Job 38:10-20

10 and established my decree upon it, and set bars and doors,

11 and said, Thou shalt come unto here, but no further; and there shall the pride of thy waves be stayed.

12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days? Hast thou shown the dayspring its place,

13 that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

14 It is transformed as clay to the seal and then stands as a garment;

15 but the light of the wicked is taken from them, and the high arm is broken.

16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked searching out the deep?

17 Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? Or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?

18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? Declare if thou knowest it all.

19 Where is the way to the habitation of the light, and where is the place of the darkness?

20 If thou shalt take it in its borders, and if thou should understand the paths to its house?

Job 38:10-20 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.