Job 38 - New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)

God Speaks Now to Job

38 Then the Lord (A)answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

2 “Who is this that (B)darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
3 “Now (C)gird up your loins like a man,
And (D)I will ask you, and you instruct Me!
4 “Where were you (E)when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you [a]have understanding,
5 Who set its (F)measurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the line on it?
6 “On what (G)were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars sang together
And all the (H)sons of God shouted for joy?

8 “Or who (I)enclosed the sea with doors
When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;
9 When I made a cloud its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 And I [b](J)placed boundaries on it
And set a bolt and doors,
11 And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther;
And here shall your proud waves stop’?

God’s Mighty Power

12 “Have you [c]ever in your life commanded the morning,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
13 That it might take hold of (K)the ends of the earth,
And (L)the wicked be shaken out of it?
14 “It is changed like clay under the seal;
And they stand forth like a garment.
15 “(M)From the wicked their light is withheld,
And the (N)uplifted arm is broken.

16 “Have you entered into (O)the springs of the sea
Or walked [d]in the recesses of the deep?
17 “Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
Or have you seen the gates of (P)deep darkness?
18 “Have you understood the [e]expanse of (Q)the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.

19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,
20 That you may take it to (R)its territory
And that you may discern the paths to its [f]home?
21 “You know, for (S)you were born then,
And the number of your days is great!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses (T)of the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the (U)hail,
23 Which I have reserved for the time of distress,
For the day of war and battle?
24 “Where is the way that (V)the light is divided,
Or the east wind scattered on the earth?

25 “Who has cleft a channel for the flood,
Or a way for the thunderbolt,
26 To bring (W)rain on a land without [g]people,
On a desert without a man in it,
27 To (X)satisfy the waste and desolate land
And to make the [h]seeds of grass to sprout?
28 “Has (Y)the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 “From whose womb has come the (Z)ice?
And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?
30 “Water [i]becomes hard like stone,
And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.

31 “Can you bind the chains of the (AA)Pleiades,
Or loose the cords of Orion?
32 “Can you lead forth a [j]constellation in its season,
And guide the Bear with her [k]satellites?
33 “Do you know the (AB)ordinances of the heavens,
Or fix their rule over the earth?

34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
So that an (AC)abundance of water will cover you?
35 “Can you (AD)send forth lightnings that they may go
And say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 “Who has (AE)put wisdom in the innermost being
Or given (AF)understanding to the [l]mind?
37 “Who can count the clouds by wisdom,
Or (AG)tip the water jars of the heavens,
38 When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together?

39 “Can you hunt the (AH)prey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 When they (AI)crouch in their dens
And lie in wait in their lair?
41 “Who prepares for (AJ)the raven its nourishment
When its young cry to God
And wander about without food?

Footnotes

  1. Job 38:4 Lit know understanding
  2. Job 38:10 Lit broke My decree on it
  3. Job 38:12 Lit from your days
  4. Job 38:16 Or in search of
  5. Job 38:18 Or width
  6. Job 38:20 Lit house
  7. Job 38:26 Lit man
  8. Job 38:27 Or growth
  9. Job 38:30 Lit hides itself
  10. Job 38:32 Heb Mazzaroth
  11. Job 38:32 Lit sons
  12. Job 38:36 Or rooster

Cross references

  1. Job 38:1 : Job 40:6
  2. Job 38:2 : Job 35:16; 42:3
  3. Job 38:3 : Job 40:7
  4. Job 38:3 : Job 42:4
  5. Job 38:4 : Job 15:7; Ps 104:5; Prov 8:29; 30:4
  6. Job 38:5 : Prov 8:29; Is 40:12
  7. Job 38:6 : Job 26:7
  8. Job 38:7 : Job 1:6
  9. Job 38:8 : Gen 1:9; Ps 104:6-9; Prov 8:29; Jer 5:22
  10. Job 38:10 : Gen 1:9; Ps 33:7; 104:9; Prov 8:29; Jer 5:22
  11. Job 38:13 : Job 28:24; 37:3
  12. Job 38:13 : Job 34:25, 26; 36:6
  13. Job 38:15 : Job 5:14
  14. Job 38:15 : Num 15:30; Ps 10:15; 37:17
  15. Job 38:16 : Gen 7:11; 8:2; Prov 8:24, 28
  16. Job 38:17 : Job 10:21; 26:6; 34:22
  17. Job 38:18 : Job 28:24
  18. Job 38:20 : Job 26:10
  19. Job 38:21 : Job 15:7
  20. Job 38:22 : Job 37:6
  21. Job 38:22 : Ex 9:18; Josh 10:11; Is 30:30; Ezek 13:11, 13; Rev 16:21
  22. Job 38:24 : Job 26:10
  23. Job 38:26 : Job 36:27
  24. Job 38:27 : Ps 104:13, 14; 107:35
  25. Job 38:28 : Job 36:27, 28; Ps 147:8; Jer 14:22
  26. Job 38:29 : Job 37:10; Ps 147:17
  27. Job 38:31 : Job 9:9; Amos 5:8
  28. Job 38:33 : Ps 148:6; Jer 31:35, 36
  29. Job 38:34 : Job 22:11; 36:27, 28; 38:37
  30. Job 38:35 : Job 36:32; 37:3
  31. Job 38:36 : Job 9:4; Ps 51:6; Eccl 2:26
  32. Job 38:36 : Job 32:8
  33. Job 38:37 : Job 38:34
  34. Job 38:39 : Ps 104:21
  35. Job 38:40 : Job 37:8
  36. Job 38:41 : Ps 147:9; Matt 6:26; Luke 12:24

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