The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 At this my heart is shaking; it is moved out of its place.
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The storm makes my heart beat wildly.
2 Give ear to the rolling noise of his voice; to the hollow sound which goes out of his mouth.
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Listen, all of you, to the voice of God, to the thunder that comes from his mouth.
3 He sends it out through all the heaven, and his thunder-flame to the ends of the earth.
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He sends the lightning across the sky, from one end of the earth to the other.
4 After it a voice is sounding, thundering out the word of his power; he does not keep back his thunder-flames; from his mouth his voice is sounding.
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Then the roar of his voice is heard, the majestic sound of thunder, and all the while the lightning flashes.
5 He does wonders, more than may be searched out; great things of which we have no knowledge;
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At God's command amazing things happen, wonderful things that we can't understand.
6 For he says to the snow, Make the earth wet; and to the rain-storm, Come down.
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He commands snow to fall on the earth, and sends torrents of drenching rain.
7 He puts an end to the work of every man, so that all may see his work.
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He brings our work to a stop; he shows us what he can do.
8 Then the beasts go into their holes, and take their rest.
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The wild animals go to their dens.
9 Out of its place comes the storm-wind, and the cold out of its store-houses.
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The storm winds come from the south, and the biting cold from the north.
10 By the breath of God ice is made, and the wide waters are shut in.
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The breath of God freezes the waters, and turns them to solid ice.
11 The thick cloud is weighted with thunder-flame, and the cloud sends out its light;
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Lightning flashes from the clouds,
12 And it goes this way and that, round about, turning itself by his guiding, to do whatever he gives orders to be done, on the face of his world of men,
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as they move at God's will. They do all that God commands, everywhere throughout the world.
13 For a rod, or for a curse, or for mercy, causing it to come on the mark.
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God sends rain to water the earth; he may send it to punish us, or to show us his favor.
14 Give ear to this, O Job, and keep quiet in your place; and take note of the wonders worked by God.
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Pause a moment, Job, and listen; consider the wonderful things God does.
15 Have you knowledge of God's ordering of his works, how he makes the light of his cloud to be seen?
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Do you know how God gives the command and makes lightning flash from the clouds?
16 Have you knowledge of the balancings of the clouds, the wonders of him who has all wisdom?
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Do you know how clouds float in the sky, the work of God's amazing skill?
17 You, whose clothing is warm, when the earth is quiet because of the south wind,
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No, you can only suffer in the heat when the south wind oppresses the land.
18 Will you, with him, make the skies smooth, and strong as a polished looking-glass?
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Can you help God stretch out the sky and make it as hard as polished metal?
19 Make clear to me what we are to say to him; we are unable to put our cause before him, because of the dark.
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Teach us what to say to God; our minds are blank; we have nothing to say.
20 How may he have knowledge of my desire for talk with him? or did any man ever say, May destruction come on me?
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I won't ask to speak with God; why should I give him a chance to destroy me?
21 And now the light is not seen, for it is dark because of the clouds; but a wind comes, clearing them away.
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And now the light in the sky is dazzling, too bright for us to look at it; and the sky has been swept clean by the wind.
22 A bright light comes out of the north; God's glory is greatly to be feared.
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A golden glow is seen in the north, and the glory of God fills us with awe.
23 There is no searching out of the Ruler of all: his strength and his judging are great; he is full of righteousness, doing no wrong.
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God's power is so great that we cannot come near him; he is righteous and just in his dealings with us.
24 For this cause men go in fear of him; he has no respect for any who are wise in heart.
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No wonder, then, that everyone is awed by him, and that he ignores those who claim to be wise.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.