Job 38
38
God Speaks Now to Job
1Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
2“Who is this that darkens counsel [questioning my authority and wisdom]
By words without knowledge? [Job 35:16]
3“Now #38:3 A phrase often found in the Bible that is an urgent call to get ready for immediate action, or it may be a call to prepare for a coming action or event. The phrase is related to the type of clothing worn in ancient times. To keep from impeding the wearer during any vigorous activity, e.g. battle, exercise, strenuous work, etc., the loose ends of garments (tunics, cloaks, mantles, etc.) had to be gathered up and tucked into the girdle. The girdle was a band about six inches wide that had fasteners in front. It was worn around the loins (the midsection of the body between the lower ribs and the hips). Gird up your mind or gird up your heart are examples of variants of this phrase and call for mental or spiritual preparation for a coming challenge.gird up your loins like a man,
And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!
4“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know and have understanding.
5“Who determined the measurements [of the earth], if you know?
Or who stretched the [measuring] line on it?
6“On what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7When the morning stars sang together
And all the sons of God (angels) shouted for joy?
8¶“Or who enclosed the sea with doors
When it burst forth and went out of the womb;
9When I made the clouds its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,
10And marked for it My [appointed] boundary
And set bars and doors [defining the shorelines], [Jer 5:22]
11And said, ‘This far you shall come, but no farther;
And here your proud waves shall stop’? [Ps 89:9; 93:4]
God’s Mighty Power
12¶“Since your days began, have you ever commanded the morning,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
13So that light may take hold of the corners of the earth
And shake the wickedness out of it?
14“The earth is changed like clay into which a seal is pressed;
And the things [of the earth] stand out like a [multi-colored] garment.
15“Their light is withheld from the wicked,
And the uplifted arm is broken.
16¶“Have you entered and explored the springs of the sea
Or [have you] walked in the recesses of the deep?
17“Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
18“Have you understood the expanse of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.
19¶“Where is the #38:19 Light travels on a path or “way” through empty space at 299,792,458 meters per second (approximately 186,282 miles per second).way where light dwells?
And as for darkness, where is its place,
20That you may take it to its territory
And that you may know the paths to its house?
21“You [must] know, since you were born then,
And #38:21 Lit the number of your days is great.because you are so extremely old!
22“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23Which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
For the day of battle and war? [Ex 9:18; Josh 10:11; Is 30:30; Rev 16:21]
24“Where is the way that the light is distributed,
Or the east wind scattered over the earth?
25¶“Who has prepared a channel for the torrents of rain and for the flood,
Or a path for the thunderbolt,
26To bring rain on the uninhabited land,
And on the desert where no man lives,
27To satisfy the barren and desolate ground
And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?
28“Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29“Out of whose womb has come the ice?
And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?
30“Water becomes like stone [and hides itself],
And the surface of the deep is frozen and imprisoned.
31¶“Can you bind the chains of [the cluster of stars called] Pleiades,
Or loose the cords of [the constellation] Orion?
32“Can you lead forth a #38:32 Heb Mazzaroth.constellation in its season,
And guide [the stars of] the Bear with her #38:32 Or satellites.sons?
33“Do you know the ordinances of the heavens,
Or [can you] establish their rule over the earth?
34¶“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
So that an abundance of water will cover you?
35“Can you send forth lightnings that they may go
And say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36“Who has put wisdom in the innermost being [of man, or in the layers of clouds]
Or given understanding to the mind [of man, or to the heavenly display]?
37“Who can count the clouds by [earthly] wisdom,
Or pour out the water jars of the heavens,
38When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together [because of the heat]?
39¶“Can you [Job] hunt the prey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions
40When they crouch in their dens
And lie in wait in their lair?
41“Who provides prey for the raven
When its young cry to God
And wander about without food?
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Job 38
38
The LORD Answers Job
1Then out of the storm the LORD spoke to Job.
The LORD
2Who are you to question my wisdom
with your ignorant, empty words?
3Now stand up straight
and answer the questions I ask you.
4Were you there when I made the world?
If you know so much, tell me about it.
5Who decided how large it would be?
Who stretched the measuring line over it?
Do you know all the answers?
6What holds up the pillars that support the earth?
Who laid the cornerstone of the world?
7In the dawn of that day the stars sang together,
and the heavenly beings#38.7 heavenly beings: See 1.6. shouted for joy.
8 #
Jer 5.22
Who closed the gates to hold back the sea#38.8 to hold back the sea: See 26.12.
when it burst from the womb of the earth?
9It was I who covered the sea with clouds
and wrapped it in darkness.
10I marked a boundary for the sea
and kept it behind bolted gates.
11I told it, “So far and no farther!
Here your powerful waves must stop.”
12Job, have you ever in all your life
commanded a day to dawn?
13Have you ordered the dawn to seize the earth
and shake the wicked from their hiding places?
14Daylight makes the hills and valleys stand out
like the folds of a garment,
clear as the imprint of a seal on clay.
15The light of day is too bright for the wicked
and restrains them from deeds of violence.
16Have you been to the springs in the depths of the sea?
Have you walked on the floor of the ocean?
17Has anyone ever shown you the gates
that guard the dark world of the dead?
18Have you any idea how big the world is?
Answer me if you know.
19Do you know where the light comes from
or what the source of darkness is?
20Can you show them how far to go,
or send them back again?
21I am sure you can, because you're so old
and were there when the world was made!
22Have you ever visited the storerooms,
where I keep the snow and the hail?
23I keep them ready for times of trouble,
for days of battle and war.
24Have you been to the place where the sun comes up,
or the place from which the east wind blows?
25Who dug a channel for the pouring rain
and cleared the way for the thunderstorm?
26Who makes rain fall where no one lives?
27Who waters the dry and thirsty land,
so that grass springs up?
28Does either the rain or the dew have a father?
29Who is the mother of the ice and the frost,
30which turn the waters to stone
and freeze the face of the sea?
31 #
Job 9.9; Amos 5.8 Can you tie the Pleiades together
or loosen the bonds that hold Orion?
32Can you guide the stars season by season
and direct the Great and the Little Bear?
33Do you know the laws that govern the skies,
and can you make them apply to the earth?
34Can you shout orders to the clouds
and make them drench you with rain?
35And if you command the lightning to flash,
will it come to you and say, “At your service”?
36Who tells the ibis#38.36 ibis: A bird in ancient Egypt that was believed to announce the flooding of the River Nile. when the Nile will flood,
or who tells the cock that rain will fall?#38.36 Verse 36 in Hebrew is unclear.
37Who is wise enough to count the clouds
and tilt them over to pour out the rain,
38rain that hardens the dust into lumps?
39Do you find food for lions to eat,
and satisfy hungry young lions
40when they hide in their caves,
or lie in wait in their dens?
41Who is it that feeds the ravens
when they wander about hungry,
when their young cry to me for food?
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.