Job 38:1–42:6
1 Then the Lord aanswered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
2 “Who is this that adarkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
3 “Now agird up your loins like a man,
And bI will ask you, and you instruct Me!
4 “Where were you awhen I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you 1have understanding,
5 Who set its ameasurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the line on it?
6 “On what awere its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars sang together
And all the asons of God shouted for joy?
8 “Or who aenclosed the sea with doors
When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;
9 When I made a cloud its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 And I 1aplaced boundaries on it
And set a bolt and doors,
11 And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther;
And here shall your proud waves stop’?
12 “Have you 1ever in your life commanded the morning,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
13 That it might take hold of athe ends of the earth,
And bthe wicked be shaken out of it?
14 “It is changed like clay under the seal;
And they stand forth like a garment.
15 “aFrom the wicked their light is withheld,
And the buplifted arm is broken.
16 “Have you entered into athe springs of the sea
Or walked 1in the recesses of the deep?
17 “Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
Or have you seen the gates of adeep darkness?
18 “Have you understood the 1expanse of athe earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.
19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,
20 That you may take it to aits territory
And that you may discern the paths to its 1home?
21 “You know, for ayou were born then,
And the number of your days is great!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses aof the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the bhail,
23 Which I have reserved for the time of distress,
For the day of war and battle?
24 “Where is the way that athe light is divided,
Or the east wind scattered on the earth?
25 “Who has cleft a channel for the flood,
Or a way for the thunderbolt,
26 To bring arain on a land without 1people,
On a desert without a man in it,
27 To asatisfy the waste and desolate land
And to make the 1seeds of grass to sprout?
28 “Has athe rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 “From whose womb has come the aice?
And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?
30 “Water 1becomes hard like stone,
And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.
31 “Can you bind the chains of the aPleiades,
Or loose the cords of Orion?
32 “Can you lead forth a 1constellation in its season,
And guide the Bear with her 2satellites?
33 “Do you know the aordinances of the heavens,
Or fix their rule over the earth?
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
So that an aabundance of water will cover you?
35 “Can you asend forth lightnings that they may go
And say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 “Who has aput wisdom in the innermost being
Or given bunderstanding to the 1mind?
37 “Who can count the clouds by wisdom,
Or atip the water jars of the heavens,
38 When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together?
39 “Can you hunt the aprey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 When they acrouch in their dens
And lie in wait in their lair?
41 “Who prepares for athe raven its nourishment
When its young cry to God
And wander about without food?
God Speaks of Nature and Its Beings
1 “Do you know the time the 1amountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the bdeer?
2 “Can you count the months they fulfill,
Or do you know the time they give birth?
3 “They kneel down, they bring forth their young,
They get rid of their labor pains.
4 “Their offspring become strong, they grow up in the open field;
They leave and do not return to them.
5 “Who sent out the awild donkey free?
And who loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
6 To whom I gave athe wilderness for a home
And the salt land for his dwelling place?
7 “He scorns the tumult of the city,
The shoutings of the driver he does not hear.
8 “He explores the mountains for his pasture
And searches after every green thing.
9 “Will the awild ox consent to serve you,
Or will he spend the night at your manger?
10 “Can you bind the wild ox in a furrow with 1ropes,
Or will he harrow the valleys after you?
11 “Will you trust him because his strength is great
And leave your labor to him?
12 “Will you have faith in him that he will return your 1grain
And gather it from your threshing floor?
13 “The ostriches’ wings flap joyously
With the pinion and plumage of 1love,
14 For she abandons her eggs to the earth
And warms them in the dust,
15 And she forgets that a foot may crush 1them,
Or that a wild beast may trample 1them.
16 “She treats her young acruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor be in vain, she is 1unconcerned;
17 Because God has made her forget wisdom,
And has not given her a share of understanding.
18 “When she lifts herself 1on high,
She laughs at the horse and his rider.
19 “Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
20 “Do you make him aleap like the locust?
His majestic bsnorting is terrible.
21 “1He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
He agoes out to meet the weapons.
22 “He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
And he does not turn back from the sword.
23 “The quiver rattles against him,
The flashing spear and javelin.
24 “With shaking and rage he 1races over the ground,
And he does not stand still at the voice of the trumpet.
