Job 38–40

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

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

And where does darkness reside?^e

²⁰Can you take them to their places?

Do you know the paths^f to their dwellings?

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

You have lived so many years!

²²“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow^h

or seen the storehousesⁱ of the hail,^j

²³which I reserve for times of trouble,^k

for days of war and battle?^l

²⁴What 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

²⁵Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,

and a path for the thunderstorm,^p

²⁶to water^q a land where no one lives,

an uninhabited desert,^r

²⁷to satisfy a desolate wasteland

and make it sprout with grass?^s

²⁸Does the rain have a father?^t

Who fathers the drops of dew?

²⁹From whose womb comes the ice?

Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens^u

³⁰when the waters become hard as stone,

when the surface of the deep is frozen?^v

³¹“Can you bind the chains^b of the Pleiades?

Can you loosen Orion’s belt?^w

³²Can you bring forth the constellations^x in their seasons^c

or lead out the Bear^d with its cubs?^y

³³Do you know the laws^z of the heavens?^a

Can you set up God’s^e dominion over the earth?

³⁴“Can you raise your voice to the clouds

and cover yourself with a flood of water?^b

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

Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

³⁶Who gives the ibis wisdom^fd

or gives the rooster understanding?^ge

³⁷Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?

Who can tip over the water jars^f of the heavens^g

³⁸when the dust becomes hard^h

and the clods of earth stick together?ⁱ

³⁹“Do you hunt the prey for the lioness

and satisfy the hunger of the lions^j

⁴⁰when they crouch in their dens^k

or lie in wait in a thicket?^l

⁴¹Who provides food^m 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 goats^p give birth?

Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?^q

²Do you count the months till they bear?

Do you know the time they give birth?^r

³They crouch down and bring forth their young;

their labor pains are ended.

⁴Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;

they leave and do not return.

⁵“Who let the wild donkey^s go free?

Who untied its ropes?

⁶I gave it the wasteland^t as its home,

the salt flats^u as its habitat.^v

⁷It laughs^w at the commotion in the town;

it does not hear a driver’s shout.^x

⁸It ranges the hills^y for its pasture

and searches for any green thing.

⁹“Will the wild ox^z consent to serve you?^a

Will it stay by your manger^b at night?

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

Will it till the valleys behind you?

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

Will you leave your heavy work to it?

¹²Can 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

¹⁴She lays her eggs on the ground

and lets them warm in the sand,

¹⁵unmindful that a foot may crush them,

that some wild animal may trample them.^f

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

she cares not that her labor was in vain,

¹⁷for God did not endow her with wisdom

or give her a share of good sense.^h

¹⁸Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,

she laughsⁱ at horse and rider.

¹⁹“Do you give the horse its strength^j

or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?

²⁰Do you make it leap like a locust,^k

striking terror^l with its proud snorting?^m

²¹It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,ⁿ

and charges into the fray.^o

²²It laughs^p at fear, afraid of nothing;

it does not shy away from the sword.

²³The quiver^q rattles against its side,

along with the flashing spear^r and lance.

²⁴In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;

it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.^s

²⁵At the blast of the trumpet^t 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

²⁷Does the eagle soar at your command

and build its nest on high?^w

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

a rocky crag^x is its stronghold.

²⁹From there it looks for food;^y

its eyes detect it from afar.

³⁰Its young ones feast on blood,

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

40The Lord said to Job:^a

²“Will the one who contends with the Almighty^b correct him?^c

Let him who accuses God answer him!”^d

³Then Job answered the Lord:

⁴“I am unworthy^e—how can I reply to you?

I put my hand over my mouth.^f

⁵I spoke once, but I have no answer^g—

twice, but I will say no more.”^h

⁶Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:ⁱ

⁷“Brace yourself like a man;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.^j

⁸“Would you discredit my justice?^k

Would you condemn me to justify yourself?^l

⁹Do you have an arm like God’s,^m

and can your voiceⁿ thunder like his?^o

¹⁰Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,

and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.^p

¹¹Unleash the fury of your wrath,^q

look at all who are proud and bring them low,^r

¹²look at all who are proud^s and humble them,^t

crush^u the wicked where they stand.

¹³Bury them all in the dust together;^v

shroud their faces in the grave.^w

¹⁴Then I myself will admit to you

that your own right hand can save you.^x

¹⁵“Look at Behemoth,

which I made^y along with you

and which feeds on grass like an ox.^z

¹⁶What strength^a it has in its loins,

what power in the muscles of its belly!^b

¹⁷Its tail sways like a cedar;

the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.^c

¹⁸Its bones are tubes of bronze,

its limbs^d like rods of iron.^e

¹⁹It ranks first among the works of God,^f

yet its Maker^g can approach it with his sword.^h

²⁰The hills bring it their produce,ⁱ

and all the wild animals play^j nearby.^k

²¹Under the lotus plants it lies,

hidden among the reeds^l in the marsh.^m

²²The lotuses conceal it in their shadow;

the poplars by the streamⁿ surround it.

²³A raging river^o does not alarm it;

it is secure, though the Jordan^p should surge against its mouth.

²⁴Can anyone capture it by the eyes,

or trap it and pierce its nose?^q