Job 38
38
The LORD answers from a whirlwind
1Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:
2Who is this darkening counsel
with words lacking knowledge?
3Prepare yourself like a man;
I will interrogate you, and you will respond to me.
The establishing of order
4Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations?
Tell me if you know.
5Who set its measurements? Surely you know.
Who stretched a measuring tape on it?
6On what were its footings sunk;
who laid its cornerstone,
7while the morning stars sang in unison
and all the divine beings shouted?
8Who enclosed the Sea#38.8 Heb Yam, a sea god behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9when I made the clouds its garment,
the dense clouds its wrap,
10when I imposed#38.10 Heb uncertain my limit for it,
put on a bar and doors
11and said, “You may come this far, no farther;
here your proud waves stop”?
12In your lifetime have you commanded the morning,
informed the dawn of its place
13so it would take hold of earth by its edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
14Do you turn it over like clay for a seal,
so it stands out like a colorful garment?
15Light is withheld from the wicked,
the uplifted arm broken.
The vast beyond
16Have you gone to the sea’s sources,
walked in the chamber of the deep?
17Have death’s gates been revealed to you;
can you see the gates of deep darkness?
18Have you surveyed earth’s expanses?
Tell me if you know everything about it.
19Where’s the road to the place where light dwells;
darkness, where’s it located?
20Can you take it to its territory;
do you know the paths to its house?
21You know, for you were born then;
you have lived such a long time!#38.21 Or the number of your days is many
22Have you gone to snow’s storehouses,
seen the storehouses of hail
23that I have reserved for a time of distress,
for a day of battle and war?
24What is the way to the place where light is divided up;
the east wind scattered over earth?
Meteorological facts
25Who cut a channel for the downpours
and a way for blasts of thunder
26to bring water to uninhabited land,
a desert with no human
27to saturate dry wasteland
and make grass sprout?
28Has the rain a father
who brought forth drops of dew?
29From whose belly does ice come;
who gave birth to heaven’s frost?
30Water hardens like stone;
the surface of the deep thickens.
31Can you bind Pleiades’ chains
or loosen the reins of Orion?
32Can you guide the stars
at their proper times,
lead the Bear with her cubs?
33Do you know heaven’s laws,
or can you impose its rule on earth?
34Can you issue an order to the clouds
so their abundant waters cover you?
35Can you send lightning so that it goes
and then says to you, “I’m here”?
36Who put wisdom in remote places,
or who gave understanding to a rooster?#38.36 Heb uncertain
37Who is wise enough to count the clouds,
and who can tilt heaven’s water containers
38so that dust becomes mud
and clods of dirt adhere?
Lion and raven
39Can you hunt prey for the lion
or fill the cravings of lion cubs?
40They lie in their den,
lie in ambush in their lair.
41Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry to God,
move about without food?
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Job 38: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Job 38
38
The Lord Questions Job
1Then the Lord answered Job from the storm. He said:
2“Who is this that makes my purpose unclear
by saying things that are not true?
3Be strong like a man.
I will ask you questions,
and you must answer me.
4Where were you when I made the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5Who marked off how big it should be?
Surely you know!
6What were the earth’s foundations set on?
Or who put its cornerstone in place?
7Who did all this while the morning stars sang together?
Who did this while the angels shouted with joy?
8“Who shut the doors to keep the sea in
when it broke through and was born?
9This was when I made the clouds like a coat for the sea.
And I wrapped the sea in dark clouds.
10It was when I put limits on the sea.
And I put its doors and bars in place.
11It was when I said to the sea, ‘You may come this far, but no farther.
This is where your proud waves must stop.’
12“Have you ever given orders for morning to begin?
Or have you shown the dawn where its place was?
13The dawn takes hold of earth by its edges
and shakes evil people out of it.
14At dawn the earth changes like clay being pressed by a seal.
The hills and valleys stand out like folds in a coat.
15Light is not given to evil people.
Their arm is raised to do harm, but it is broken.
16“Have you ever gone to where the sea begins?
Or have you walked in the valleys under the sea?
17Have the gates of death been opened to you?
Or have you seen the gates of the deep darkness?
18Do you understand the great width of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all these things.
19“What is the path to light’s home?
And where does darkness live?
20Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the way to their homes?
21Surely you know, if you were already born when all this happened!
Have you lived that many years?
22“Have you ever gone into the storehouse where snow is kept?
Or have you seen the storehouses for hail?
23I save the snow and hail for times of trouble.
I save them for days of war and battle.
24How do you get to the place where light comes from?
Or where is the place from which the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25Who cuts a waterway for the heavy rains?
And who sets a path for the thunderstorm to follow?
26Who waters the land where no one lives?
Who waters the desert that has no one in it?
27Who sends rain to satisfy the empty land
so the grass begins to grow?
28Does the rain have a father?
Who is father to the drops of dew?
29Who is the mother of the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the sky?
30The waters become hard as stone.
Even the surface of the deep ocean is frozen.
31“Can you tie up the stars of the Pleiades?
Can you loosen the ropes of the stars in Orion?
32Can you bring out the stars at the right times?
Or can you lead out the stars of the Bear with its cubs?
33Do you know the laws of the sky?
Can you understand their rule over the earth?
34“Can you shout an order to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35Can you send lightning bolts on their way?
Do the flashes of lightning report to you and say, ‘Here we are’?
36Who put wisdom inside the mind?
Or who put understanding in the heart?
37Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can pour water from the jars of heaven?
38Who can do this when the dust becomes hard
and the clumps of dirt stick together?
39“Do you hunt food for the female lion
to satisfy the hunger of the young lions?
40Do you hunt for them while they lie in their dens
or hide in the bushes waiting to attack?
41Who gives food to the birds
when their young cry out to God?
And who gives them food when they wander about without any?
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.