Job 38–41

38Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

²Who is this that darkeneth counsel

By words without knowledge?

³Gird up now thy loins like a man;

For I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

⁴Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?

Declare, if thou hast understanding.

⁵Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest?

Or who stretched the line upon it?

⁶Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened?

Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,

⁷When the morning stars sang together,

And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸Or who shut up the sea with doors,

When it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb;

⁹When I made clouds the garment thereof,

And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,

¹⁰And marked out for it my bound,

And set bars and doors,

¹¹And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further;

And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

¹²Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began,

And caused the dayspring to know its place;

¹³That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,

And the wicked be shaken out of it?

¹⁴It is changed as clay under the seal;

And all things stand forth as a garment:

¹⁵And from the wicked their light is withholden,

And the high arm is broken.

¹⁶Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?

Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?

¹⁷Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee?

Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?

¹⁸Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth?

Declare, if thou knowest it all.

¹⁹Where is the way to the dwelling of light?

And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

²⁰That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof,

And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?

²¹Doubtless, thou knowest, for thou wast then born,

And the number of thy days is great!

²²Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow,

Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

²³Which I have reserved against the time of trouble,

Against the day of battle and war?

²⁴By what way is the light parted,

Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?

²⁵Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood,

Or the way for the lightning of the thunder;

²⁶To cause it to rain on a land where no man is;

On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

²⁷To satisfy the waste and desolate ground,

And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?

²⁸Hath the rain a father?

Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

²⁹Out of whose womb came the ice?

And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

³⁰The waters hide themselves and become like stone,

And the face of the deep is frozen.

³¹Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades,

Or loose the bands of Orion?

³²Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season?

Or canst thou guide the Bear with her train?

³³Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens?

Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?

³⁴Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds,

That abundance of waters may cover thee?

³⁵Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go,

And say unto thee, Here we are?

³⁶Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts?

Or who hath given understanding to the mind?

³⁷Who can number the clouds by wisdom?

Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,

³⁸When the dust runneth into a mass,

And the clods cleave fast together?

³⁹Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness,

Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

⁴⁰When they couch in their dens,

And abide in the covert to lie in wait?

⁴¹Who provideth for the raven his prey,

When his young ones cry unto God,

And wander for lack of food?

39Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth?

Or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?

²Canst thou number the months that they fulfil?

Or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?

³They bow themselves, they bring forth their young,

They cast out their pains.

⁴Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open field;

They go forth, and return not again.

⁵Who hath sent out the wild ass free?

Or who hath loosed the bonds of the swift ass,

⁶Whose home I have made the wilderness,

And the salt land his dwelling-place?

⁷He scorneth the tumult of the city,

Neither heareth he the shoutings of the driver.

⁸The range of the mountains is his pasture,

And he searcheth after every green thing.

⁹Will the wild-ox be content to serve thee?

Or will he abide by thy crib?

¹⁰Canst thou bind the wild-ox with his band in the furrow?

Or will he harrow the valleys after thee?

¹¹Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great?

Or wilt thou leave to him thy labor?

¹²Wilt thou confide in him, that he will bring home thy seed,

And gather the grain of thy threshing-floor?

¹³The wings of the ostrich wave proudly;

But are they the pinions and plumage of love?

¹⁴For she leaveth her eggs on the earth,

And warmeth them in the dust,

¹⁵And forgetteth that the foot may crush them,

Or that the wild beast may trample them.

¹⁶She dealeth hardly with her young ones, as if they were not hers:

Though her labor be in vain, she is without fear;

¹⁷Because God hath deprived her of wisdom,

Neither hath he imparted to her understanding.

¹⁸What time she lifteth up herself on high,

She scorneth the horse and his rider.

¹⁹Hast thou given the horse his might?

Hast thou clothed his neck with the quivering mane?

²⁰Hast thou made him to leap as a locust?

The glory of his snorting is terrible.

²¹He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength:

He goeth out to meet the armed men.

²²He mocketh at fear, and is not dismayed;

Neither turneth he back from the sword.

²³The quiver rattleth against him,

The flashing spear and the javelin.

