Job 38
38
The Lord Speaks
From Out of a Storm
1From out of a storm,
the Lord said to Job:
2Why do you talk so much
when you know so little?
3Now get ready to face me!
Can you answer
the questions I ask?
4How did I lay the foundation
for the earth?
Were you there?
5Doubtless you know who decided
its length and width.
6What supports the foundation?
Who placed the cornerstone,
7 #
Ba 3.34. while morning stars sang,
and angels rejoiced?
8 #
Jr 5.22. When the ocean was born,
I set its boundaries
9and wrapped it in blankets
of thickest fog.
10Then I built a wall around it,
locked the gates, 11and said,
“Your powerful waves stop here!
They can go no farther.”
Did You Ever Tell the Sun To Rise?
12Did you ever tell the sun to rise?
And did it obey?
13Did it take hold of the earth
and shake out the wicked
like dust from a rug?
14Early dawn outlines the hills
like stitches on clothing
or sketches on clay.
15But its light is too much
for those who are evil,
and their power is broken.
16Job, have you ever walked
on the ocean floor?
17Have you seen the gate
to the world of the dead?
18And how large is the earth?
Tell me, if you know!
19Where is the home of light,
and where does darkness live?
20Can you lead them home?
21I'm certain you must be able to,
since you were already born
when I created everything.
22Have you been to the places
where I keep snow and hail,
23until I use them to punish
and conquer nations?
24From where does lightning leap,
or the east wind blow?
25Who carves out a path
for thunderstorms?
Who sends torrents of rain
26on empty deserts
where no one lives?
27Rain that changes barren land
to meadows green with grass.
28Who is the father of the dew
and of the rain?
29Who gives birth to the sleet
and the frost
30that fall in winter,
when streams and lakes
freeze solid as a rock?
Can You Arrange Stars?
31 #
Job 9.9; Am 5.8. Can you arrange stars in groups
such as Orion
and the Pleiades?
32Do you control the stars
or set in place the Big Dipper
and the Little Dipper?
33Do you know the laws
that govern the heavens,
and can you make them rule
the earth?
34Can you order the clouds
to send a downpour,
35or will lightning flash
at your command?
36Did you teach birds to know
that rain or floods
are on their way?#38.36 way: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 36.
37Can you count the clouds
or pour out their water
38on the dry, lumpy soil?
39When lions are hungry,
do you help them hunt?
40Do you send an animal
into their den?
41And when starving young ravens
cry out to me for food,
do you satisfy their hunger?
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Job 38: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
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.