Job 38:1–18

The Lord Speaks

38Then the Lord spoke to Job^w out of the storm.^x He said:

²“Who is this that obscures my plans^y

with words without knowledge?^z

³Brace yourself like a man;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.^a

⁴“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?^b

Tell me, if you understand.^c

⁵Who marked off its dimensions?^d Surely you know!

Who stretched a measuring line^e across it?

⁶On what were its footings set,^f

or who laid its cornerstone^g—

⁷while the morning stars^h sang togetherⁱ

and all the angels^aj shouted for joy?^k

⁸“Who shut up the sea behind doors^l

when it burst forth from the womb,^m

⁹when I made the clouds its garment

and wrapped it in thick darkness,ⁿ

¹⁰when I fixed limits for it^o

and set its doors and bars in place,^p

¹¹when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;^q

here is where your proud waves halt’?^r

¹²“Have you ever given orders to the morning,^s

or shown the dawn its place,^t

¹³that it might take the earth by the edges

and shake the wicked^u out of it?^v

¹⁴The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;^w

its features stand out like those of a garment.

¹⁵The wicked are denied their light,^x

and their upraised arm is broken.^y

¹⁶“Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea

or walked in the recesses of the deep?^z

¹⁷Have the gates of death^a been shown to you?

Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?^b

¹⁸Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?^c

Tell me, if you know all this.^d