²⁴He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage;

Neither believeth he that it is the voice of the trumpet.

²⁵As oft as the trumpet soundeth he saith, Aha!

And he smelleth the battle afar off,

The thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

²⁶Is it by thy wisdom that the hawk soareth,

And stretcheth her wings toward the south?

²⁷Is it at thy command that the eagle mounteth up,

And maketh her nest on high?

²⁸On the cliff she dwelleth, and maketh her home,

Upon the point of the cliff, and the stronghold.

²⁹From thence she spieth out the prey;

Her eyes behold it afar off.

³⁰Her young ones also suck up blood:

And where the slain are, there is she.

40Moreover Jehovah answered Job, and said,

²Shall he that cavilleth contend with the Almighty?

He that argueth with God, let him answer it.

³Then Job answered Jehovah, and said,

⁴Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer thee?

I lay my hand upon my mouth.

⁵Once have I spoken, and I will not answer;

Yea, twice, but I will proceed no further.

⁶Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

⁷Gird up thy loins now like a man:

I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

⁸Wilt thou even annul my judgment?

Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be justified?

⁹Or hast thou an arm like God?

And canst thou thunder with a voice like him?

¹⁰Deck thyself now with excellency and dignity;

And array thyself with honor and majesty.

¹¹Pour forth the overflowings of thine anger;

And look upon every one that is proud, and abase him.

¹²Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low;

And tread down the wicked where they stand.

¹³Hide them in the dust together;

Bind their faces in the hidden place.

¹⁴Then will I also confess of thee

That thine own right hand can save thee.

¹⁵Behold now, behemoth, which I made as well as thee;

He eateth grass as an ox.

¹⁶Lo now, his strength is in his loins,

And his force is in the muscles of his belly.

¹⁷He moveth his tail like a cedar:

The sinews of his thighs are knit together.

¹⁸His bones are as tubes of brass;

His limbs are like bars of iron.

¹⁹He is the chief of the ways of God:

He only that made him giveth him his sword.

²⁰Surely the mountains bring him forth food,

Where all the beasts of the field do play.

²¹He lieth under the lotus-trees,

In the covert of the reed, and the fen.

²²The lotus-trees cover him with their shade;

The willows of the brook compass him about.

²³Behold, if a river overflow, he trembleth not;

He is confident, though a Jordan swell even to his mouth.

²⁴Shall any take him when he is on the watch,

Or pierce through his nose with a snare?

41Canst thou draw out leviathan with a fishhook?

Or press down his tongue with a cord?

²Canst thou put a rope into his nose?

Or pierce his jaw through with a hook?

³Will he make many supplications unto thee?

Or will he speak soft words unto thee?

⁴Will he make a covenant with thee,

That thou shouldest take him for a servant for ever?

⁵Wilt thou play with him as with a bird?

Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?

⁶Will the bands of fishermen make traffic of him?

Will they part him among the merchants?

⁷Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons,

Or his head with fish-spears?

⁸Lay thy hand upon him;

Remember the battle, and do so no more.

⁹Behold, the hope of him is in vain:

Will not one be cast down even at the sight of him?

¹⁰None is so fierce that he dare stir him up;

Who then is he that can stand before me?

¹¹Who hath first given unto me, that I should repay him?

Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.

¹²I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,

Nor his mighty strength, nor his goodly frame.

¹³Who can strip off his outer garment?

Who shall come within his jaws?

¹⁴Who can open the doors of his face?

Round about his teeth is terror.

¹⁵His strong scales are his pride,

Shut up together as with a close seal.

¹⁶One is so near to another,

That no air can come between them.

¹⁷They are joined one to another;

They stick together, so that they cannot be sundered.

¹⁸His sneezings flash forth light,

And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.

¹⁹Out of his mouth go burning torches,

And sparks of fire leap forth.

²⁰Out of his nostrils a smoke goeth,

As of a boiling pot and burning rushes.

²¹His breath kindleth coals,

And a flame goeth forth from his mouth.

²²In his neck abideth strength,

And terror danceth before him.

²³The flakes of his flesh are joined…