Job 38:1-11

God Speaks Now to Job

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

2 "Who is this that ²darkens counsel By words without knowledge?

3 "Now ³gird up your loins like a man, And ⁴I will ask you, and you instruct Me!

4 "Where were you ⁵when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding,

5 Who set its ⁶measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it?

6 "On what ⁷were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone *,

7 When the morning stars sang together And all the ⁸sons of God shouted for joy?

8 "Or who ⁹enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;

9 When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band,

10 And I ¹⁰placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors,

11 And I said, 'Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop '?

Job 38:1-11 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 38

In this chapter the Lord takes up the controversy with Job; calls upon him to prepare to engage with him in it, and demands an answer to posing questions he puts to him, concerning the earth and the fabric of it, Job 38:1-7; concerning the sea, compared to an infant in embryo, at its birth, in its swaddling bands and cradle, Job 38:8-11; concerning the morning light, its spread and influence, Job 38:12-15; concerning the springs of the sea, the dark parts of the earth, the place both of light and darkness, Job 38:16-21; concerning the various meteors, snow, hail, rain, thunder, lightning, and the influences of the stars, Job 38:22-38; and concerning provision for lions and ravens, Job 38:40,41.

Cross References

• 1. Job 40:6
• 2. Job 35:16; Job 42:3
• 3. Job 40:7
• 4. Job 42:4
• 5. Job 15:7; Psalms 104:5; Proverbs 8:29; Proverbs 30:4
• 6. Proverbs 8:29; Isaiah 40:12
• 7. Job 26:7
• 8. Job 1:6
• 9. Genesis 1:9; Psalms 104:6-9; Proverbs 8:29; Jeremiah 5:22
• 10. Genesis 1:9; Psalms 33:7; Psalms 104:9; Proverbs 8:29; Jeremiah 5:22

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "know understanding"
• [b]. Lit "broke My decree on it"