Job 26; Job 27; Job 28; Job 29; Job 30; Job 31; Job 32; Job 33; Job 34; Job 35; Job 36; Job 37; Job 38

Job 26

1 Then Job replied:

2 “How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved the arm that is feeble!

3 What advice you have offered to one without wisdom! And what great insight you have displayed!

4 Who has helped you utter these words? And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?

5 “The dead are in deep anguish, those beneath the waters and all that live in them.

6 The realm of the dead is naked before God; Destruction lies uncovered.

7 He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing.

8 He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.

9 He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it.

10 He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters for a boundary between light and darkness.

11 The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at his rebuke.

12 By his power he churned up the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.

13 By his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the gliding serpent.

14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”

Job 27

1 And Job continued his discourse:

2 “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made my life bitter,

3 as long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils,

4 my lips will not say anything wicked, and my tongue will not utter lies.

5 I will never admit you are in the right; till I die, I will not deny my integrity.

6 I will maintain my innocence and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.

7 “May my enemy be like the wicked, my adversary like the unjust!

8 For what hope have the godless when they are cut off, when God takes away their life?

9 Does God listen to their cry when distress comes upon them?

10 Will they find delight in the Almighty? Will they call on God at all times?

11 “I will teach you about the power of God; the ways of the Almighty I will not conceal.

12 You have all seen this yourselves. Why then this meaningless talk?

13 “Here is the fate God allots to the wicked, the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:

14 However many his children, their fate is the sword; his offspring will never have enough to eat.

15 The plague will bury those who survive him, and their widows will not weep for them.

16 Though he heaps up silver like dust and clothes like piles of clay,

17 what he lays up the righteous will wear, and the innocent will divide his silver.

18 The house he builds is like a moth’s cocoon, like a hut made by a watchman.

19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more; when he opens his eyes, all is gone.

20 Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest snatches him away in the night.

21 The east wind carries him off, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place.

22 It hurls itself against him without mercy as he flees headlong from its power.

23 It claps its hands in derision and hisses him out of his place.”

Job 28

1 There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.

2 Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.

3 Mortals put an end to the darkness; they search out the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness.

4 Far from human dwellings they cut a shaft, in places untouched by human feet; far from other people they dangle and sway.

5 The earth, from which food comes, is transformed below as by fire;

6 lapis lazuli comes from its rocks, and its dust contains nuggets of gold.

7 No bird of prey knows that hidden path, no falcon’s eye has seen it.

8 Proud beasts do not set foot on it, and no lion prowls there.

9 People assault the flinty rock with their hands and lay bare the roots of the mountains.

10 They tunnel through the rock; their eyes see all its treasures.

11 They search the sources of the rivers and bring hidden things to light.

12 But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell?

13 No mortal comprehends its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living.

14 The deep says, “It is not in me”; the sea says, “It is not with me.”

15 It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.

16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.

17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, nor can it be had for jewels of gold.

18 Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.

19 The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it; it cannot be bought with pure gold.

20 Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?

21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds in the sky.

22 Destruction and Death say, “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”

23 God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells,

24 for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.

25 When he established the force of the wind and measured out the waters,

26 when he made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm,

27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it; he confirmed it and tested it.

28 And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”

Job 29

1 Job continued his discourse:

2 “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me,

3 when his lamp shone on my head and by his light I walked through darkness!

4 Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,

5 when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,

6 when my path was drenched with cream and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.

7 “When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square,

8 the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet;

9 the chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands;

10 the voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

11 Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me,

12 because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist them.

13 The one who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing.

14 I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban.

15 I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.

16 I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.

17 I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth.

18 “I thought, ‘I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as the grains of sand.

19 My roots will reach to the water, and the dew will lie all night on my branches.

20 My glory will not fade; the bow will be ever new in my hand.’

21 “People listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel.

22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears.

23 They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain.

24 When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.

25 I chose the way for them and sat as their chief; I dwelt as a king among his troops; I was like one who comforts mourners.

Job 30

1 “But now they mock me, men younger than I, whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep dogs.

2 Of what use was the strength of their hands to me, since their vigor had gone from them?

3 Haggard from want and hunger, they roamed the parched land in desolate wastelands at night.

4 In the brush they gathered salt herbs, and their food was the root of the broom bush.

5 They were banished from human society, shouted at as if they were thieves.

6 They were forced to live in the dry stream beds, among the rocks and in holes in the ground.

7 They brayed among the bushes and huddled in the undergrowth.

8 A base and nameless brood, they were driven out of the land.

9 “And now those young men mock me in song; I have become a byword among them.

