Job 38–40

The Lord Reveals His Omnipotence to Job

38Then the Lord answered Job ^aout of the whirlwind, and said:

²“Who ^bis this who darkens counsel

By ^cwords without knowledge?

^3dNow ¹prepare yourself like a man;

I will question you, and you shall answer Me.

⁴“Where ^ewere you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

Tell Me, if you have understanding.

⁵Who determined its measurements?

Surely you know!

Or who stretched the ²line upon it?

⁶To what were its foundations fastened?

Or who laid its cornerstone,

⁷When the morning stars sang together,

And all ^fthe sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸“Or ^gwho shut in the sea with doors,

When it burst forth and issued from the womb;

⁹When I made the clouds its garment,

And thick darkness its swaddling band;

¹⁰When ^hI fixed My limit for it,

And set bars and doors;

¹¹When I said,

‘This far you may come, but no farther,

And here your proud waves ⁱmust stop!’

¹²“Have you ^jcommanded the morning since your days began,

And caused the dawn to know its place,

¹³That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,

And ^kthe wicked be shaken out of it?

¹⁴It takes on form like clay under a seal,

And stands out like a garment.

¹⁵From the wicked their ^llight is withheld,

And ^mthe ³upraised arm is broken.

¹⁶“Have you ⁿentered the springs of the sea?

Or have you walked in search of the depths?

¹⁷Have ^othe gates of death been ⁴revealed to you?

Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?

¹⁸Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?

Tell Me, if you know all this.

¹⁹“Where is the way to the dwelling of light?

And darkness, where is its place,

²⁰That you may take it to its territory,

That you may know the paths to its home?

²¹Do you know it, because you were born then,

Or because the number of your days is great?

²²“Have you entered ^pthe treasury of snow,

Or have you seen the treasury of hail,

^23qWhich I have reserved for the time of trouble,

For the day of battle and war?

²⁴By what way is light ⁵diffused,

Or the east wind scattered over the earth?

²⁵“Who ^rhas divided a channel for the overflowing water,

Or a path for the thunderbolt,

²⁶To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one,

A wilderness in which there is no man;

^27sTo satisfy the desolate waste,

And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?

^28tHas the rain a father?

Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

²⁹From whose womb comes the ice?

And the ^ufrost of heaven, who gives it birth?

³⁰The waters harden like stone,

And the surface of the deep is ^vfrozen. ⁶

³¹“Can you bind the cluster of the ^wPleiades, ⁷

Or loose the belt of Orion?

³²Can you bring out ⁸Mazzaroth in its season?

Or can you guide ⁹the Great Bear with its cubs?

³³Do you know ^xthe ordinances of the heavens?

Can you set their dominion over the earth?

³⁴“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,

That an abundance of water may cover you?

³⁵Can you send out lightnings, that they may go,

And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?

^36yWho has put wisdom in ¹the mind?

Or who has given understanding to the heart?

³⁷Who can number the clouds by wisdom?

Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,

³⁸When the dust hardens in clumps,

And the clods cling together?

³⁹“Can ^zyou hunt the prey for the lion,

Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

⁴⁰When they crouch in their dens,

Or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait?

^41aWho provides food for the raven,

When its young ones cry to God,

And wander about for lack of food?

39“Do you know the time when the wild ^amountain goats bear young?

Or can you mark when ^bthe deer gives birth?

²Can you number the months that they fulfill?

Or do you know the time when they bear young?

³They bow down,

They bring forth their young,

They deliver their ¹offspring.

⁴Their young ones are healthy,

They grow strong with grain;

They depart and do not return to them.

⁵“Who set the wild donkey free?

Who loosed the bonds of the ²onager,

^6cWhose home I have made the wilderness,

And the ³barren land his dwelling?

⁷He scorns the tumult of the city;

He does not heed the shouts of the driver.

⁸The range of the mountains is his pasture,

And he searches after ^devery green thing.

⁹“Will the ^ewild ox be willing to serve you?

Will he bed by your manger?

¹⁰Can you bind the wild ox in the furrow with ropes?

Or will he plow the valleys behind you?

¹¹Will you trust him because his strength is great?

Or will you leave your labor to him?

¹²Will you trust him to bring home your ⁴grain,

And gather it to your threshing floor?

¹³“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,

But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork’s?

¹⁴For she leaves her eggs on the ground,

And warms them in the dust;

¹⁵She forgets that a foot may crush them,

Or that a wild beast may break them.

¹⁶She ^ftreats her young harshly, as though they were not hers;

Her labor is in vain, without ⁵concern,

¹⁷Because God deprived her of wisdom,

And did not ^gendow her with understanding.

¹⁸When she lifts herself on high,

She scorns the horse and its rider.

¹⁹“Have you given the horse strength?

Have you clothed his neck with ⁶thunder?

²⁰Can you ⁷frighten him like a locust?

His majestic snorting strikes terror.

²¹He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;

^hHe gallops into the clash of arms.

²²He mocks at fear, and is not frightened;

Nor does he turn back from the sword.

²³The quiver rattles against him,

The glittering spear and javelin.

²⁴He devours the distance with fierceness and rage;

Nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded.

²⁵At the blast of the trumpet he says, ‘Aha!’

He smells the battle from afar,

The thunder of captains and shouting.

²⁶“Does the hawk fly by your wisdom,

And spread its wings toward the south?

²⁷Does the ⁱeagle mount up at your command,

And ^jmake its nest on high?

²⁸On the rock it dwells and resides,

On the crag of the rock and the stronghold.

²⁹From there it spies out the prey;

Its eyes observe from afar.

³⁰Its young ones suck up blood;

And ^kwhere the slain are, there it is.”

40Moreover the Lord ^aanswered Job, and said:

²“Shall ^bthe one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?

He who ^crebukes God, let him answer it.”

Job’s Response to God

³Then Job answered the Lord and said:

⁴“Behold, ^dI am vile;

What shall I answer You?

^eI lay my hand over my mouth.

⁵Once I have spoken, but I will not answer;

Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”

God’s Challenge to Job

^6fThen the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

⁷“Now ^g1prepare yourself like a man;

^hI will question you, and you shall answer Me:

⁸“Would ⁱyou indeed ²annul My judgment?

Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?

⁹Have you an arm like God?

Or can you thunder with ^ja voice like His?

^10kThen adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,

And array yourself with glory and beauty.

¹¹Disperse the rage of your wrath;

Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him.

¹²Look on everyone who is ^lproud, and bring him low;

Tread down the wicked in their place.

¹³Hide them in the dust together,

Bind their faces in hidden darkness.

¹⁴Then I will also confess to you

That your own right hand can save you.

¹⁵“Look now at the ³behemoth, which I made along with you;

He eats grass like an ox.

¹⁶See now, his strength is in his hips,

And his power is in his stomach muscles.

¹⁷He moves his tail like a cedar;

The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.

¹⁸His bones are like beams of bronze,

His ribs like bars of iron.

¹⁹He is the first of the ^mways of God;

Only He who made him can bring near His sword.

²⁰Surely the mountains ⁿyield food for him,

And all the beasts of the field play there.

²¹He lies under the lotus trees,

In a covert of reeds and marsh.

²²The lotus trees cover him with their shade;

The willows by the brook surround him.

²³Indeed the river may rage,

Yet he is not disturbed;

He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth,

²⁴Though he takes it in his eyes,

Or one pierces his nose with a snare.