Job 38-40

English Standard Version

² “Who is this that ^(B)darkens counsel by words ^(C)without knowledge?
^3 (D)Dress for action^[a] like a man;
    I will question you, and you make it known to me.

⁴ “Where were you when I ^(E)laid the foundation of the earth?
    Tell me, if you have understanding.
⁵ Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
    Or who stretched the line upon it?
⁶ On what were its bases sunk,
    or who laid its cornerstone,
⁷ when the morning stars ^(F)sang together
    and all ^(G)the sons of God ^(H)shouted for joy?

⁸ “Or who ^(I)shut in the sea with doors
    when it burst out from the womb,
⁹ when I made clouds its garment
    and ^(J)thick darkness its swaddling band,
¹⁰ and prescribed ^(K)limits for it
    and set bars and doors,
¹¹ and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
    and here shall your ^(L)proud waves be stayed’?

¹² “Have you ^(M)commanded the morning since your days began,
    and caused the dawn to know its place,
¹³ that it might take hold of ^(N)the skirts of the earth,
    and the wicked be ^(O)shaken out of it?
¹⁴ It is changed like clay under the seal,
    and its features stand out like a garment.
¹⁵ From the wicked their ^(P)light is withheld,
    and ^(Q)their uplifted arm is broken.

¹⁶ “Have you ^(R)entered into the springs of the sea,
    or walked in the recesses of the deep?
¹⁷ Have ^(S)the gates of death been revealed to you,
    or have you seen the gates of ^(T)deep darkness?
¹⁸ Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
    Declare, if you know all this.

¹⁹ “Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
    and where is the place of darkness,
²⁰ that you may take it to its territory
    and that you may discern ^(U)the paths to its home?
²¹ You know, for ^(V)you were born then,
    and the number of your days is great!

²² “Have you entered ^(W)the storehouses of the snow,
    or have you seen ^(X)the storehouses of the hail,
²³ which I have reserved ^(Y)for the time of trouble,
    ^(Z)for the day of battle and war?
²⁴ What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
    or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?

²⁵ “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain
    and ^(AA)a way for the thunderbolt,
²⁶ to bring rain on ^(AB)a land where no man is,
    on ^(AC)the desert in which there is no man,
²⁷ to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
    and to make the ground sprout with ^(AD)grass?

²⁸ “Has ^(AE)the rain a father,
    or who has begotten the drops of dew?
²⁹ From whose womb did ^(AF)the ice come forth,
    and who has given birth to ^(AG)the frost of heaven?
³⁰ The waters become hard like stone,
    and the face of the deep is ^(AH)frozen.

³¹ “Can you bind the chains of ^(AI)the Pleiades
    or loose the cords of ^(AJ)Orion?
³² Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth^[b] in their season,
    or can you guide ^(AK)the Bear with its children?
³³ Do you know ^(AL)the ordinances of the heavens?
    Can you establish their rule on the earth?

³⁴ “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
    that ^(AM)a flood of waters may cover you?
³⁵ Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go
    and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
³⁶ Who has ^(AN)put wisdom in ^(AO)the inward parts^[c]
    or given understanding to the mind?^[d]
37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
    Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
³⁸ when the dust runs into a mass
    and ^(AP)the clods stick fast together?

³⁹ “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
    or ^(AQ)satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
⁴⁰ when they crouch in their ^(AR)dens
    or lie in wait ^(AS)in their thicket?
⁴¹ Who provides for ^(AT)the raven its prey,
    when its young ones cry to God for help,
    and wander about for lack of food?

39 “Do you know when ^(AU)the mountain goats give birth?
    Do you observe ^(AV)the calving of the does?
² Can you number the months that they fulfill,
    and do you know the time when they give birth,
³ when they ^(AW)crouch, bring forth their offspring,
    and are delivered of their young?
⁴ Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open;
    they go out and ^(AX)do not return to them.

