Parallel
Job 38
World English Bible British Edition · Berean Standard Bible
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind,
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
“Who is this who darkens counsel
“Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge (note: Cited in Job 42:3)?
Brace yourself like a man,
Now brace yourself (note: Hebrew gird up your loins) like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me (note: Cited in Job 42:4).
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measures, if you know?
Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched a measuring line across it?
What were its foundations fastened on?
On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone (note: Or who set its core in place),
when the morning stars sang together,
while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
“Or who shut up the sea with doors,
Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
when I made clouds its garment,
when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its blanket,
and said, ‘You may come here, but no further.
and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther; here your proud waves must stop’?
“Have you commanded the morning in your days,
In your days, have you commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place,
that it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
that it might spread to the ends of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?
It is changed as clay under the seal,
The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its hills stand out like the folds of a garment.
From the wicked, their light is withheld.
Light is withheld from the wicked, and their upraised arm is broken.
“Have you entered into the springs of the sea?
Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep?
Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
Have you comprehended the earth in its width?
Have you surveyed the extent of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.
“What is the way to the dwelling of light?
Where is the way to the home of light? Do you know where darkness resides,
that you should take it to its bound,
so you can lead it back to its border? Do you know the paths to its home?
Surely you know, for you were born then,
Surely you know, for you were already born! And the number of your days is great!
Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
Have you entered the storehouses of snow or observed the storehouses of hail,
which I have reserved against the time of trouble,
which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of war and battle?
By what way is the lightning distributed,
In which direction is the lightning dispersed, or the east wind scattered over the earth?
Who has cut a channel for the flood water,
Who cuts a channel for the flood or clears a path for the thunderbolt,
to cause it to rain on a land where there is no man,
to bring rain on a barren land, on a desert where no man lives,
to satisfy the waste and desolate ground,
to satisfy the parched wasteland and make it sprout with tender grass?
Whose womb did the ice come out of?
From whose womb does the ice emerge? Who gives birth to the frost from heaven,
The waters become hard like stone,
when the waters become hard as stone and the surface of the deep is frozen?
“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades,
Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion?
Can you lead the constellations out in their season?
Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons (note: Or bring forth Mazzaroth in its season) or lead out the Bear (note: Or Leo or Arcturus) and her cubs?
Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?
“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?
Can you send out lightnings, that they may go?
Can you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
Who has put wisdom in the inward parts?
Who has put wisdom in the heart (note: Or Who has given the ibis wisdom, that is, wisdom about the flooding of the Nile) or given understanding to the mind?
Who can count the clouds by wisdom?
Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of the heavens
when the dust runs into a mass,
when the dust hardens into a mass and the clods of earth stick together?
“Can you hunt the prey for the lioness,
Can you hunt the prey for a lioness or satisfy the hunger of young lions
when they crouch in their dens,
when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait in the thicket?
Who provides for the raven his prey,
Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God as they wander about for lack of food?