The Lord Answers Job

38 Then the Lord qanswered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

2  “Who is this that rdarkens counsel by words swithout knowledge?

3  tDress for action1 like a man;

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

4  “Where were you when I ulaid 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 vsang together

and all wthe sons of God xshouted for joy?

8  “Or who yshut in the sea with doors

when it burst out from the womb,

9  when I made clouds its garment

and zthick darkness its swaddling band,

10  and prescribed alimits for it

and set bars and doors,

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

and here shall your bproud waves be stayed’?

12  “Have you ccommanded the morning since your days began,

and caused the dawn to know its place,

13  that it might take hold of dthe skirts of the earth,

and the wicked be eshaken 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 flight is withheld,

and gtheir uplifted arm is broken.

16  “Have you hentered into the springs of the sea,

or walked in the recesses of the deep?

17  Have ithe gates of death been revealed to you,

or have you seen the gates of jdeep 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 kthe paths to its home?

21  You know, for lyou were born then,

and the number of your days is great!

22  “Have you entered mthe storehouses of the snow,

or have you seen mthe storehouses of the hail,

23  which I have reserved nfor the time of trouble,

nfor 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 oa way for the thunderbolt,

26  to bring rain on pa land where no man is,

on qthe desert in which there is no man,

27  to satisfy the waste and desolate land,

and to make the ground sprout with rgrass?

28  “Has sthe rain a father,

or who has begotten the drops of dew?

29  From whose womb did tthe ice come forth,

and who has given birth to tthe frost of heaven?

30  The waters become hard like stone,

and the face of the deep is ufrozen.

31  “Can you bind the chains of vthe Pleiades

or loose the cords of vOrion?

32  Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth2 in their season,

or can you guide vthe Bear with its children?

33  Do you know wthe ordinances of the heavens?

Can you establish their rule on the earth?

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

that xa 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 yput wisdom in zthe inward parts3

or given understanding to the mind?4

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 athe clods stick fast together?

39  “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,

or bsatisfy the appetite of the young lions,

40  when they crouch in their cdens

or lie in wait din their thicket?

41  Who provides for ethe raven its prey,

when its young ones cry to God for help,

and wander about for lack of food?

39 “Do you know when fthe mountain goats give birth?

Do you observe gthe calving of the does?

2  Can you number the months that they fulfill,

and do you know the time when they give birth,

3  when they hcrouch, bring forth their offspring,

and are delivered of their young?

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

they go out and ido not return to them.

5  “Who has let the wild donkey go free?

Who has jloosed the bonds of the swift donkey,

6  to whom I have given kthe arid plain for his home

and lthe salt land for his dwelling place?

7  He scorns the tumult of the city;

he hears not the shouts of the driver.

8  He ranges the mountains as his pasture,

and he searches after every green thing.

9  “Is mthe wild ox willing to serve you?

Will he spend the night at your nmanger?

10  Can you bind mhim in the furrow with ropes,

or will he harrow the valleys after you?

11  Will you depend on him because his strength is great,

and will you leave to him your labor?

12  Do you have faith in him that he will return your grain

and gather it to your threshing floor?

13  “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,

but are they the pinions and plumage of love?1

14  For she leaves her eggs to the earth

and lets them be warmed on the ground,

15  forgetting that a foot may crush them

and that the wild beast may trample them.

16  She odeals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers;

though her plabor be in vain, yet she has no fear,

17  because God has made her forget wisdom

and qgiven her no share in understanding.

18  When she rouses herself to flee,2

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 leap like the locust?

His majestic rsnorting is terrifying.

21  He paws3 in the valley and exults in his strength;

he sgoes out to meet the weapons.

22  He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;

he does not turn back from the sword.

23  Upon him rattle the quiver,

the flashing spear, and the javelin.

24  With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground;

he cannot stand still at tthe sound of the trumpet.

25  When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’

He smells the battle from afar,

the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

26  “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars

and spreads his wings toward the south?

27  Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up

and makes his unest on high?

28  On the rock he dwells and makes his home,

on vthe rocky crag and stronghold.

29  From there he spies out the prey;

his eyes behold it from far away.

30  His young ones suck up blood,

and wwhere the slain are, there is he.”

40 And the Lord xsaid to Job:

2  “Shall a faultfinder ycontend with the Almighty?

He who argues with God, let him answer it.”