Job 38:1–42:6
38 Thena Yahweh answered Job from the storm, and he said,
2 “Who is this darkening counsel
by words without knowledge?
3 ⌊Prepare yourself for a difficult task like a man⌋,b
and I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
4 “Where were you at my laying the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you possess understanding.
5 Who determined its measurement? Yes, you do know.
Or who stretched the measuring line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars were singing together
and all the sons of Godc shouted for joy?
8 “Or who shut the sea in with doors
at its bursting, when it went out of the womb,
9 at my making the clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 and I prescribed my rule for it,
and I set bars and doors,
11 and I said, ‘You shall come up to here, butd you shall not go further,
and here it will set a boundary ⌊for your proud surging waves⌋’?e
12 “Have you ⌊ever in your life⌋f commanded the morning?
Have you made the dawn know its place,
13 to take hold of the earth’s skirts
so thatg the wicked might be shaken off from it?
14 It is changed like clay under a seal,
and they appear like a garment.
15 And their light is withheld from the wicked,
and their uplifted arm is broken.
16 “Have you entered into the sea’s sources?
Or have you walked around in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
Or have you seen the gates of deep shadow?
18 Have you considered closely the earth’s vast expanse?
Declare it, if you know all of it.
19 “Where thenh is the way where the light dwells?
And where theni is its place,
20 that you may take it to its territory,
and that you might discern the paths to its home?
21 You know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great.
22 Have you entered into the storehouses of the snow,
orj have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?
24 Where thenk is the way where the light is distributed,
where he scatters the east wind upon the earth?
25 “Who has cut open a channel for the torrents
and a way for the ⌊thunder bolts⌋,l
26 to bring rain on a land ⌊where no one lives⌋,m
a desert ⌊where no humans live⌋,n
27 to satisfy desert and wasteland,
and to cause the ground to put forth the rising of grass?
28 Is there a father for the rain,
or who fathered the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb did the ice come forth,
and who fathered the frost of heaven?
30 Like stone the waters become hard,
and the faces of the deep freeze.
31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades,
or can you loosen the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead forth the southern constellations at their appointed time,
oro can you lead the Bear with its children?
33 Do you know heaven’s statutes,
or can you establish their rule on the earth?
34 Can you lift up your voice to the clouds
so thatp a flood of water may cover you?
35 Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go?
And will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the ibis,q
or who has given understanding to the rooster?r
37 Who can number the clouds with wisdom?
Ors who can tilt heaven’s jars,
38 at the flowing of the dust into a cast
and the clods cling together?
39 “Can you hunt prey for the lion?
And can you satisfy the hunger of strong lions
40 when they are crouched in the dens,
when they lie in the thicket in an ambush?
41 Who prepares for the crow its prey,
when its young ones cry to God for help,
and they wander around ⌊for lack of food⌋?t
39 “Do you know the time when the goats of the rocks give birth?
Do you observe the doe deer’s giving birth?
2 Can you number the months they fulfill,
and do you know the time of its giving birth?
3 When they crouch, they bring forth their young ones;
they get rid of their labor pains.a
4 Their young ones grow strong; they grow up in the open;
they go forth and do not return to them.
5 “Who has sent forth the wild ass free?
And who has released the wild donkey’s bonds,
6 to which I have given the wilderness as its house
and the salt flat as its dwelling place?
7 It scorns the city’s turmoil;
it does not hear the driver’s shouts.
8 It explores the mountains as its pasture
and searches after every kind of green plant.
9 “Is the wild ox willing to serve you,
or will he spend the night at your feeding trough?
10 Can you tie the wild ox with its rope to a furrow,
or will it harrow the valleys after you?
11 Can you trust it because its strength is great,
or will you hand your labor over to it?
12 Can you rely on it that it will return your grain
and that it will gather it to your threshing floor?
13 “The wingsb of the female ostrich flapc—
are theyd the pinions of the stork ore the falcon?
14 Indeed, it leaves its eggs to the earth,
and it lets them be warmed on the ground,
15 and it forgets that a foot might crush an egg,f
and ⌊a wild animal⌋g might trample it.h
16 It deals cruelly with its young ones, as if they were not its own,
as if without fear that its labor were in vain,
17 because God made it forget wisdom,
and he did not give it a share in understanding.
18 When it spreads its wings ⌊aloft⌋,i
it laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 “Do you give power to the horse?
