NIV

Job 38

1<pb/>Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2<pb/><t>“Who is this that obscures my plans</t> <t>with words without knowledge?</t>
3<t>Brace yourself like a man;</t> <t>I will question you,</t> <t>and you shall answer me. <pb/></t>
4<t>“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?</t> <t>Tell me, if you understand.</t>
5<t>Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!</t> <t>Who stretched a measuring line across it?</t>
6<t>On what were its footings set,</t> <t>or who laid its cornerstone—</t>
7<t>while the morning stars sang together</t> <t>and all the angels<f>[69]</f> shouted for joy? <pb/></t>
8<t>“Who shut up the sea behind doors</t> <t>when it burst forth from the womb,</t>
9<t>when I made the clouds its garment</t> <t>and wrapped it in thick darkness,</t>
10<t>when I fixed limits for it</t> <t>and set its doors and bars in place,</t>
11<t>when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;</t> <t>here is where your proud waves halt’? <pb/></t>
12<t>“Have you ever given orders to the morning,</t> <t>or shown the dawn its place,</t>
13<t>that it might take the earth by the edges</t> <t>and shake the wicked out of it?</t>
14<t>The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;</t> <t>its features stand out like those of a garment.</t>
15<t>The wicked are denied their light,</t> <t>and their upraised arm is broken. <pb/></t>
16<t>“Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea</t> <t>or walked in the recesses of the deep?</t>
17<t>Have the gates of death been shown to you?</t> <t>Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?</t>
18<t>Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?</t> <t>Tell me, if you know all this. <pb/></t>
19<t>“What is the way to the abode of light?</t> <t>And where does darkness reside?</t>
20<t>Can you take them to their places?</t> <t>Do you know the paths to their dwellings?</t>
21<t>Surely you know, for you were already born!</t> <t>You have lived so many years! <pb/></t>
22<t>“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow</t> <t>or seen the storehouses of the hail,</t>
23<t>which I reserve for times of trouble,</t> <t>for days of war and battle?</t>
24<t>What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,</t> <t>or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?</t>
25<t>Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,</t> <t>and a path for the thunderstorm,</t>
26<t>to water a land where no one lives,</t> <t>an uninhabited desert,</t>
27<t>to satisfy a desolate wasteland</t> <t>and make it sprout with grass?</t>
28<t>Does the rain have a father?</t> <t>Who fathers the drops of dew?</t>
29<t>From whose womb comes the ice?</t> <t>Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens</t>
30<t>when the waters become hard as stone,</t> <t>when the surface of the deep is frozen? <pb/></t>
31<t>“Can you bind the chains<f>[70]</f> of the Pleiades?</t> <t>Can you loosen Orion’s belt?</t>
32<t>Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons<f>[71]</f></t> <t>or lead out the Bear<f>[72]</f> with its cubs?</t>
33<t>Do you know the laws of the heavens?</t> <t>Can you set up God’s<f>[73]</f> dominion over the earth? <pb/></t>
34<t>“Can you raise your voice to the clouds</t> <t>and cover yourself with a flood of water?</t>
35<t>Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?</t> <t>Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?</t>
36<t>Who gives the ibis wisdom<f>[74]</f></t> <t>or gives the rooster understanding?<f>[75]</f></t>
37<t>Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?</t> <t>Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens</t>
38<t>when the dust becomes hard</t> <t>and the clods of earth stick together? <pb/></t>
39<t>“Do you hunt the prey for the lioness</t> <t>and satisfy the hunger of the lions</t>
40<t>when they crouch in their dens</t> <t>or lie in wait in a thicket?</t>
41<t>Who provides food for the raven</t> <t>when its young cry out to God</t> <t>and wander about for lack of food?</t>