Job 38-40

1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

2“Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?

3Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.

4Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.

5Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched a measuring line across it?

6On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone,

7while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,

9when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its blanket,

10when I fixed its boundaries and set in place its bars and doors,

11and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther; here your proud waves must stop’?

12In your days, have you commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place,

13that it might spread to the ends of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?

14The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its hills stand out like the folds of a garment.

15Light is withheld from the wicked, and their upraised arm is broken.

16Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep?

17Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

18Have you surveyed the extent of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.

19Where is the way to the home of light? Do you know where darkness resides,

20so you can lead it back to its border? Do you know the paths to its home?

21Surely you know, for you were already born! And the number of your days is great!

22Have you entered the storehouses of snow or observed the storehouses of hail,

23which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of war and battle?

24In which direction is the lightning dispersed, or the east wind scattered over the earth?

25Who cuts a channel for the flood or clears a path for the thunderbolt,

26to bring rain on a barren land, on a desert where no man lives,

27to satisfy the parched wasteland and make it sprout with tender grass?

28Does the rain have a father? Who has begotten the drops of dew?

29From whose womb does the ice emerge? Who gives birth to the frost from heaven,

30when the waters become hard as stone and the surface of the deep is frozen?

31Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion?

32Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear and her cubs?

33Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?

34Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?

35Can you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

36Who has put wisdom in the heart or given understanding to the mind?

37Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of the heavens

38when the dust hardens into a mass and the clods of earth stick together?

39Can you hunt the prey for a lioness or satisfy the hunger of young lions

40when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait in the thicket?

41Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God as they wander about for lack of food?

1“Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the doe bear her fawn?

2Can you count the months they are pregnant? Do you know the time they give birth?

3They crouch down and bring forth their young; they deliver their newborn.

4Their young ones thrive and grow up in the open field; they leave and do not return.

5Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from the harness?

6I made the wilderness his home and the salt flats his dwelling.

7He scorns the tumult of the city and never hears the shouts of a driver.

8He roams the mountains for pasture, searching for any green thing.

9Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night?

10Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he plow the valleys behind you?

11Can you rely on his great strength? Will you leave your hard work to him?

12Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?

13The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but cannot match the pinions and feathers of the stork.

14For she leaves her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand.

15She forgets that a foot may crush them, or a wild animal may trample them.

16She treats her young harshly, as if not her own, with no concern that her labor was in vain.

17For God has deprived her of wisdom; He has not endowed her with understanding.

18Yet when she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider.

19Do you give strength to the horse or adorn his neck with a mane?

20Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting?

21He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; he charges into battle.

22He laughs at fear, frightened of nothing; he does not turn back from the sword.

23A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and lance.

24Trembling with excitement, he devours the distance; he cannot stand still when the ram’s horn sounds.

25At the blast of the horn, he snorts with fervor. He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shouts of captains and the cry of war.

26Does the hawk take flight by your understanding and spread his wings toward the south?

27Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high?

28He dwells on a cliff and lodges there; his stronghold is on a rocky crag.

29From there he spies out food; his eyes see it from afar.

30His young ones feast on blood; and where the slain are, there he is.”

1And the LORD said to Job:

2“Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who argues with God give an answer.”

3Then Job answered the LORD:

4“Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You? I place my hand over my mouth.

5I have spoken once, but I have no answer— twice, but I have nothing to add.”

6Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

7“Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.

8Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?

9Do you have an arm like God’s? Can you thunder with a voice like His?

10Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, and clothe yourself with honor and glory.

11Unleash the fury of your wrath; look on every proud man and bring him low.

12Look on every proud man and humble him; trample the wicked where they stand.

13Bury them together in the dust; imprison them in the grave.

14Then I will confess to you that your own right hand can save you.

15Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you. He feeds on grass like an ox.

16See the strength of his loins and the power in the muscles of his belly.

17His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.

18His bones are tubes of bronze; his limbs are rods of iron.

19He is the foremost of God’s works; only his Maker can draw the sword against him.

20The hills yield him their produce, while all the beasts of the field play nearby.

21He lies under the lotus plants, hidden among the reeds of the marsh.

22The lotus plants conceal him in their shade; the willows of the brook surround him.

23Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid; he remains secure, though the Jordan surges to his mouth.

24Can anyone capture him as he looks on, or pierce his nose with a snare?