Job 38
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Job 38
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| Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, | And the Lord made answer to Job out of the storm-wind, and said, |
| Who is this that darkeneth counsel By words without knowledge? | Who is this who makes the purpose of God dark by words without knowledge? |
| Gird up now thy loins like a man; For I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. | Get your strength together like a man of war; I will put questions to you, and you will give me the answers. |
| Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding. | Where were you when I put the earth on its base? Say, if you have knowledge. |
| Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched the line upon it? | By whom were its measures fixed? Say, if you have wisdom; or by whom was the line stretched out over it? |
| Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner-stone thereof, | On what were its pillars based, or who put down its angle-stone, |
| When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy? | When the morning stars made songs together, and all the sons of the gods gave cries of joy? |
| Or [who] shut up the sea with doors, When it brake forth, [as if] it had issued out of the womb; | Or where were you when the sea came to birth, pushing out from its secret place; |
| When I made clouds the garment thereof, And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it, | When I made the cloud its robe, and put thick clouds as bands round it, |
| And marked out for it my bound, And set bars and doors, | Ordering a fixed limit for it, with locks and doors; |
| And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; And here shall thy proud waves be stayed? | And said, So far you may come, and no farther; and here the pride of your waves will be stopped? |
| Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days [began], [And] caused the dayspring to know its place; | Have you, from your earliest days, given orders to the morning, or made the dawn conscious of its place; |
| That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it? | So that it might take a grip of the skirts of the earth, shaking all the evil-doers out of it? |
| It is changed as clay under the seal; And [all things] stand forth as a garment: | It is changed like wet earth under a stamp, and is coloured like a robe; |
| And from the wicked their light is withholden, And the high arm is broken. | And from the evil-doers their light is kept back, and the arm of pride is broken. |
| Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep? | Have you come into the springs of the sea, walking in the secret places of the deep? |
| Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death? | Have the doors of death been open to you, or have the door-keepers of the dark ever seen you? |
| Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth? Declare, if thou knowest it all. | Have you taken note of the wide limits of the earth? Say, if you have knowledge of it all. |
| Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof, | Which is the way to the resting-place of the light, and where is the store-house of the dark; |
| That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof? | So that you might take it to its limit, guiding it to its house? |
| [Doubtless], thou knowest, for thou wast then born, And the number of thy days is great! | No doubt you have knowledge of it, for then you had come to birth, and the number of your days is great. |
| Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, | Have you come into the secret place of snow, or have you seen the store-houses of the ice-drops, |
| Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, Against the day of battle and war? | Which I have kept for the time of trouble, for the day of war and fighting? |
| By what way is the light parted, Or the east wind scattered upon the earth? | Which is the way to the place where the wind is measured out, and the east wind sent out over the earth? |
| Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood, Or the way for the lightning of the thunder; | By whom has the way been cut for the flowing of the rain, and the flaming of the thunder; |
| To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; On the wilderness, wherein there is no man; | Causing rain to come on a land where no man is living, on the waste land which has no people; |
| To satisfy the waste and desolate [ground], And to cause the tender grass to spring forth? | To give water to the land where there is waste and destruction, and to make the dry land green with young grass? |
| Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew? | Has the rain a father? or who gave birth to the drops of night mist? |
| Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? | Out of whose body came the ice? and who gave birth to the cold mist of heaven? |
| The waters hide themselves [and become] like stone, And the face of the deep is frozen. | The waters are joined together, hard as a stone, and the face of the deep is covered. |
| Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the bands of Orion? | Are the bands of the Pleiades fixed by you, or are the cords of Orion made loose? |
| Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? Or canst thou guide the Bear with her train? | Do you make Mazzaroth come out in its right time, or are the Bear and its children guided by you? |
| Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth? | Have you knowledge of the laws of the heavens? did you give them rule over the earth? |
| Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover thee? | Is your voice sent up to the cloud, so that you may be covered by the weight of waters? |
| Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go, And say unto thee, Here we are? | Do you send out the thunder-flames, so that they may go, and say to you, Here we are? |
| Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who hath given understanding to the mind? | Who has put wisdom in the high clouds, or given knowledge to the lights of the north? |
| Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven, | By whose wisdom are the clouds numbered, or the water-skins of the heavens turned to the earth, |
| When the dust runneth into a mass, And the clods cleave fast together? | When the earth becomes hard as metal, and is joined together in masses? |
| Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, | Do you go after food for the she-lion, or get meat so that the young lions may have enough, |
| When they couch in their dens, [And] abide in the covert to lie in wait? | When they are stretched out in their holes, and are waiting in the brushwood? |
| Who provideth for the raven his prey, When his young ones cry unto God, [And] wander for lack of food? | Who gives in the evening the meat he is searching for, when his young ones are crying to God; when the young lions with loud noise go wandering after their food? |
