Job - Chapter 38

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

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

6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

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

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

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

8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?

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

9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,

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

10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,

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

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

11 And 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; and caused the dayspring to know his place;

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

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

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

14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.

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

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

15 And 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 search of the depth?

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

17 Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?

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

18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.

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

19 Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

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

20 That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?

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

21 Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?

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

22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

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

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

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

24 By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?

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

25 Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;

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

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

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

27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?

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

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

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

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

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

30 The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

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

31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?

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

32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

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

33 Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

33 Have 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?

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

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

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

36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?

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

37 Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,

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

38 When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?

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

39 Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,

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

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

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

41 Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.

41 Who 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?