hungry,
do you help them hunt?

40 Do you send an animal
into their den?

41 And when starving young ravens
cry out to me for food,
do you satisfy their hunger?