⁵ “Who has let the wild donkey go free?
    Who has ^(AY)loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
⁶ to whom I have given ^(AZ)the arid plain for his home
    and ^(BA)the salt land for his dwelling place?
⁷ He scorns the tumult of the city;
    he hears not the shouts of the driver.
⁸ He ranges the mountains as his pasture,
    and he searches after every green thing.

⁹ “Is ^(BB)the wild ox willing to serve you?
    Will he spend the night at your ^(BC)manger?
¹⁰ Can you bind ^(BD)him in the furrow with ropes,
    or will he harrow the valleys after you?
¹¹ Will you depend on him because his strength is great,
    and will you leave to him your labor?
¹² Do you have faith in him that he will return your grain
    and gather it to your threshing floor?

¹³ “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,
    but are they the pinions and plumage of love?^[e]
14 For she leaves her eggs to the earth
    and lets them be warmed on the ground,
¹⁵ forgetting that a foot may crush them
    and that the wild beast may trample them.
¹⁶ She ^(BE)deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers;
    though her ^(BF)labor be in vain, yet she has no fear,
¹⁷ because God has made her forget wisdom
    and ^(BG)given her no share in understanding.
¹⁸ When she rouses herself to flee,^[f]
    she laughs at the horse and his rider.

¹⁹ “Do you give the horse his might?
    Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
²⁰ Do you make him leap like the locust?
    His majestic ^(BH)snorting is terrifying.
²¹ He paws^[g] in the valley and exults in his strength;
    he ^(BI)goes out to meet the weapons.
²² He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
    he does not turn back from the sword.
²³ Upon him rattle the quiver,
    the flashing spear, and the javelin.
²⁴ With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground;
    he cannot stand still at ^(BJ)the sound of the trumpet.
²⁵ When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’
    He smells the battle from afar,
    the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

²⁶ “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars
    and spreads his wings toward the south?
²⁷ Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
    and makes his ^(BK)nest on high?
²⁸ On the rock he dwells and makes his home,
    on ^(BL)the rocky crag and stronghold.
²⁹ From there he spies out the prey;
    his eyes behold it from far away.
³⁰ His young ones suck up blood,
    and ^(BM)where the slain are, there is he.”

² “Shall a faultfinder ^(BO)contend with the Almighty?
    He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

⁴ “Behold, I am ^(BP)of small account; what shall I answer you?
    ^(BQ)I lay my hand on my mouth.
⁵ I have spoken ^(BR)once, and I will not answer;
    ^(BS)twice, but I will proceed no further.”

^7 (BU)“Dress for action^[h] like a man;
    ^(BV)I will question you, and you make it known to me.
⁸ Will you even put me in the wrong?
    Will you condemn me that ^(BW)you may be in the right?
⁹ Have you ^(BX)an arm like God,
    and can you thunder with ^(BY)a voice like his?

¹⁰ “Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;
    ^(BZ)clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
¹¹ Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
    and look on everyone who is ^(CA)proud and abase him.
¹² Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
    and ^(CB)tread down the wicked ^(CC)where they stand.
^13 (CD)Hide them all in ^(CE)the dust together;
    bind their faces in the world below.^[i]
14 Then will I also acknowledge to you
    that your own ^(CF)right hand can save you.

¹⁵ “Behold, Behemoth,^[j]
    which I made as I made you;
    he eats ^(CG)grass like an ox.
¹⁶ Behold, his strength in his loins,
    and his power in the muscles of his belly.
¹⁷ He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
    the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
¹⁸ His bones are tubes of bronze,
    his limbs like bars of iron.

¹⁹ “He is ^(CH)the first of ^(CI)the works^[k] of God;
    let him who made him bring near his sword!
²⁰ For the mountains yield food for him
    where all the wild beasts play.
²¹ Under the lotus plants he lies,
    in the shelter of ^(CJ)the reeds and in the marsh.
²² For his shade the lotus trees cover him;
    the willows of the brook surround him.
²³ Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;
    he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
²⁴ Can one take him by his eyes,^[l]
    or pierce his nose with a snare?