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38 Then Hashem answered Iyov out of the whirlwind, and said,

Who is this that darkeneth etzah (counsel) with words without da’as?

Gird up now thy loins like a gever; for I will ask of thee, and thou wilt answer Me.

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of eretz? Tell, if thou hast binah.

Who hath drafted the dimensions thereof, if thou hast da’as? Or who hath stretched a measuring line across it?

Whereupon are the foundations thereof set? Or who laid the even-pinnah (cornerstone) thereof

When the kokhvei boker sang together, and all the Bnei Elohim shouted for joy?

Or who shut up the yam behind doors? Who brought it forth, issuing out of the rekhem (womb)

When I made the anan the garment thereof, and thick darkness its swaddling band,

10 And fixed bounds for it, and set bars and dlatot (doors),

11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and poh (here) shall thy proud waves be stopped?

12 Hast thou commanded the boker since thy yamim began; or caused the shachar (dawn) to know its place;

13 That it might seize the ends of ha’aretz, that the resha’im be shaken out of it?

14 It is changed like chomer (clay) under the khotam (seal); and they stand out like a garment.

15 And from the resha’im their ohr is denied, and the upraised zero’a shall be broken.

16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the yam? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the tehom?

17 Have the sha’arei mavet been disclosed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the sha’arei tzalmavet?

18 Hast thou perceived the expanse of eretz? Tell Me if thou hast da’as of it all.

19 Where is the derech where ohr dwelleth? And as for choshech, where is the place thereof,

20 That thou shouldest take it to its border, and that thou shouldest have da’as of the paths to its bais?

21 Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? Or because the mispar of thy yamim is so great?

22 Hast thou entered into the otzrot (storehouses) of the snow? Or hast thou seen the otzrot of barad (hail),

23 Which I have reserved for the time of tzar, for the yom kerav (battle) and milchamah (war)?

24 Which is the derech where the ohr is distributed, where is scattered the east wind upon eretz?

25 Who hath cut a channel for the overflowing of waters, or a derech for the lightning of thunder,

26 To cause it to rain on eretz, where lo ish is; on midbar, wherein there is lo adam;

27 To saturate a desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the desheh to spring forth?

28 Hath the rain an av? Or who hath begotten the drops of tal (dew)?

29 Out of whose beten cometh the ice? And the frost of Shomayim, who giveth birth to it?

30 The mayim harden like even (stone), and the face of tehom is frozen.

31 Canst thou bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the bonds of Orion?

32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzarot in their times? Or canst thou guide the Bear with its banim?

33 Knowest thou the chukkot of Shomayim? Canst thou set the rule over ha’aretz?

34 Canst thou lift up thy kol (voice) to the clouds, that abundance of mayim may cover thee?

35 Canst thou send lightning bolts, that they may go and say unto thee, Hineinu (here we are)?

36 Who hath put chochmah in the inward parts, or who hath given binah to the mind?

37 Who can number the clouds in chochmah, or who can tip the waterskins of Shomayim,

38 When the dust hardens into a clump, and the clods cleave fast together?

39 Wilt thou hunt the teref for the lioness, or fill the appetite of her whelps,

40 When they crouch in their me’onot (dens), and abide in the lair to lie in ambush?

41 Who provideth for the raven his food? When his young ones cry unto El, they wander about for lack of okhel.

The Lord Speaks

38 Then the Lord spoke to Job(A) out of the storm.(B) He said:

“Who is this that obscures my plans(C)
    with words without knowledge?(D)
Brace yourself like a man;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.(E)

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?(F)
    Tell me, if you understand.(G)
Who marked off its dimensions?(H) Surely you know!
    Who stretched a measuring line(I) across it?
On what were its footings set,(J)
    or who laid its cornerstone(K)
while the morning stars(L) sang together(M)
    and all the angels[a](N) shouted for joy?(O)

“Who shut up the sea behind doors(P)
    when it burst forth from the womb,(Q)
when I made the clouds its garment
    and wrapped it in thick darkness,(R)
10 when I fixed limits for it(S)
    and set its doors and bars in place,(T)
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;(U)
    here is where your proud waves halt’?(V)

12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,(W)
    or shown the dawn its place,(X)
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
    and shake the wicked(Y) out of it?(Z)
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;(AA)
    its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,(AB)
    and their upraised arm is broken.(AC)

16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
    or walked in the recesses of the deep?(AD)
17 Have the gates of death(AE) been shown to you?
    Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?(AF)
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?(AG)
    Tell me, if you know all this.(AH)

19 “What is the way to the abode of light?
    And where does darkness reside?(AI)
20 Can you take them to their places?
    Do you know the paths(AJ) to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!(AK)
    You have lived so many years!

22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow(AL)
    or seen the storehouses(AM) of the hail,(AN)
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,(AO)
    for days of war and battle?(AP)
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,(AQ)
    or the place where the east winds(AR) are scattered over the earth?(AS)
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
    and a path for the thunderstorm,(AT)
26 to water(AU) a land where no one lives,
    an uninhabited desert,(AV)
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
    and make it sprout with grass?(AW)
28 Does the rain have a father?(AX)
    Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
    Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens(AY)
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
    when the surface of the deep is frozen?(AZ)

31 “Can you bind the chains[b] of the Pleiades?
    Can you loosen Orion’s belt?(BA)
32 Can you bring forth the constellations(BB) in their seasons[c]
    or lead out the Bear[d] with its cubs?(BC)
33 Do you know the laws(BD) of the heavens?(BE)
    Can you set up God’s[e] dominion over the earth?

34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
    and cover yourself with a flood of water?(BF)
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?(BG)
    Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom[f](BH)
    or gives the rooster understanding?[g](BI)
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
    Who can tip over the water jars(BJ) of the heavens(BK)
38 when the dust becomes hard(BL)
    and the clods of earth stick together?(BM)

39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
    and satisfy the hunger of the lions(BN)
40 when they crouch in their dens(BO)
    or lie in wait in a thicket?(BP)
41 Who provides food(BQ) for the raven(BR)
    when its young cry out to God
    and wander about for lack of food?(BS)

Footnotes

  1. Job 38:7 Hebrew the sons of God
  2. Job 38:31 Septuagint; Hebrew beauty
  3. Job 38:32 Or the morning star in its season
  4. Job 38:32 Or out Leo
  5. Job 38:33 Or their
  6. Job 38:36 That is, wisdom about the flooding of the Nile
  7. Job 38:36 That is, understanding of when to crow; the meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.