Job 38

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

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

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 answer thou 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 hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath 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 are 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?

8Or who 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 the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,

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

10And brake up for it my decreed place, 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?

12Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his 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, that the wicked might 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 turned as clay to the seal; and they stand 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 shall be broken.

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

16Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?

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

17Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors 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 perceived the breadth of the earth? 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.

19Where is the way where light dwelleth? 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 know the paths to the house thereof?

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

21Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because 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 into the treasures 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, which scattereth the east wind 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?

25Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of 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 the earth, 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 desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb 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 are hid as with a 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.

31Canst thou bind the sweet influences of 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 bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

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 heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

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

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 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 heart?

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

37Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay 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 groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?

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

39Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill 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, and abide 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 food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.

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?