37 “At this, my own heart trembles
and leaps out of its place.
² Just listen to the rumbling of his voice,
to the thunder that comes from his mouth!
³ He sends it out under all of heaven,
his lightning to the ends of the earth.
⁴ There follows a sound, a roar —
he is thundering with his majestic voice,
and he keeps releasing [the lightning]
even while his voice is being heard.

⁵ “God thunders wonderfully with his voice,
he does great things beyond our understanding.
⁶ He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth!’ —
likewise to the light rain, also to the downpour.
⁷ He brings all human activity to a stop,
so that everyone he has made can know it.
⁸ Then the animals go into their lairs
and hibernate in their dens.

⁹ “Out of its chamber comes the storm,
with cold out of the north.
¹⁰ By the breath of God, ice is given,
and the wide waters freeze over.
¹¹ He weighs the clouds down with moisture,
and they flash forth his lightning.
¹² He, by his plans, turns them around,
so they do what he commands them anywhere on earth;
¹³ he brings them forth on the earth
sometimes to punish, sometimes to express his grace.

¹⁴ “Listen to this, Iyov!
Stop, and consider God’s wonders.
¹⁵ Do you know how God puts them in place,
how he causes lightning to flash from his cloud?
¹⁶ Do you know how he balances the clouds?
These are marvels of him who knows everything!

¹⁷ “You, sweltering in your clothing
as the earth lies still under a sultry south wind,
¹⁸ can you, with him, spread out the sky,
hard as a cast metal mirror?
¹⁹ Teach us what we should tell him,
for the darkness keeps us from organizing our case.
²⁰ Is he to be told that I will speak?
Can a man speak at all when he is already swallowed up?
²¹ Now people don’t see the light,
which is bright in the sky;
but then the wind blows
and clears [the clouds] away.
²² Out of the north comes a golden glow,
fearsome majesty surrounding God.
²³ Shaddai, whom we cannot find,
whose power is immense,
in his great righteousness
does not pervert justice.
²⁴ This is why people fear him;
he does not consider those
who think of themselves as wise.”