Job 38:1–40:5

The Lord Answers Job

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

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

^3tDress 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.

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 ^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,

⁹when I made clouds its garment

and ^zthick darkness its swaddling band,

¹⁰and prescribed ^alimits for it

and set bars and doors,

¹¹and 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,

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

and the wicked be ^eshaken out of it?

¹⁴It is changed like clay under the seal,

and its features stand out like a garment.

¹⁵From 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?

¹⁷Have ⁱthe gates of death been revealed to you,

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

²¹You 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,

²³which I have reserved ⁿfor the time of trouble,

ⁿfor 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 cleft a channel for the torrents of rain

and ^oa way for the thunderbolt,

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

on ^qthe desert in which there is no man,

²⁷to 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?

²⁹From whose womb did ^tthe ice come forth,

and who has given birth to ^tthe frost of heaven?

³⁰The 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?

³²Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth² in their season,

or can you guide ^vthe Bear with its children?

³³Do 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?

³⁵Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go

and say to you, ‘Here we are’?

³⁶Who has ^yput wisdom in ^zthe inward parts³

or given understanding to the mind?⁴

³⁷Who can number the clouds by wisdom?

Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,

³⁸when 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,

⁴⁰when they crouch in their ^cdens

or lie in wait ^din their thicket?

⁴¹Who 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?

²Can you number the months that they fulfill,

and do you know the time when they give birth,

³when they ^hcrouch, bring forth their offspring,

and are delivered of their young?

⁴Their 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,

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

and ^lthe salt land for his dwelling place?

⁷He scorns the tumult of the city;

he hears not the shouts of the driver.

⁸He 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?

¹⁰Can you bind ^mhim in the furrow with ropes,

or will he harrow the valleys after you?

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

and will you leave to him your labor?

¹²Do 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

¹⁴For she leaves her eggs to the earth

and lets them be warmed on the ground,

¹⁵forgetting that a foot may crush them

and that the wild beast may trample them.

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

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

¹⁷because God has made her forget wisdom

and ^qgiven her no share in understanding.

¹⁸When 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?

²⁰Do you make him leap like the locust?

His majestic ^rsnorting is terrifying.

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

he ^sgoes out to meet the weapons.

²²He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;

he does not turn back from the sword.

²³Upon him rattle the quiver,

the flashing spear, and the javelin.

²⁴With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground;

he cannot stand still at ^tthe sound of the trumpet.

²⁵When 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?

²⁷Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up

and makes his ^unest on high?

²⁸On the rock he dwells and makes his home,

on ^vthe rocky crag and stronghold.

²⁹From there he spies out the prey;

his eyes behold it from far away.

³⁰His young ones suck up blood,

and ^wwhere the slain are, there is he.”

40And the Lord ^xsaid to Job:

²“Shall a faultfinder ^ycontend with the Almighty?

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

Job Promises Silence

³Then Job answered the Lord and said:

⁴“Behold, I am ^zof small account; what shall I answer you?

^aI lay my hand on my mouth.

⁵I have spoken ^bonce, and I will not answer;

^btwice, but I will proceed no further.”