Job 38:1-41 (New International Version)

The LORD Speaks

1 Then the LORD answered Job¹ out of the storm.² He said: 2 "Who is this that darkens my counsel³ with words without knowledge?⁴ 3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.⁵ 4 "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?⁶ Tell me, if you understand.⁷ 5 Who marked off its dimensions?⁸ Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line⁹ across it? 6 On what were its footings set,¹⁰ or who laid its cornerstone¹¹-- 7 while the morning stars¹² sang together¹³ and all the angels^a14 shouted for joy?¹⁵ 8 "Who shut up the sea behind doors¹⁶ when it burst forth from the womb,¹⁷ 9 when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,¹⁸ 10 when I fixed limits for it¹⁹ and set its doors and bars in place,²⁰ 11 when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther;²¹ here is where your proud waves halt'?²² 12 "Have you ever given orders to the morning,²³ or shown the dawn its place,²⁴ 13 that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked²⁵ out of it?²⁶ 14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;²⁷ its features stand out like those of a garment. 15 The wicked are denied their light,²⁸ and their upraised arm is broken.²⁹ 16 "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?³⁰ 17 Have the gates of death³¹ been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death^b ?³² 18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?³³ Tell me, if you know all this.³⁴ 19 "What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?³⁵ 20 Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths³⁶ to their dwellings? 21 Surely you know, for you were already born!³⁷ You have lived so many years! 22 "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow³⁸ or seen the storehouses³⁹ of the hail,⁴⁰ 23 which I reserve for times of trouble,⁴¹ for days of war and battle?⁴² 24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,⁴³ or the place where the east winds⁴⁴ are scattered over the earth?⁴⁵ 25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,⁴⁶ 26 to water⁴⁷ a land where no man lives, a desert with no one in it,⁴⁸ 27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?⁴⁹ 28 Does the rain have a father?⁵⁰ Who fathers the drops of dew? 29 From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens⁵¹ 30 when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen?⁵² 31 "Can you bind the beautiful^c Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion?⁵³ 32 Can you bring forth the constellations⁵⁴ in their seasons^d or lead out the Bear^e with its cubs?⁵⁵ 33 Do you know the laws⁵⁶ of the heavens?⁵⁷ Can you set up [God's^f] dominion over the earth? 34 "Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?⁵⁸ 35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?⁵⁹ Do they report to you, 'Here we are'? 36 Who endowed the heart^g with wisdom⁶⁰ or gave understanding⁶¹ to the mind^h ? 37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars⁶² of the heavens⁶³ 38 when the dust becomes hard⁶⁴ and the clods of earth stick together?⁶⁵ 39 "Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions⁶⁶ 40 when they crouch in their dens⁶⁷ or lie in wait in a thicket?⁶⁸ 41 Who provides food⁶⁹ for the raven⁷⁰ when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?⁷¹