The Lord Speaks

38 Then the Lord spoke to Jobw out of the storm.x He said:

2 “Who is this that obscures my plansy

with words without knowledge?z

3 Brace 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

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

Who stretched a measuring linee across it?

6 On what were its footings set,f

or who laid its cornerstoneg—

7 while the morning starsh sang togetheri

and all the angelsa j shouted for joy?k

8 “Who shut up the sea behind doorsl

when it burst forth from the womb,m

9 when I made the clouds its garment

and wrapped it in thick darkness,n

10 when I fixed limits for ito

and set its doors and bars in place,p

11 when 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

13 that it might take the earth by the edges

and shake the wickedu out of it?v

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

its features stand out like those of a garment.

15 The 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

17 Have the gates of deatha been shown to you?

Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?b

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

Tell me, if you know all this.d

19 “What is the way to the abode of light?

And where does darkness reside?e

20 Can you take them to their places?

Do you know the pathsf to their dwellings?

21 Surely you know, for you were already born!g

You have lived so many years!

22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snowh

or seen the storehousesi of the hail,j

23 which I reserve for times of trouble,k

for days of war and battle?l

24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,m

or the place where the east windsn are scattered over the earth?o

25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,

and a path for the thunderstorm,p

26 to waterq a land where no one lives,

an uninhabited desert,r

27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland

and make it sprout with grass?s

28 Does the rain have a father?t

Who fathers the drops of dew?

29 From whose womb comes the ice?

Who gives birth to the frost from the heavensu

30 when the waters become hard as stone,

when the surface of the deep is frozen?v

31 “Can you bind the chainsb of the Pleiades?

Can you loosen Orion’s belt?w

32 Can you bring forth the constellationsx in their seasonsc

or lead out the Beard with its cubs?y

33 Do you know the lawsz of the heavens?a

Can you set up God’se dominion over the earth?

34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds

and cover yourself with a flood of water?b

35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?c

Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

36 Who gives the ibis wisdomf d

or gives the rooster understanding?g e

37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?

Who can tip over the water jarsf of the heavensg

38 when the dust becomes hardh

and the clods of earth stick together?i

39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness

and satisfy the hunger of the lionsj

40 when they crouch in their densk

or lie in wait in a thicket?l

41 Who provides foodm for the ravenn

when its young cry out to God

and wander about for lack of food?o

39 “Do you know when the mountain goatsp give birth?

Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?q

2 Do you count the months till they bear?

Do you know the time they give birth?r

3 They crouch down and bring forth their young;

their labor pains are ended.

4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;

they leave and do not return.

5 “Who let the wild donkeys go free?

Who untied its ropes?

6 I gave it the wastelandt as its home,

the salt flatsu as its habitat.v

7 It laughsw at the commotion in the town;

it does not hear a driver’s shout.x

8 It ranges the hillsy for its pasture

and searches for any green thing.

9 “Will the wild oxz consent to serve you?a

Will it stay by your mangerb at night?

10 Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness?c

Will it till the valleys behind you?

11 Will you rely on it for its great strength?d

Will you leave your heavy work to it?

12 Can you trust it to haul in your grain

and bring it to your threshing floor?

13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,

though they cannot compare

with the wings and feathers of the stork.e

14 She lays her eggs on the ground

and lets them warm in the sand,

15 unmindful that a foot may crush them,

that some wild animal may trample them.f

16 She treats her young harshly,g as if they were not hers;

she cares not that her labor was in vain,

17 for God did not endow her with wisdom

or give her a share of good sense.h

18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,

she laughsi at horse and rider.

19 “Do you give the horse its strengthj

or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?

20 Do you make it leap like a locust,k

striking terrorl with its proud snorting?m

21 It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,n

and charges into the fray.o

22 It laughsp at fear, afraid of nothing;

it does not shy away from the sword.

23 The quiverq rattles against its side,

along with the flashing spearr and lance.

24 In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;

it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.s

25 At the blast of the trumpett it snorts, ‘Aha!’

It catches the scent of battle from afar,

the shout of commanders and the battle cry.u

26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom

and spread its wings toward the south?v

27 Does the eagle soar at your command

and build its nest on high?w

28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;

a rocky cragx is its stronghold.

29 From there it looks for food;y

its eyes detect it from afar.

30 Its young ones feast on blood,

and where the slain are, there it is.”z