Job 38 — Side by side (ASV, WEB, BBE)

1Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

1And the Lord made answer to Job out of the storm-wind, and said,

2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel By words without knowledge?

2Who is this that darkeneth counsel By words without knowledge?

2Who is this who makes the purpose of God dark by words without knowledge?

3Gird up now thy loins like a man; For I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

3Get your strength together like a man of war; I will put questions to you, and you will give me the answers.

4Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.

4Where were you when I put the earth on its base? Say, if you have knowledge.

5Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched the line upon it?

5By whom were its measures fixed? Say, if you have wisdom; or by whom was the line stretched out over it?

6Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,

6On what were its pillars based, or who put down its angle-stone,

7When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

7When the morning stars made songs together, and all the sons of the gods gave cries of joy?

8 Orwho shut up the sea with doors, When it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb;

8Orwho shut up the sea with doors, When it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb;

8Or where were you when the sea came to birth, pushing out from its secret place;

9When I made clouds the garment thereof, And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,

9When I made the cloud its robe, and put thick clouds as bands round it,

10And marked out for it my bound, And set bars and doors,

10Ordering a fixed limit for it, with locks and doors;

11And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

11And said, So far you may come, and no farther; and here the pride of your waves will be stopped?

12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began, And caused the dayspring to know its place;

12Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began, And caused the dayspring to know its place;

12Have you, from your earliest days, given orders to the morning, or made the dawn conscious of its place;

13That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?

13So that it might take a grip of the skirts of the earth, shaking all the evil-doers out of it?

14It is changed as clay under the seal; Andall thingsstand forth as a garment:

14It is changed like wet earth under a stamp, and is coloured like a robe;

15And from the wicked their light is withholden, And the high arm is broken.

15And from the evil-doers their light is kept back, and the arm of pride is broken.

16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?

16Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?

16Have you come into the springs of the sea, walking in the secret places of the deep?

17Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?

17Have the doors of death been open to you, or have the door-keepers of the dark ever seen you?

18Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth? Declare, if thou knowest it all.

18Have you taken note of the wide limits of the earth? Say, if you have knowledge of it all.

19 Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

19Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

19Which is the way to the resting-place of the light, and where is the store-house of the dark;

20That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?

20So that you might take it to its limit, guiding it to its house?

21Doubtless, thou knowest, for thou wast then born, And the number of thy days is great!

21No doubt you have knowledge of it, for then you had come to birth, and the number of your days is great.

22Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

22Have you come into the secret place of snow, or have you seen the store-houses of the ice-drops,

23Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, Against the day of battle and war?

23Which I have kept for the time of trouble, for the day of war and fighting?

24By what way is the light parted, Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?

24Which is the way to the place where the wind is measured out, and the east wind sent out over the earth?

25 Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood, Or the way for the lightning of the thunder;

25Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood, Or the way for the lightning of the thunder;

25By whom has the way been cut for the flowing of the rain, and the flaming of the thunder;

26To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

26Causing rain to come on a land where no man is living, on the waste land which has no people;

27To satisfy the waste and desolate ground, And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?

27To give water to the land where there is waste and destruction, and to make the dry land green with young grass?

28Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

28Has the rain a father? or who gave birth to the drops of night mist?

29Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

29Out of whose body came the ice? and who gave birth to the cold mist of heaven?

30The waters hide themselvesand becomelike stone, And the face of the deep is frozen.

30The waters are joined together, hard as a stone, and the face of the deep is covered.

31 Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the bands of Orion?

31Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the bands of Orion?

31Are the bands of the Pleiades fixed by you, or are the cords of Orion made loose?

32Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? Or canst thou guide the Bear with her train?

32Do you make Mazzaroth come out in its right time, or are the Bear and its children guided by you?

33Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?

33Have you knowledge of the laws of the heavens? did you give them rule over the earth?

34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover thee?

34Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover thee?

34Is your voice sent up to the cloud, so that you may be covered by the weight of waters?

35Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go, And say unto thee, Here we are?

35Do you send out the thunder-flames, so that they may go, and say to you, Here we are?

36Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who hath given understanding to the mind?

36Who has put wisdom in the high clouds, or given knowledge to the lights of the north?

37Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,

37By whose wisdom are the clouds numbered, or the water-skins of the heavens turned to the earth,

38When the dust runneth into a mass, And the clods cleave fast together?

38When the earth becomes hard as metal, and is joined together in masses?

39 Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

39Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

39Do you go after food for the she-lion, or get meat so that the young lions may have enough,

40When they couch in their dens, Andabide in the covert to lie in wait?

40When they are stretched out in their holes, and are waiting in the brushwood?

41Who provideth for the raven his prey, When his young ones cry unto God, Andwander for lack of food?

41Who gives in the evening the meat he is searching for, when his young ones are crying to God; when the young lions with loud noise go wandering after their food?