Job 38:1–38

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?