Job 38

“Who is this that darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?

‘Who is this that obscures my plans
    with words without knowledge?

“Now gird up your loins like a man,
And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!

Brace yourself like a man;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you ^[a]have understanding,

‘Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
    Tell me, if you understand.

Who set its measurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the line on it?

Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
    Who stretched a measuring line across it?

“On what were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,

On what were its footings set,
    or who laid its cornerstone –

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

while the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels^[a] shouted for joy?

“Or who enclosed the sea with doors
When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;

‘Who shut up the sea behind doors
    when it burst forth from the womb,

When I made a cloud its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,

when I made the clouds its garment
    and wrapped it in thick darkness,

And I ^[b]placed boundaries on it
And set a bolt and doors,

when I fixed limits for it
    and set its doors and bars in place,

And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther;
And here shall your proud waves stop’?

when I said, “This far you may come and no farther;
    here is where your proud waves halt”?

“Have you ^[c]ever in your life commanded the morning,
And caused the dawn to know its place,

‘Have you ever given orders to the morning,
    or shown the dawn its place,

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

that it might take the earth by the edges
    and shake the wicked out of it?

“It is changed like clay under the seal;
And they stand forth like a garment.

The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
    its features stand out like those of a garment.

“From the wicked their light is withheld,
And the uplifted arm is broken.

The wicked are denied their light,
    and their upraised arm is broken.

“Have you entered into the springs of the sea
Or walked ^[d]in the recesses of the deep?

‘Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
    or walked in the recesses of the deep?

“Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

Have the gates of death been shown to you?
    Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?

“Have you understood the ^[e]expanse of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.

Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know all this.

“Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,

‘What is the way to the abode of light?
    And where does darkness reside?

That you may take it to its territory
And that you may discern the paths to its ^[f]home?

Can you take them to their places?
    Do you know the paths to their dwellings?

“You know, for you were born then,
And the number of your days is great!

Surely you know, for you were already born!
    You have lived so many years!

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

‘Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
    or seen the storehouses of the hail,

Which I have reserved for the time of distress,
For the day of war and battle?

which I reserve for times of trouble,
    for days of war and battle?

“Where is the way that the light is divided,
Or the east wind scattered on the earth?

What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
    or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?

“Who has cleft a channel for the flood,
Or a way for the thunderbolt,

Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
    and a path for the thunderstorm,

To bring rain on a land without ^[g]people,
On a desert without a man in it,

to water a land where no one lives,
    an uninhabited desert,

To satisfy the waste and desolate land
And to make the ^[h]seeds of grass to sprout?

to satisfy a desolate wasteland
    and make it sprout with grass?

“Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

Does the rain have a father?
    Who fathers the drops of dew?

“From whose womb has come the ice?
And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?

From whose womb comes the ice?
    Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens

“Water ^[i]becomes hard like stone,
And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.

when the waters become hard as stone,
    when the surface of the deep is frozen?

“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades,
Or loose the cords of Orion?

‘Can you bind the chains^[b] of the Pleiades?
    Can you loosen Orion’s belt?

“Can you lead forth a ^[j]constellation in its season,
And guide the Bear with her ^[k]satellites?

Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons^[c]
    or lead out the Bear^[d] with its cubs?

“Do you know the ordinances of the heavens,
Or fix their rule over the earth?

Do you know the laws of the heavens?
    Can you set up God’s^[e] dominion over the earth?

“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
So that an abundance of water will cover you?

‘Can you raise your voice to the clouds
    and cover yourself with a flood of water?

“Can you send forth lightnings that they may go
And say to you, ‘Here we are’?

Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
    Do they report to you, “Here we are”?

“Who has put wisdom in the innermost being
Or given understanding to the ^[l]mind?

Who gives the ibis wisdom^[f]
    or gives the cockerel understanding?^[g]

“Who can count the clouds by wisdom,
Or tip the water jars of the heavens,

Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
    Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens

When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together?

when the dust becomes hard
    and the clods of earth stick together?

“Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

‘Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
    and satisfy the hunger of the lions

When they crouch in their dens
And lie in wait in their lair?

when they crouch in their dens
    or lie in wait in a thicket?

“Who prepares for the raven its nourishment
When its young cry to God
And wander about without food?