10 They detest me and keep their distance; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

11 Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they throw off restraint in my presence.

12 On my right the tribe attacks; they lay snares for my feet, they build their siege ramps against me.

13 They break up my road; they succeed in destroying me. ‘No one can help him,’ they say.

14 They advance as through a gaping breach; amid the ruins they come rolling in.

15 Terrors overwhelm me; my dignity is driven away as by the wind, my safety vanishes like a cloud.

16 “And now my life ebbs away; days of suffering grip me.

17 Night pierces my bones; my gnawing pains never rest.

18 In his great power God becomes like clothing to me ; he binds me like the neck of my garment.

19 He throws me into the mud, and I am reduced to dust and ashes.

20 “I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me.

21 You turn on me ruthlessly; with the might of your hand you attack me.

22 You snatch me up and drive me before the wind; you toss me about in the storm.

23 I know you will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living.

24 “Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man when he cries for help in his distress.

25 Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor?

26 Yet when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness.

27 The churning inside me never stops; days of suffering confront me.

28 I go about blackened, but not by the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.

29 I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of owls.

30 My skin grows black and peels; my body burns with fever.

31 My lyre is tuned to mourning, and my pipe to the sound of wailing.

Job 31

1 “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.

2 For what is our lot from God above, our heritage from the Almighty on high?

3 Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong?

4 Does he not see my ways and count my every step?

5 “If I have walked with falsehood or my foot has hurried after deceit—

6 let God weigh me in honest scales and he will know that I am blameless—

7 if my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands have been defiled,

8 then may others eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.

9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,

10 then may my wife grind another man’s grain, and may other men sleep with her.

11 For that would have been wicked, a sin to be judged.

12 It is a fire that burns to Destruction ; it would have uprooted my harvest.

13 “If I have denied justice to any of my servants, whether male or female, when they had a grievance against me,

14 what will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account?

15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?

16 “If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,

17 if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless—

18 but from my youth I reared them as a father would, and from my birth I guided the widow—

19 if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or the needy without garments,

20 and their hearts did not bless me for warming them with the fleece from my sheep,

21 if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court,

22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint.

23 For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.

24 “If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’

25 if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained,

26 if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,

27 so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,

28 then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.

29 “If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune or gloated over the trouble that came to him—

30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin by invoking a curse against their life—

31 if those of my household have never said, ‘Who has not been filled with Job’s meat?’—

32 but no stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveler—

33 if I have concealed my sin as people do,by hiding my guilt in my heart

34 because I so feared the crowd and so dreaded the contempt of the clans that I kept silent and would not go outside—

35 (“Oh, that I had someone to hear me! I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his indictment in writing.

36 Surely I would wear it on my shoulder, I would put it on like a crown.

37 I would give him an account of my every step; I would present it to him as to a ruler.)—

38 “if my land cries out against me and all its furrows are wet with tears,

39 if I have devoured its yield without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants,

40 then let briers come up instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.

Job 32

1 So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

2 But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God.

3 He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.

4 Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he.

5 But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused.

6 So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said: “I am young in years, and you are old; that is why I was fearful, not daring to tell you what I know.

7 I thought, ‘Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.’

8 But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.

9 It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right.

10 “Therefore I say: Listen to me; I too will tell you what I know.

11 I waited while you spoke, I listened to your reasoning; while you were searching for words,

12 I gave you my full attention. But not one of you has proved Job wrong; none of you has answered his arguments.

13 Do not say, ‘We have found wisdom; let God, not a man, refute him.’

14 But Job has not marshaled his words against me, and I will not answer him with your arguments.

15 “They are dismayed and have no more to say; words have failed them.

16 Must I wait, now that they are silent, now that they stand there with no reply?

17 I too will have my say; I too will tell what I know.

18 For I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me;

19 inside I am like bottled-up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst.

20 I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply.

21 I will show no partiality, nor will I flatter anyone;

22 for if I were skilled in flattery, my Maker would soon take me away.

Job 33

1 “But now, Job, listen to my words; pay attention to everything I say.

