Job 38: 1 - 40: 5
| 1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, |
| 2“Who is this who darkens counsel |
| by words without knowledge? |
| 3Brace yourself like a man, |
| for I will question you, then you answer me! |
| 4“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? |
| Declare, if you have understanding. |
| 5Who determined its measures, if you know? |
| Or who stretched the line on it? |
| 6What were its foundations fastened on? |
| Or who laid its cornerstone, |
| 7when the morning stars sang together, |
| and all the sons of God shouted for joy? |
| 8“Or who shut up the sea with doors, |
| when it broke out of the womb, |
| 9when I made clouds its garment, |
| and wrapped it in thick darkness, |
| 10marked out for it my bound, |
| set bars and doors, |
| 11and said, ‘You may come here, but no further. |
| Your proud waves shall be stopped here’? |
| 12“Have you commanded the morning in your days, |
| and caused the dawn to know its place, |
| 13that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, |
| and shake the wicked out of it? |
| 14It is changed as clay under the seal, |
| and presented as a garment. |
| 15From the wicked, their light is withheld. |
| The high arm is broken. |
| 16“Have you entered into the springs of the sea? |
| Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep? |
| 17Have the gates of death been revealed to you? |
| Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? |
| 18Have you comprehended the earth in its width? |
| Declare, if you know it all. |
| 19“What is the way to the dwelling of light? |
| As for darkness, where is its place, |
| 20that you should take it to its bound, |
| that you should discern the paths to its house? |
| 21Surely you know, for you were born then, |
| and the number of your days is great! |
| 22Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, |
| or have you seen the treasures of the hail, |
| 23which I have reserved against the time of trouble, |
| against the day of battle and war? |
| 24By what way is the lightning distributed, |
| or the east wind scattered on the earth? |
| 25Who has cut a channel for the flood water, |
| or the path for the thunder storm, |
| 26to cause it to rain on a land where there is no man, |
| on the wilderness, in which there is no man, |
| 27to satisfy the waste and desolate ground, |
| to cause the tender grass to grow? |
| 28Does the rain have a father? |
| Or who fathers the drops of dew? |
| 29Whose womb did the ice come out of? |
| Who has given birth to the grey frost of the sky? |
| 30The waters become hard like stone, |
| when the surface of the deep is frozen. |
| 31“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, |
| or loosen the cords of Orion? |
| 32Can you lead the constellations out in their season? |
| Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs? |
| 33Do you know the laws of the heavens? |
| Can you establish its dominion over the earth? |
| 34“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, |
| That abundance of waters may cover you? |
| 35Can you send out lightnings, that they may go? |
| Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’? |
| 36Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? |
| Or who has given understanding to the mind? |
| 37Who can count the clouds by wisdom? |
| Or who can pour out the containers of the sky, |
| 38when the dust runs into a mass, |
| and the clods of earth stick together? |
| 39“Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, |
| or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, |
| 40when they crouch in their dens, |
| and lie in wait in the thicket? |
| 41Who provides for the raven his prey, |
| when his young ones cry to God, |
| and wander for lack of food? |
| 1“Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? |
| Do you watch when the doe bears fawns? |
| 2Can you count the months that they fulfil? |
| Or do you know the time when they give birth? |
| 3They bow themselves. They bear their young. |
| They end their labour pains. |
| 4Their young ones become strong. |
| They grow up in the open field. |
| They go out, and don’t return again. |
| 5“Who has set the wild donkey free? |
| Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey, |
| 6whose home I have made the wilderness, |
| and the salt land his dwelling place? |
| 7He scorns the tumult of the city, |
| neither does he hear the shouting of the driver. |
| 8The range of the mountains is his pasture, |
| He searches after every green thing. |
| 9“Will the wild ox be content to serve you? |
| Or will he stay by your feeding trough? |
| 10Can you hold the wild ox in the furrow with his harness? |
| Or will he till the valleys after you? |
| 11Will you trust him, because his strength is great? |
| Or will you leave to him your labour? |
| 12Will you confide in him, that he will bring home your seed, |
| and gather the grain of your threshing floor? |
| 13“The wings of the ostrich wave proudly; |
| but are they the feathers and plumage of love? |
| 14For she leaves her eggs on the earth, |
| warms them in the dust, |
| 15and forgets that the foot may crush them, |
| or that the wild animal may trample them. |
| 16She deals harshly with her young ones, as if they were not hers. |
| Though her labour is in vain, she is without fear, |
| 17because God has deprived her of wisdom, |
| neither has he imparted to her understanding. |
| 18When she lifts up herself on high, |
| she scorns the horse and his rider. |
| 19“Have you given the horse might? |
| Have you clothed his neck with a quivering mane? |
| 20Have you made him to leap as a locust? |
| The glory of his snorting is awesome. |
| 21He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength. |
| He goes out to meet the armed men. |
| 22He mocks at fear, and is not dismayed, |
| neither does he turn back from the sword. |
| 23The quiver rattles against him, |
| the flashing spear and the javelin. |
| 24He eats up the ground with fierceness and rage, |
| neither does he stand still at the sound of the trumpet. |
| 25As often as the trumpet sounds he snorts, ‘Aha!’ |
| He smells the battle afar off, |
| the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. |
| 26“Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, |
| and stretches her wings towards the south? |
| 27Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up, |
| and makes his nest on high? |
| 28On the cliff he dwells, and makes his home, |
| on the point of the cliff, and the stronghold. |
| 29From there he spies out the prey. |
| His eyes see it afar off. |
| 30His young ones also suck up blood. |
| Where the slain are, there he is.” |
| 1Moreover the LORD answered Job, |
| 2“Shall he who argues contend with the Almighty? |
| He who argues with God, let him answer it.” |
| 3Then Job answered the LORD, |
| 4“Behold, I am of small account. What will I answer you? |
| I lay my hand on my mouth. |
| 5I have spoken once, and I will not answer; |
| Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.” |
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