Job 38
38
The LORD Speaks: Who Is Able to Challenge Me?
1Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm.
2“Who is this that belittles my advice
with words that do not show any knowledge ⌞about it⌟?
3Brace yourself like a man!
I will ask you, and you will teach me.
The LORD Speaks about Creation
4“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me if you have ⌞such⌟ insight.
5Who determined its dimensions?
Certainly, you know!
Who stretched a measuring line over it?
6On what were its footings sunk?
Who laid its cornerstone
7when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8“Who shut the sea behind gates
when it burst through and came out of the womb,
9when I clothed it with clouds
and wrapped it up in dark clouds,
10when I set a limit for it
and put up bars and gates,
11when I said, ‘You may come this far but no farther.
Here your proud waves will stop’?
12“Have you ever given orders to the morning
or assigned a place for the dawn
13so that it could grab the earth by its edges
and shake wicked people out of it?
14The earth changes like clay stamped by a seal,
and ⌞parts of it⌟ stand out like ⌞folds in⌟ clothing.
15Wicked people are deprived of their light,
and an arm raised ⌞in victory⌟ is broken.
16Have you gone to the springs in the sea
or walked through the valleys of the ocean depths?
17Have the gateways to death been revealed to you,
or have you seen the gateways to total darkness?
18Have you ⌞even⌟ considered how wide the earth is?
Tell me, if you know all of this!
19“What is the way to the place where light lives?
Where is the home of darkness
20so that you may lead it to its territory,
so that you may know the path to its home?
21You must know because you were born then
and have lived such a long time!
22Have you been to the warehouses where snow is stored
or seen the warehouses for hail
23that I have stored up for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?
24Which is the way to the place where light is scattered
and the east wind is spread across the earth?
25“Who made a channel for the flooding rains
and a path for the thunderstorms
26to bring rain on a land where no one lives,
on a desert where there are no humans,
27to saturate the desolate wasteland
in order to make it sprout with grass?
28Does the rain have a father?
Who gave birth to the dewdrops?
29From whose womb came the ice,
and who has given birth to the frost in the air?
30The water hardens like a stone,
and the surface of the ocean freezes over.
31“Can you connect the chains of the ⌞constellation⌟ Pleiades
or untie the ropes of Orion?
32Can you bring out the constellations at the right time
or guide Ursa Major with its cubs?
33Do you know the laws of the sky
or make them rule the earth?
34Can you call to the clouds
and have a flood of water cover you?
35Can you send lightning flashes so that they may go and say to you,
‘Here we are’?
36Who put wisdom in the heart
or gave understanding to the mind?
37Who is wise enough to count the clouds
or pour out the water jars of heaven
38when the dirt hardens into clumps
and the soil clings together?
The Lioness
39“Can you hunt prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of her cubs
40as they crouch in their dens
and lie ready to ambush from their lairs?
The Crow
41“Who provides food for the crow
when its young ones cry to God
and wander around in need of food?
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Job 38: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Job 38
38
The Lord Answers Job
1Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:
2“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3Gird up your loins like a man,
I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
4“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone
7when the morning stars sang together
and all the heavenly beings#38.7 Heb sons of God shouted for joy?
8“Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb?—
9when I made the clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors,
11and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stopped’?
12“Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
and caused the dawn to know its place,
13so that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,
and the wicked be shaken out of it?
14It is changed like clay under the seal,
and it is dyed#38.14 Cn: Heb and they stand forth like a garment.
15Light is withheld from the wicked,
and their uplifted arm is broken.
16“Have you entered into the springs of the sea,
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
18Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
Declare, if you know all this.
19“Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
and where is the place of darkness,
20that you may take it to its territory
and that you may discern the paths to its home?
21Surely you know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great!
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?
24What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?
25“Who has cut a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a way for the thunderbolt,
26to bring rain on a land where no one lives,
on the desert, which is empty of human life,
27to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground put forth grass?
28“Has the rain a father,
or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29From whose womb did the ice come forth,
and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven?
30The waters become hard like stone,
and the face of the deep is frozen.
31“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades,
or loose the cords of Orion?
32Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season,
or can you guide the Bear with its children?
33Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you establish their rule on the earth?
34“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
so that a flood of waters may cover you?
35Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go
and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36Who has put wisdom in the inward parts,#38.36 Meaning of Heb uncertain
or given understanding to the mind?#38.36 Meaning of Heb uncertain
37Who has the wisdom to number the clouds?
Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
38when the dust runs into a mass
and the clods cling together?
39“Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40when they crouch in their dens,
or lie in wait in their covert?
41Who provides for the raven its prey,
when its young ones cry to God,
and wander about for lack of food?
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.