Job 38-42

American Standard Version

² Who is this that darkeneth counsel
By words without knowledge?
³ Gird up now thy loins like a man;
For I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
⁴ Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Declare, ^[a]if thou hast understanding.
⁵ Who determined the measures thereof, ^[b]if thou knowest?
Or who stretched the line upon it?
⁶ Whereupon were the ^[c]foundations thereof ^[d]fastened?
Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,
⁷ When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸ Or who shut up the sea with doors,
When it brake forth, ^[e]as if it had issued out of the womb;
⁹ When I made clouds the garment thereof,
And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,
¹⁰ And ^[f]marked out for it my bound,
And set bars and doors,
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 began,
And caused the dayspring to know its place;
¹³ That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?
¹⁴ It is changed as clay under the seal;
And all things stand forth ^[g]as a garment:
¹⁵ And from the wicked their light is withholden,
And the high arm is broken.

¹⁶ Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?
Or hast thou walked in the ^[h]recesses of the deep?
¹⁷ Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee?
Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
¹⁸ Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth?
Declare, if thou knowest it all.

¹⁹ Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
²⁰ That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof,
And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?
²¹ Doubtless, thou knowest, for thou wast then born,
And the number of thy days is great!
²² Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow,
Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
²³ Which I have reserved against the time of trouble,
Against the day of battle and war?
^24 [i]By what way is the light parted,
Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?

²⁵ Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood,
Or the way for the lightning of the thunder;
²⁶ To cause it to rain on a land where no man is;
On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
²⁷ To satisfy the waste and desolate ground,
And to cause the ^[j]tender grass to spring forth?
²⁸ Hath the rain a father?
Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
²⁹ Out of whose womb came the ice?
And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath ^[k]gendered it?
³⁰ The waters ^[l]hide themselves and become like stone,
And the face of the deep ^[m]is frozen.

³¹ Canst thou bind the ^[n]cluster of the Pleiades,
Or loose the bands of Orion?
³² Canst thou lead forth ^[o]the Mazzaroth in their season?
Or canst thou guide the Bear with her ^[p]train?
³³ Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens?
Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?

³⁴ Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds,
That abundance of waters may cover thee?
³⁵ Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go,
And say unto thee, Here we are?
³⁶ Who hath put wisdom in the ^[q]inward parts?
Or who hath given understanding to the ^[r]mind?
³⁷ Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can ^[s]pour out the bottles of heaven,
³⁸ When the dust runneth into a mass,
And the clods cleave fast together?

³⁹ Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
⁴⁰ When they couch in their dens,
And abide in the covert to lie in wait?
⁴¹ Who provideth for the raven his prey,
When his young ones cry unto God,
And wander for lack of food?
39 Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth?
Or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?
² Canst thou number the months that they fulfil?
Or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?
³ They bow themselves, they bring forth their young,
They cast out their pains.
⁴ Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open field;
They go forth, and ^[t]return not again.

⁵ Who hath sent out the wild ass free?
Or who hath loosed the bonds of the swift ass,
⁶ Whose home I have made the wilderness,
And the salt land his dwelling-place?
⁷ He scorneth the tumult of the city,
Neither heareth he the shoutings of the ^[u]driver.
⁸ The range of the mountains is his pasture,
And he searcheth after every green thing.
⁹ Will the wild-ox be content to serve thee?
Or will he abide by thy crib?
¹⁰ Canst thou bind the wild-ox with his band in the furrow?
Or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
¹¹ Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great?
Or wilt thou leave to him thy labor?
¹² Wilt thou confide in him, that he will bring home thy seed,
And gather the grain of thy threshing-floor?

¹³ The wings of the ostrich wave proudly;
But are they the pinions and plumage of ^[v]love?
¹⁴ For she leaveth her eggs on the earth,
And warmeth them in the dust,
¹⁵ And forgetteth that the foot may crush them,
Or that the wild beast may trample them.
¹⁶ She ^[w]dealeth hardly with her young ones, as if they were not hers:
Though her labor be in vain, she is without fear;
¹⁷ Because God hath ^[x]deprived her of wisdom,
Neither hath he imparted to her understanding.
¹⁸ What time she ^[y]lifteth up herself on high,
She scorneth the horse and his rider.

¹⁹ Hast thou given the horse his might?
Hast thou clothed his neck with the ^[z]quivering mane?
²⁰ Hast thou made him to leap as a locust?
The glory of his snorting is terrible.
^21 [aa]He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength:
He goeth out to meet ^[ab]the armed men.
²² He mocketh at fear, and is not dismayed;
Neither turneth he back from the sword.
²³ The quiver rattleth ^[ac]against him,
The flashing spear and the javelin.
²⁴ He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage;
Neither ^[ad]believeth he that it is the voice of the trumpet.
²⁵ As oft as the trumpet soundeth he saith, Aha!
And he smelleth the battle afar off,
The thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

²⁶ Is it by thy wisdom that the hawk soareth,
And stretcheth her wings toward the south?
²⁷ Is it at thy command that the eagle mounteth up,
And maketh her nest on high?
²⁸ On the cliff she dwelleth, and maketh her home,
Upon the point of the cliff, and the stronghold.
²⁹ From thence she spieth out the prey;
Her eyes behold it afar off.
³⁰ Her young ones also suck up blood:
And where the slain are, there is she.

