Job 38:11-21

11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed.

12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; [and] caused the day-spring to know its place;

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

14 It is turned as clay [to] the seal; and they stand as a garment.

15 And from the wicked their light is withheld, and the high arm shall be broken.

16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?

17 Have the gates of death been opened to thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shades of death?

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

19 Where [is] the way [where] light dwelleth? and [as for] darkness, where [is] its place,

20 That thou shouldest take it to its bound, and that thou shouldest know the paths [to] its house?

21 Knowest thou [it], because thou wast then born? or [because] the number of thy days [is] great?

Job 38:11-21 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.