Job 38

The Lord Answers Job

1 Then the Lord*ch. 40:6;[ch. 13:22]answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

2 "Who is this that *ch. 42:3darkens counsel by words *See ch. 35:16without knowledge?

3 *1 Kgs. 18:46Dress for action*38:3 Hebrew Gird up your loins like a man;

I will question you, and you make it known to me.

4 "Where were you when I *Ps. 104:5;[Prov. 30:4;Isa. 40:12-14]; See Prov. 8:24-29laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell me, if you have understanding.

5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!

Or who stretched the line upon it?

6 On what were its bases sunk,

or who laid its cornerstone,

7 when the morning stars *[Ps. 19:1-4] sang together

and all *See ch. 1:6the sons of God *[Luke 2:13,14]shouted for joy?

8 "Or who *Gen. 1:9;Ps. 33:7;104:8,9;Jer. 5:22shut in the sea with doors

when it burst out from the womb,

9 when I made clouds its garment

and *ch. 22:13thick darkness its swaddling band,

10 and prescribed *[ver. 33(Heb.)]limits for it

and set bars and doors,

11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,

and here shall your *[Ps. 65:7;89:9;93:4]proud waves be stayed’?

12 "Have you *Ps. 65:8;74:16commanded the morning since your days began,

and caused the dawn to know its place,

13 that it might take hold of *ch. 37:3the skirts of the earth,

and the wicked be *[Neh. 5:13]shaken out of it?

14 It is changed like clay under the seal,

and its features stand out like a garment.

15 From the wicked their *ch. 18:5;[Matt. 6:23]; See ch. 24:13-17light is withheld,

and *Ps. 10:15;37:17;Ezek. 30:21,22their uplifted arm is broken.

16 "Have you *Ps. 77:19entered into the springs of the sea,

or walked in the recesses of the deep?

17 Have *Ps. 9:13;107:18;[Isa. 38:10;Matt. 16:18] the gates of death been revealed to you,

or have you seen the gates of *See ch. 3:5deep darkness?

18 Have 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,

20 that you may take it to its territory

and that you may discern *ch. 24:13the paths to its home?

21 You know, for *[ch. 15:7]you were born then,

and the number of your days is great!

22 "Have you entered *[Ps. 135:7]the storehouses of the snow,

or have you seen *[Ps. 135:7]the storehouses of the hail,

23 which I have reserved *Josh. 10:11;Isa. 28:17;30:30;Ezek. 13:11,13;38:22;Rev. 16:21;[ch. 37:13]for the time of trouble,

*Josh. 10:11;Isa. 28:17;30:30;Ezek. 13:11,13;38:22;Rev. 16:21;[ch. 37:13]for the day of battle and war?

24 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,

or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?

25 "Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain

and *ch. 28:26a way for the thunderbolt,

26 to bring rain on *[ch. 37:13] a land where no man is,

on *Ps. 107:35the desert in which there is no man,

27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land,

and to make the ground sprout with *Gen. 1:11;2 Sam. 23:4grass?

28 "Has *Ps. 147:8;Jer. 14:22the rain a father,

or who has begotten the drops of dew?

29 From whose womb did *Ps. 147:16,17the ice come forth,

and who has given birth to *Ps. 147:16,17the frost of heaven?

30 The waters become hard like stone,

and the face of the deep is *[ch. 37:10]frozen.

31 "Can you bind the chains of *ch. 9:9;Amos 5:8the Pleiades

or loose the cords of *ch. 9:9;Amos 5:8Orion?

32 Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth*38:32 Probably the name of a constellation in their season,

or can you guide *[See ver. 31above]the Bear with its children?

33 Do you know *Jer. 31:35the ordinances of the heavens?

Can you establish their rule on the earth?

34 "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,

that *ch. 22:11a flood of waters may cover you?

35 Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go

and say to you, ‘Here we are’?

36 Who has *See ch. 32:8put wisdom in *Ps. 51:6the inward parts*38:36 Or in the ibis

or given understanding to the mind?*38:36 Or rooster

37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom?

Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,

38 when the dust runs into a mass

and *ch. 21:33the clods stick fast together?

39 "Can you hunt the prey for the lion,

or *[Ps. 104:21]satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

40 when they crouch in their *ch. 37:8dens

or lie in wait *Ps. 17:12in their thicket?

41 Who provides for *Ps. 147:9;Luke 12:24;[Matt. 6:26]the raven its prey,

when its young ones cry to God for help,

and wander about for lack of food?