Book of Job, Chapter 38
Job 38 RSV - Revised Standard VersionChapter 38 of Job—Revised Standard Version (RSV)
- ¶ Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:
- ¶ “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
- Gird up your loins like a man,
I will question you, and you shall declare to me. - ¶ “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding. - Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it? - On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone, - when the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy? - ¶ “Or who shut in the sea with doors,
when it burst forth from the womb; - when I made clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band, - and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors, - and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed’? - ¶ “Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
and caused the dawn to know its place, - that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,
and the wicked be shaken out of it? - It is changed like clay under the seal,
and it is dyed[a] like a garment. - From the wicked their light is withheld,
and their uplifted arm is broken. - ¶ “Have you entered into 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 you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
Declare, if you know all this. - ¶ “Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
and where is the place of darkness, - that you may take it to its territory
and that you may discern the paths to its home? - You know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great! - ¶ “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, - which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war? - What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth? - ¶ “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a way for the thunderbolt, - to bring rain on a land where no man is,
on the desert in which there is no man; - to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground put forth grass? - ¶ “Has the rain a father,
or who has begotten the drops of dew? - From whose womb did the ice come forth,
and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven? - The waters become hard like stone,
and the face of the deep is frozen. - ¶ “Can you bind the chains of the Plei′ades,
or loose the cords of Orion? - Can you lead forth the Maz′zaroth in their season,
or can you guide the Bear with its children? - Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you establish their rule on the earth? - ¶ “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
that a flood of waters may cover you? - Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go
and say to you, ‘Here we are’? - Who has put wisdom in the clouds,[b]
or given understanding to the mists?[c] - Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens, - when the dust runs into a mass
and the clods cleave fast together? - ¶ “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, - when they crouch in their dens,
or lie in wait in their covert? - Who provides for the raven its prey,
when its young ones cry to God,
and wander about for lack of food?
FOOTNOTES
- ^ Cn: Heb they stand forth
- ^ The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- ^ The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
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