25 “As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’
And he scents the battle from afar,
And the thunder of the captains and the war cry.
26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,
Stretching his wings toward the south?
27 “Is it at your 1command that the eagle mounts up
And makes ahis nest on high?
28 “On the cliff he dwells and lodges,
Upon the rocky crag, an inaccessible place.
29 “From there he aspies out food;
His eyes see it from afar.
30 “His young ones also suck up blood;
And awhere the slain are, there is he.”
1 Then the Lord said to Job,
2 “Will the faultfinder acontend with the Almighty?
Let him who breproves God answer it.”
3 Then Job answered the Lord and said,
4 “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You?
I alay my hand on my mouth.
5 “Once I have spoken, and aI will not answer;
Even twice, and I will add nothing more.”
6 Then the aLord answered Job out of the storm and said,
7 “Now agird up your loins like a man;
I will bask you, and you instruct Me.
8 “Will you really aannul My judgment?
Will you bcondemn Me cthat you may be justified?
9 “Or do you have an arm like God,
And can you athunder with a voice like His?
10 “aAdorn yourself with eminence and dignity,
And clothe yourself with honor and majesty.
11 “Pour out athe overflowings of your anger,
And look on everyone who is bproud, and make him low.
12 “Look on everyone who is proud, and ahumble him,
And btread down the wicked 1where they stand.
13 “aHide them in the dust together;
Bind 1them in the hidden place.
14 “Then I will also 1confess to you,
That your own right hand can save you.
God’s Power Shown in Creatures
15 “Behold now, 1Behemoth, which aI made 2as well as you;
He eats grass like an ox.
16 “Behold now, his strength in his loins
And his power in the muscles of his belly.
17 “He bends his tail like a cedar;
The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18 “His bones are tubes of bronze;
His 1limbs are like bars of iron.
19 “He is the afirst of the ways of God;
Let his bmaker bring near his sword.
20 “Surely the mountains abring him food,
And all the beasts of the field bplay there.
21 “Under the lotus plants he lies down,
In the covert of the reeds and the marsh.
22 “The lotus plants cover him with 1shade;
The willows of the brook surround him.
23 “If a river 1rages, he is not alarmed;
He is confident, though the aJordan rushes to his mouth.
24 “Can anyone capture him 1when he is on watch,
With 2barbs can anyone pierce his nose?
God’s Power Shown in Creatures
1 “1Can you draw out 2aLeviathan with a fishhook?
Or press down his tongue with a cord?
2 “Can you aput a 1rope in his nose
Or pierce his jaw with a 2hook?
3 “Will he make many supplications to you,
Or will he speak to you soft words?
4 “Will he make a covenant with you?
Will you take him for a servant forever?
5 “Will you play with him as with a bird,
Or will you bind him for your maidens?
6 “Will the 1traders bargain over him?
Will they divide him among the merchants?
7 “Can you fill his skin with harpoons,
Or his head with fishing spears?
Remember the battle; 1you will not do it again!
9 “1Behold, 2your expectation is false;
Will 3you be laid low even at the sight of him?
10 “No one is so fierce that he dares to aarouse him;
Who then is he that can stand before Me?
11 “Who has 1agiven to Me that I should repay him?
Whatever is bunder the whole heaven is Mine.
12 “I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
Or his mighty strength, or his 1orderly frame.
13 “Who can 1strip off his outer armor?
Who can come within his double 2mail?
14 “Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth there is terror.
15 “His 1strong scales are his pride,
Shut up as with a tight seal.
That no air can come between them.
17 “They are joined one to another;
They clasp each other and cannot be separated.
18 “His sneezes flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the aeyelids of the morning.
19 “Out of his mouth go burning torches;
Sparks of fire leap forth.
20 “Out of his nostrils smoke goes forth
As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
And a flame goes forth from his mouth.
22 “In his neck lodges strength,
And dismay leaps before him.
23 “The folds of his flesh are joined together,
Firm on him and immovable.
24 “His heart is as hard as a stone,
Even as hard as a lower millstone.
25 “When he raises himself up, the 1mighty fear;
Because of the crashing they are bewildered.
26 “The sword that reaches him cannot avail,
Nor the