38:4 “Where were you
when I laid the foundation5 of the earth?
Tell me,6 if you possess understanding!
38:5 Who set its measurements—if7 you know—
or who stretched a measuring line across it?
38:6 On what8 were its bases9 set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
38:7 when the morning stars10 sang11 in chorus,12
and all the sons of God13 shouted for joy?
38:8 “Who shut up14 the sea with doors
when it burst forth,15 coming out of the womb,
38:9 when I made16 the storm clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,17
38:10 when I prescribed18 its limits,
and set19 in place its bolts and doors,
38:11 when I said, ‘To here you may come20
and no farther,21
here your proud waves will be confined’?22
38:12 Have you ever in your life23 commanded the morning,
or made the dawn know24 its place,
38:13 that it might seize the corners of the earth,25
and shake the wicked out of it?
38:14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;26
its features27 are dyed28 like a garment.
38:15 Then from the wicked the light is withheld,
and the arm raised in violence29 is broken.30
38:16 Have you gone to the springs that fill the sea,31
or walked about in the recesses of the deep?
38:17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you?32
Have you seen the gates of deepest darkness?33
38:18 Have you considered the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know it all!
38:19 “In what direction34 does light reside,
and darkness, where is its place,
38:20 that you may take them to their borders
and perceive the pathways to their homes?35
38:21 You know, for you were born before them;36
and the number of your days is great!
38:22 Have you entered the storehouse37 of the snow,
or seen the armory38 of the hail,
38:23 which I reserve for the time of trouble,
for the day of war and battle?39
38:24 In what direction is lightning40 dispersed,
or the east winds scattered over the earth?
38:25 Who carves out a channel for the heavy rains,
and a path for the rumble of thunder,
38:26 to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land,41
a desert where there are no human beings,42
38:27 to satisfy a devastated and desolate land,
and to cause it to sprout with vegetation?43
38:28 Does the rain have a father,
or who has fathered the drops of the dew?
38:29 From whose womb does the ice emerge,
and the frost from the sky,44 who gives birth to it,
38:30 when the waters become hard45 like stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen solid?
38:31 Can you tie the bands46 of the Pleiades,
or release the cords of Orion?
the constellations47 in their seasons,
or guide the Bear with its cubs?48
38:33 Do you know the laws of the heavens,
or can you set up their rule over the earth?
38:34 Can you raise your voice to the clouds
so that a flood of water covers you?49
38:35 Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go?
Will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?
38:36 Who has put wisdom in the heart,50
or has imparted understanding to the mind?
38:37 Who by wisdom can count the clouds,
and who can tip over51 the water jars of heaven,
38:38 when the dust hardens52 into a mass,
and the clumps of earth stick together?
38:39 “Do you hunt prey for the lioness,
and satisfy the appetite53 of the lions,
38:40 when they crouch in their dens,
when they wait in ambush in the thicket?
38:41 Who prepares prey for the raven,
when its young cry out to God
and wander about54 for lack of food?
39:1 “Are you acquainted with the way1
the mountain goats2 give birth?
Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young?
39:2 Do you count the months they must fulfill,
and do you know the time they give birth?3
39:3 They crouch, they bear4 their young,
they bring forth the offspring they have carried.5
39:4 Their young grow strong, and grow up in the open;6
they go off, and do not return to them.
39:5 Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who released the bonds of the donkey,
39:6 to whom I appointed the steppe for its home,
the salt wastes as its dwelling place?
39:7 It scorns the tumult in the town;
it does not hear the shouts of a driver.7
39:8 It ranges the hills as its pasture,
and searches after every green plant.
39:9 Is the wild ox willing to be your servant?
Will it spend the night at your feeding trough?
39:10 Can you bind the wild ox8 to a furrow with its rope,
will it till the valleys, following after you?
39:11 Will you rely on it because its strength is great?
Will you commit9 your labor to it?
39:12 Can you count on10 it to bring in11 your grain,12
and gather the grain13 to your threshing floor?14
39:13 15 “The wings of the ostrich16 flap with joy,17
but are they the pinions and plumage of a stork?18
39:14 For she leaves19 her eggs on the ground,
and lets them be warmed on the soil.
39:15 She forgets that a foot might crush them,
or that a wild animal20 might trample them.
39:16 She is harsh21 with her young,
as if they were not hers;
she is unconcerned
about the uselessness of her labor.
39:17 For God deprived her of wisdom,
and did not impart understanding to her.
39:18 But as soon as she springs up,22
she laughs at the horse and its rider.
39:19 “Do you give the horse its strength?
Do you clothe its neck with a mane?23
39:20 Do you make it leap24 like a locust?
Its proud neighing25 is terrifying!
39:21 It26 paws the ground in the valley,27
exulting mightily,28
it goes out to meet the weapons.
39:22 It laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
it does not shy away from the sword.
39:23 On it the quiver rattles;
the lance and javelin29 flash.
39:24 In excitement and impatience it consumes the ground;30
it cannot stand still31 when the trumpet is blown.
39:25 At the sound of the trumpet, it says, ‘Aha!’
And from a distance it catches the scent of battle,
the thunderous shouting of commanders,
and the battle cries.
39:26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,32
and spreads its wings toward the south?
39:27 Is it at your command33 that the eagle soars,
and builds its nest on high?
39:28 It lives on a rock and spends the night there,
on a rocky crag34 and a fortress.35
39:29 From there it spots36 its prey,37
its eyes gaze intently from a distance.
39:30 And its young ones devour the blood,
and where the dead carcasses38 are,
there it is.”
![]() |
About The NET BibleBiblical Studies Press. |
Support Info | gs-netbible |