2 I am about to open my mouth; my words are on the tip of my tongue.

3 My words come from an upright heart; my lips sincerely speak what I know.

4 The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

5 Answer me then, if you can; stand up and argue your case before me.

6 I am the same as you in God’s sight; I too am a piece of clay.

7 No fear of me should alarm you, nor should my hand be heavy on you.

8 “But you have said in my hearing— I heard the very words—

9 ‘I am pure, I have done no wrong; I am clean and free from sin.

10 Yet God has found fault with me; he considers me his enemy.

11 He fastens my feet in shackles; he keeps close watch on all my paths.’

12 “But I tell you, in this you are not right, for God is greater than any mortal.

13 Why do you complain to him that he responds to no one’s words ?

14 For God does speak—now one way, now another— though no one perceives it.

15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds,

16 he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings,

17 to turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride,

18 to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword.

19 “Or someone may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in their bones,

20 so that their body finds food repulsive and their soul loathes the choicest meal.

21 Their flesh wastes away to nothing, and their bones, once hidden, now stick out.

22 They draw near to the pit, and their life to the messengers of death.

23 Yet if there is an angel at their side, a messenger, one out of a thousand, sent to tell them how to be upright,

24 and he is gracious to that person and says to God, ‘Spare them from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for them—

25 let their flesh be renewed like a child’s; let them be restored as in the days of their youth’—

26 then that person can pray to God and find favor with him, they will see God’s face and shout for joy; he will restore them to full well-being.

27 And they will go to others and say, ‘I have sinned, I have perverted what is right, but I did not get what I deserved.

28 God has delivered me from going down to the pit, and I shall live to enjoy the light of life.’

29 “God does all these things to a person— twice, even three times—

30 to turn them back from the pit, that the light of life may shine on them.

31 “Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak.

32 If you have anything to say, answer me; speak up, for I want to vindicate you.

33 But if not, then listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Job 34

1 Then Elihu said:

2 “Hear my words, you wise men; listen to me, you men of learning.

3 For the ear tests words as the tongue tastes food.

4 Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good.

5 “Job says, ‘I am innocent, but God denies me justice.

6 Although I am right, I am considered a liar; although I am guiltless, his arrow inflicts an incurable wound.’

7 Is there anyone like Job, who drinks scorn like water?

8 He keeps company with evildoers; he associates with the wicked.

9 For he says, ‘There is no profit in trying to please God.’

10 “So listen to me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God to do evil, from the Almighty to do wrong.

11 He repays everyone for what they have done; he brings on them what their conduct deserves.

12 It is unthinkable that God would do wrong, that the Almighty would pervert justice.

13 Who appointed him over the earth? Who put him in charge of the whole world?

14 If it were his intention and he withdrew his spirit and breath,

15 all humanity would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.

16 “If you have understanding, hear this; listen to what I say.

17 Can someone who hates justice govern? Will you condemn the just and mighty One?

18 Is he not the One who says to kings, ‘You are worthless,’ and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’

19 who shows no partiality to princes and does not favor the rich over the poor, for they are all the work of his hands?

20 They die in an instant, in the middle of the night; the people are shaken and they pass away; the mighty are removed without human hand.

21 “His eyes are on the ways of mortals; he sees their every step.

22 There is no deep shadow, no utter darkness, where evildoers can hide.

23 God has no need to examine people further, that they should come before him for judgment.

24 Without inquiry he shatters the mighty and sets up others in their place.

25 Because he takes note of their deeds, he overthrows them in the night and they are crushed.

26 He punishes them for their wickedness where everyone can see them,

27 because they turned from following him and had no regard for any of his ways.

28 They caused the cry of the poor to come before him, so that he heard the cry of the needy.

29 But if he remains silent, who can condemn him? If he hides his face, who can see him? Yet he is over individual and nation alike,

30 to keep the godless from ruling, from laying snares for the people.

31 “Suppose someone says to God, ‘I am guilty but will offend no more.

32 Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.’

33 Should God then reward you on your terms, when you refuse to repent? You must decide, not I; so tell me what you know.

34 “Men of understanding declare, wise men who hear me say to me,

35 ‘Job speaks without knowledge; his words lack insight.’

36 Oh, that Job might be tested to the utmost for answering like a wicked man!

37 To his sin he adds rebellion; scornfully he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God.”

Job 35

1 Then Elihu said:

2 “Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am in the right, not God.’