² Shall he that cavilleth contend with the Almighty?
He that argueth with God, let him answer it.

⁴ Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer thee?
I lay my hand upon my mouth.
⁵ Once have I spoken, and I will not answer;
Yea, twice, but I will proceed no further.

⁷ Gird up thy loins now like a man:
I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
⁸ Wilt thou even annul my judgment?
Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be justified?
⁹ Or hast thou an arm like God?
And canst thou thunder with a voice like him?

¹⁰ Deck thyself now with excellency and dignity;
And array thyself with honor and majesty.
¹¹ Pour forth the overflowings of thine anger;
And look upon every one that is proud, and abase him.
¹² Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low;
And tread down the wicked where they stand.
¹³ Hide them in the dust together;
Bind their faces in the hidden place.
¹⁴ Then will I also confess of thee
That thine own right hand can save thee.

¹⁵ Behold now, ^[ae]behemoth, which I made ^[af]as well as thee;
He eateth grass as an ox.
¹⁶ Lo now, his strength is in his loins,
And his force is in the muscles of his belly.
¹⁷ He moveth his tail like a cedar:
The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
¹⁸ His bones are as tubes of brass;
His ^[ag]limbs are like bars of iron.

¹⁹ He is the chief of the ways of God:
He only that made him giveth him his sword.
²⁰ Surely the mountains bring him forth food,
Where all the beasts of the field do play.
²¹ He lieth under the lotus-trees,
In the covert of the reed, and the fen.
²² The lotus-trees cover him with their shade;
The willows of the brook compass him about.
²³ Behold, if a river ^[ah]overflow, he trembleth not;
He is confident, though a Jordan swell even to his mouth.
²⁴ Shall any take him when he is on the watch,
Or pierce through his nose with a snare?

41 Canst thou draw out ^[ai]leviathan with a fishhook?
Or press down his tongue with a cord?
² Canst thou put ^[aj]a rope into his nose?
Or pierce his jaw through with a ^[ak]hook?
³ Will he make many supplications unto thee?
Or will he speak soft words unto thee?
⁴ Will he make a covenant with thee,
That thou shouldest take him for a servant for ever?
⁵ Wilt thou play with him as with a bird?
Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
⁶ Will the bands of fishermen make traffic of him?
Will they part him among the merchants?
⁷ Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons,
Or his head with fish-spears?
⁸ Lay thy hand upon him;
Remember the battle, and do so no more.
⁹ Behold, the hope of him is in vain:
Will not one be cast down even at the sight of him?

¹⁰ None is so fierce that he dare stir him up;
Who then is he that can stand before me?
¹¹ Who hath first given unto me, that I should repay him?
Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.

¹² I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
Nor his mighty strength, nor his goodly frame.
¹³ Who can ^[al]strip off his outer garment?
Who shall come within his jaws?
¹⁴ Who can open the doors of his face?
^[am]Round about his teeth is terror.
¹⁵ His ^[an]strong scales are his pride,
Shut up together as with a close seal.

¹⁶ One is so near to another,
That no air can come between them.
¹⁷ They are joined one to another;
They stick together, so that they cannot be sundered.
¹⁸ His sneezings flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
¹⁹ Out of his mouth go burning torches,
And sparks of fire leap forth.
²⁰ Out of his nostrils a smoke goeth,
As of a boiling pot and burning rushes.
²¹ His breath kindleth coals,
And a flame goeth forth from his mouth.
²² In his neck abideth strength,
And terror danceth before him.
²³ The flakes of his flesh are joined together:
They are firm upon him; they cannot be moved.
²⁴ His heart is as firm as a stone;
Yea, firm as the nether millstone.
²⁵ When he raiseth himself up, the mighty are afraid:
By reason of consternation they are beside themselves.
²⁶ If one lay at him with the sword, it cannot avail;
Nor the spear, the dart, nor the ^[ao]pointed shaft.
²⁷ He counteth iron as straw,
And brass as rotten wood.
²⁸ The ^[ap]arrow cannot make him flee:
Sling-stones are turned with him into stubble.
²⁹ Clubs are counted as stubble:
He laugheth at the rushing of the javelin.
³⁰ His underparts are like sharp potsherds:
He spreadeth as it were a threshing-wain upon the mire.
³¹ He maketh the deep to boil like a pot:
He maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
³² He maketh a path to shine after him;
One would think the deep to be hoary.
³³ Upon earth there is not his like,
That is made without fear.
³⁴ He beholdeth everything that is high:
He is king over all the sons of pride.

² I know that thou canst do all things,
And that no purpose of thine can be restrained.
³ Who is this that hideth counsel without knowledge?
Therefore have I uttered that which I understood not,
Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
⁴ Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak;
I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
⁵ I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear;
But now mine eye seeth thee:
⁶ Wherefore I ^[aq]abhor myself,
And repent in dust and ashes.