Job 38

21st Century King James Version

38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

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 answer thou Me.

⁴ Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.

⁵ Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who hath stretched the line upon it?

⁶ “Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the cornerstone 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 broke forth as if it had issued out of the womb;

⁹ when I made the cloud the garment thereof and thick darkness a swaddling band for it,

¹⁰ and broke up for it My decreed place, 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, and caused the dayspring to know his place,

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

¹⁴ It is turned as clay under the seal; and they stand out 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 depths?

¹⁷ Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? Or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow 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 the place thereof,

²⁰ that thou shouldest take it to the boundary thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?

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

²² “Hast thou entered into the treasure house of the snow, or hast thou seen the treasure house of the hail,

²³ which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?

²⁴ By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?

²⁵ Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder,

²⁶ to cause it to rain on the earth where no man is, on the wilderness wherein there is no man;

²⁷ to satisfy the desolate and waste ground, and to cause the bud of the tender herb 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 engendered it?

³⁰ The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

³¹ “Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?

³² Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? Or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

³³ Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? Canst thou set the dominion thereof over the earth?

³⁴ “Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?

³⁵ Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go and say unto thee, ‘Here we are’?

³⁶ Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts, or who hath given understanding to the heart?

³⁷ Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can stay the bottles of heaven,

³⁸ when the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?

³⁹ “Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion, or fill the appetite of the young lions,

⁴⁰ when they crouch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?

⁴¹ Who provideth for the raven his food, when his young ones cry unto God, and wander for lack of meat?