3 Yet you ask him, ‘What profit is it to me,and what do I gain by not sinning?’

4 “I would like to reply to you and to your friends with you.

5 Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you.

6 If you sin, how does that affect him? If your sins are many, what does that do to him?

7 If you are righteous, what do you give to him, or what does he receive from your hand?

8 Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself, and your righteousness only other people.

9 “People cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful.

10 But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,

11 who teaches us more than he teaches the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds in the sky?’

12 He does not answer when people cry out because of the arrogance of the wicked.

13 Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea; the Almighty pays no attention to it.

14 How much less, then, will he listen when you say that you do not see him, that your case is before him and you must wait for him,

15 and further, that his anger never punishes and he does not take the least notice of wickedness.

16 So Job opens his mouth with empty talk; without knowledge he multiplies words.”

Job 36

1 Elihu continued:

2 “Bear with me a little longer and I will show you that there is more to be said in God’s behalf.

3 I get my knowledge from afar; I will ascribe justice to my Maker.

4 Be assured that my words are not false; one who has perfect knowledge is with you.

5 “God is mighty, but despises no one; he is mighty, and firm in his purpose.

6 He does not keep the wicked alive but gives the afflicted their rights.

7 He does not take his eyes off the righteous; he enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.

8 But if people are bound in chains, held fast by cords of affliction,

9 he tells them what they have done— that they have sinned arrogantly.

10 He makes them listen to correction and commands them to repent of their evil.

11 If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment.

12 But if they do not listen, they will perish by the swordand die without knowledge.

13 “The godless in heart harbor resentment; even when he fetters them, they do not cry for help.

14 They die in their youth, among male prostitutes of the shrines.

15 But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction.

16 “He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.

17 But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have taken hold of you.

18 Be careful that no one entices you by riches; do not let a large bribe turn you aside.

19 Would your wealth or even all your mighty efforts sustain you so you would not be in distress?

20 Do not long for the night, to drag people away from their homes.

21 Beware of turning to evil, which you seem to prefer to affliction.

22 “God is exalted in his power. Who is a teacher like him?

23 Who has prescribed his ways for him, or said to him, ‘You have done wrong’?

24 Remember to extol his work, which people have praised in song.

25 All humanity has seen it; mortals gaze on it from afar.

26 How great is God—beyond our understanding! The number of his years is past finding out.

27 “He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams ;

28 the clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind.

29 Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds, how he thunders from his pavilion?

30 See how he scatters his lightning about him, bathing the depths of the sea.

31 This is the way he governs the nations and provides food in abundance.

32 He fills his hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark.

33 His thunder announces the coming storm; even the cattle make known its approach.

Job 37

1 “At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place.

2 Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.

3 He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth.

4 After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back.

5 God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding.

6 He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’

7 So that everyone he has made may know his work, he stops all people from their labor.

8 The animals take cover; they remain in their dens.

9 The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds.

10 The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen.

11 He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them.

12 At his direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever he commands them.

13 He brings the clouds to punish people, or to water his earth and show his love.

14 “Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders.

15 Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?

16 Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?

17 You who swelter in your clothes when the land lies hushed under the south wind,

18 can you join him in spreading out the skies, hard as a mirror of cast bronze?

19 “Tell us what we should say to him; we cannot draw up our case because of our darkness.

20 Should he be told that I want to speak? Would anyone ask to be swallowed up?

21 Now no one can look at the sun, bright as it is in the skies after the wind has swept them clean.

22 Out of the north he comes in golden splendor; God comes in awesome majesty.

23 The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.

24 Therefore, people revere him, for does he not have regard for all the wise in heart? ”

Job 38

1 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

2 “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?

3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.

4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.

5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?

6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—

7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,

9 when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,

10 when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,

11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’?

12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place,

13 that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?

14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment.

15 The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken.

16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?

17 Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?

18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.

19 “What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?

20 Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings?

21 Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years!

22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail,

23 which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?

24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?

25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,

26 to water a land where no one lives, an uninhabited desert,

27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?

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

29 From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens

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

31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades? Can you loosen Orion’s belt?

32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasonsor lead out the Bear with its cubs?

33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?

34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?

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

36 Who gives the ibis wisdomor gives the rooster understanding?

37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens

38 when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together?

39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions

40 when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket?

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