Do you clothe its neck with a mane?
20 Do you make it leap like the locust?
The majesty of its snorting is terrifying.
21 They paw in the valley, and it exults with strength;
it goes out to meet the battle.
22 It laughs at danger and is not dismayed,
and it does not turn back from ⌊before⌋j the sword.
along with the flash of the spear and the short sword.
24 With roar and rage ⌊it races over the ground⌋,k
and it cannot stand still at the sound of the horn.
25 ⌊Whenever⌋l a horn sounds, it says, ‘Aha!’
And it smells the battle from a distance—
the thunder of the commanders and the war cry.
26 “Does the hawk soar by your wisdom?
Does it spread its wings to the south?
27 Or does the eagle fly high at your command
and construct its nest high?
28 It lives on the rock and spends the night
⌊on the rock point and the mountain stronghold⌋.m
29 From there it spies out the prey;
its eyes look from far away.
30 And its young ones lick blood greedily,
and where the dead carcasses are, there they are.”
40 Thena Yahweh answered Job and said,
2 “Shall a faultfinder contend with Shaddai?
Anyone who argues with God must answer it.”
3 So Job answered Yahweh and said,
What shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
5 Once I have spoken, and I will not answer;
evenb twice, butc I will not proceed.”
6 Thend Yahweh answered Job from the storm, and he said,
7 “⌊Prepare yourself for a difficult task like a man⌋,e
and I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
8 “Indeed, would you annul my justice?
Would you condemn me, so that you might be righteous?
9 Or do you have an arm like God,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?
10 Adornf yourself with pride and dignity,
and clothe yourself with splendor.
11 Pour out the overflowing of your anger,
and look at all the proud, and humble them.
12 Look at all the proud, humble them,
and tread down the wicked ⌊where they stand⌋.g
13 Hide them in the dust together;
bind their faces in the grave.
14 And I will also praise you,
that your own right hand can save you.
15 “Look, Behemoth,h which I have made just as I made you;
it eats grass like the ox.
16 Look, its strength is in its loins
and its power in the muscles of its stomach.
17 It keeps its tail straight like a cedar;
the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound.
18 Its bones are tubes of copper,
its limbs like rods of iron.
19 “It is the first of God’s actions;
the one who made him furnishes it with his sword.i
20 Yes, the mountains yield produce for it,
and all ⌊wild animals⌋j play there.
21 Under the lotus tree it lies,
in the hiding place of the reeds and in the marsh.
22 The lotus trees cover it with their shade;
the wadi’sk poplar trees surround it.
23 Look, if the river is turbulent, it is not frightened;
it is confident even though the Jordan rushes against its mouth.
24 Can anyone take it by its eyes?
Can he pierce its nose with a snare?
41 a “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?
Orb ⌊can you tie down its mouth with a cord⌋?c
2 Can you put a rope in its nose?
Ord can you pierce its jawbone with a hook?
3 Will it make numerous pleas for mercy to you?
Or will it speak gentle words to you?
4 Will it make a covenant with you?
Will you take it as a slave forever?
5 Will you play with it as with birds
and put it on a leash for your girls?
6 Will guildsmen bargain over it?
Will they divide it between tradesmen?
7 Can you fill its skin with harpoons
ore its head with fish spears?
think about the battle—you will not do it again!
9 “Look, ⌊the hope of capturing it⌋f is false.
Will one be hurled down even at its sight?
10 Is it not fierce when somebody stirs it?
Who then is he who would stand ⌊before it⌋?g
11 Who has come to confront me, thath I should repay him?
Under all the heavens, ⌊it belongs to me⌋.i
12 “I will not keep quiet concerning its limbs
orj concerning the extent of its might and the gracefulness of its frame.
13 Who can strip off ⌊its outer covering⌋?k
Who can penetrate its double harness?
14 Who can open the doors of its face?
Its teeth all around are fearsome.
15 Its backl has scales of shields;
it is shut up closely as with a seal.
16 They are close ⌊to one another⌋—m
evenn the air cannot come between them.
17 They are joined ⌊one to another⌋;o
they cling together and cannot be separated.
18 “Its snorting flashes forth light,
and its eyes are ⌊red like dawn⌋.p
sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke comes from its nostrils
as from a kettle boiling and burning bulrushes.
21 Its breath kindles charcoal,
and a flame comes from …