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Job 38
Lexham English Bible
Job 38
Lexham English Bible
Yahweh Challenges Job
38 Then[a] Yahweh answered Job from the storm, and he said,
2 “Who is this darkening counsel
by words without knowledge?
3 Prepare yourself for a difficult task like a man,[b]
and I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
Yahweh Interrogates Job
4 “Where were you at my laying the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you possess understanding.
5 Who determined its measurement? Yes, you do know.
Or who stretched the measuring line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars were singing together
and all the sons of God[c] shouted for joy?
8 “Or who shut the sea in with doors
at its bursting, when it went out of the womb,
9 at my making the clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 and I prescribed my rule for it,
and I set bars and doors,
11 and I said, ‘You shall come up to here, but[d] you shall not go further,
and here it will set a boundary for your proud surging waves’?[e]
12 “Have you ever in your life[f] commanded the morning?
Have you made the dawn know its place,
13 to take hold of the earth’s skirts
so that[g] the wicked might be shaken off from it?
14 It is changed like clay under a seal,
and they appear like a garment.
15 And their light is withheld from the wicked,
and their uplifted arm is broken.
16 “Have you entered into the sea’s sources?
Or have you walked around in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
Or have you seen the gates of deep shadow?
18 Have you considered closely the earth’s vast expanse?
Declare it, if you know all of it.
19 “Where then[h] is the way where the light dwells?
And where then[i] is its place,
20 that you may take it to its territory,
and that you might discern the paths to its home?
21 You know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great.
22 Have you entered into the storehouses of the snow,
or[j] have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?
24 Where then[k] is the way where the light is distributed,
where he scatters the east wind upon the earth?
25 “Who has cut open a channel for the torrents
and a way for the thunder bolts,[l]
26 to bring rain on a land where no one lives,[m]
a desert where no humans live,[n]
27 to satisfy desert and wasteland,
and to cause the ground to put forth the rising of grass?
28 Is there a father for the rain,
or who fathered the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb did the ice come forth,
and who fathered the frost of heaven?
30 Like stone the waters become hard,
and the faces of the deep freeze.
31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades,
or can you loosen the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead forth the southern constellations at their appointed time,
or[o] can you lead the Bear with its children?
33 Do you know heaven’s statutes,
or can you establish their rule on the earth?
34 Can you lift up your voice to the clouds
so that[p] a flood of water may cover you?
35 Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go?
And will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the ibis,[q]
or who has given understanding to the rooster?[r]
37 Who can number the clouds with wisdom?
Or[s] who can tilt heaven’s jars,
38 at the flowing of the dust into a cast
and the clods cling together?
39 “Can you hunt prey for the lion?
And can you satisfy the hunger of strong lions
40 when they are crouched in the dens,
when they lie in the thicket in an ambush?
41 Who prepares for the crow its prey,
when its young ones cry to God for help,
and they wander around for lack of food?[t]
Footnotes
- Job 38:1 Hebrew “And”
- Job 38:3 Literally “Gird up like a man your loins”
- Job 38:7 Or “heavenly beings”
- Job 38:11 Hebrew “and”
- Job 38:11 Literally “for the pride of your surging waves”
- Job 38:12 Literally “from your days”
- Job 38:13 Hebrew “and”
- Job 38:19 Or “Where exactly”
- Job 38:19 Or “where exactly”
- Job 38:22 Hebrew “and”
- Job 38:24 Or “Where exactly”
- Job 38:25 Literally “bolt of thunders”
- Job 38:26 Literally “not a man”
- Job 38:26 Literally “not humans in it”
- Job 38:32 Hebrew “and”
- Job 38:34 Hebrew “and”
- Job 38:36 Or “inner parts”
- Job 38:36 Or “mind”
- Job 38:37 Hebrew “And”
- Job 38:41 Literally “for no food”
Job 38
New International Version
Job 38
New International Version
The Lord Speaks
38 Then the Lord spoke to Job(A) out of the storm.(B) He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans(C)
with words without knowledge?(D)
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.(E)
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?(F)
Tell me, if you understand.(G)
5 Who marked off its dimensions?(H) Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line(I) across it?
6 On what were its footings set,(J)
or who laid its cornerstone(K)—
7 while the morning stars(L) sang together(M)
and all the angels[a](N) shouted for joy?(O)
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors(P)
when it burst forth from the womb,(Q)
9 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)
Footnotes
- Job 38:7 Hebrew the sons of God
- Job 38:31 Septuagint; Hebrew beauty
- Job 38:32 Or the morning star in its season
- Job 38:32 Or out Leo
- Job 38:33 Or their
- Job 38:36 That is, wisdom about the flooding of the Nile
- Job 38:36 That is, understanding of when to crow; the meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
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New International Version (NIV) 
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