Job 38:31-41

31 "Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loosen the cords of Orion?

32 Can you lead forth the constellations in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs?

33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you establish the dominion of it over the earth?

34 "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover you?

35 Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go? Do they report to you, 'Here we are?'

36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the mind?

37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of the sky,

38 When the dust runs into a mass, And the clods of earth stick together?

39 "Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

40 When they crouch in their dens, And lie in wait in the thicket?

41 Who provides for the raven his prey, When his young ones cry to God, And wander for lack of food?

Job 38:31-41 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.