Chronological
The Intervention of God[a]
The Lord’s First Speech
Chapter 38
Gird Up Your Loins.[b] 1 Then from the heart of the storm the Lord answered Job:
2 “Who is this who obscures my intentions
with words devoid of knowledge?
3 Gird up your loins now like a man.
I will ask you questions,
and you will give me the answers.
A1: The Mysteries of the Cosmos
Where Were You When I Laid the Earth’s Foundations?
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements? Do you know?
Who stretched out the measuring line over it?
6 What supports the pillars at its bases?
Who laid its cornerstone
7 while the morning stars sang in unison
and the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I established bounds for it
and set its barred doors in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far may you come, but no farther;
here is where your proud waves must halt’?
Have You Ever Commanded the Morning?[c]
12 “During your entire life have you ever commanded the morning to appear
or caused the dawn to rise in the east
13 so that it might grasp the ends of the earth
and shake the wicked from its surface?
14 She turns it like clay under a seal
and dyes it as though it were a garment.
15 But light[d] is withheld from the wicked,
and their raised arm is broken.
Have You Ever Walked at the Bottom of the Abyss?
16 “Have you ever descended to the depths of the sea
and walked at the bottom of the abyss?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you
or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanse of the earth?
Tell me if you know all this.
19 “Can you point out the way to the dwelling of light
and show the abode of darkness,
20 so that you may assign each to its designated boundary
and escort them on their homeward paths?
21 Surely you must know this,
for you had already been born
and the years of your life are beyond numbering!
Have You Entered the Place Where the Snow Is Stored?[e]
22 [f]“Have you entered the place where the snow is stored,
or seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I have reserved for times of distress,
for the times of war and battle?
24 Can you show me the place where lightning is dispersed
or where the east wind is scattered over the earth?
25 “Who has cut a channel for the downpour of rain
and cleared a path for the thunderstorm
26 so that rain may fall on uninhabited lands,
on the wilderness devoid of human life,
27 and thus reinvigorate the wastes and the desolate land,
enabling grass to sprout on the thirsty ground?
28 “Does the rain have a father?
Who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 Whose womb brings forth the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost of heaven,
30 causing a layer of stone to cover the waters
and the surface of the earth to congeal?
Do You Know the Ordinances of the Heavens?
31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades
or loosen the bonds of Orion?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their season
or indicate which way to go to the Bear[g] and its cubs?
33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you put into effect their rule on the earth?
34 “Can you raise up your voice to command the clouds
to envelop you in a deluge of rain?
35 Will flashes of lightning come forth at your command
and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has endowed the heart with wisdom
and given understanding to the mind?
37 Who can number all the rain clouds
and empty the cisterns of the heavens
38 so that the dust solidifies into a thick mass
and the clods of earth cling together?
A2: The Astonishing World of the Animals[h]
The Lion and the Raven
39 “Can you hunt prey for the lioness
or satisfy the hunger of young lions
40 while they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in the bushes?
41 Who provides the raven with prey
when its little ones cry out to God
in their need for sustenance?
Chapter 39
The Mountain Goat and the Deer
1 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Have you ever observed deer in labor?
2 Can you accurately number the months that they carry their young
or know the time of their delivery
3 when they crouch down to give birth
and deliver their offspring?
4 Once their fawns grow strong and become independent,
they go forth on their own and do not return.
The Wild Donkey and the Wild Ox
5 “Who has given the wild donkey its freedom?
Who has untied its ropes?
6 I gave it the wastelands as its home
and the salt flats for its dwelling.
7 It scorns the noise of the city;
it is not forced to obey a driver’s shouted order.
8 The mountains are the pasture over which it ranges
in search of any green foliage.
9 “Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will it stay by your manger during the night?
10 Can you use ropes to harness its strength?
Will it harrow the furrows after you?
11 Can you depend upon its massive strength
to do your heavy work?
12 Can you rely upon it to return home
and bring your grain to your threshing floor?
The Ostrich and the Horse[i]
13 “The wings of an ostrich are ineffectual,
since its pinions and its plumage are scanty.
14 It leaves its eggs on the ground
and depends on the earth to warm them,
15 forgetting that a foot may crush them
or that a wild animal may trample upon them.
16 It cruelly disowns its young
as if they were not its own,
unconcerned if its labor has been wasted.
17 For God has denied it wisdom
and deprived it of understanding.
18 Yet with its swiftness of foot
it leaves both horse and rider in the dust.
19 “Do you give the horse its strength?
Have you clothed its neck with a mane?
20 Do you make it leap like a locust,
striking terror with its proud snorting?
21 It paws the plain jubilantly and prances
as it charges the battle line with all its strength.
22 It laughs at fear and is frightened of nothing;
it does not shy away when confronted with the sword.
23 “The quiver rattles at its side;
the spear and the javelin flash.
24 Trembling with eagerness it eats up the ground,
and when the trumpet sounds, there is no holding it back.
25 At each blast of the trumpet it cries ‘Aha!’
From afar it scents the battle,
the shouts of the commanders, and the war cries.
The Hawk and the Eagle
26 “Did your wisdom enable the hawk to soar
as it spreads its wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle soar aloft at your command
to build its nest on the lofty heights?
28 It dwells on the cliff in security,
spending its nights on a rocky crag.
29 From there it watches for its prey;
its eyes are able to behold it from afar.
30 Its young ones hungrily drink the blood;
wherever the slain are, it is there.”
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