Job 38

The Lord Challenges Job

38Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind.H3068H6030H347H5591H5592"Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?H2821H6098H4405H18473Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.H247H2504H1397H7592H30454"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much.H375H3245H776H5046H3045H9985Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line?H7760H4461H3045H5186H69576What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstoneH134H2883H3384H6438H687as the morning stars sang together and all the angels

shouted for joy?H1242H3556H7442H3162H1121H430H73218"Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb,H5526H3220H1817H1518H3318H73589and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness?H7760H6051H3830H6205H285410For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores.H7665H2706H7760H1280H181711I said, 'This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!'H559H5704H6311H935H3254H1347H1530H789612"Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east?H6680H1242H3117H7837H3045H472513Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night's wickedness?H270H3671H776H7563H528714As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal; it is robed in brilliant colors

.H2015H2563H2368H3320H383015The light disturbs the wicked and stops the arm that is raised in violence.H7563H216H4513H7311H2220H766516"Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you explored their depths?H935H5033H3220H1980H2714H841517Do you know where the gates of death are located? Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?H8179H4194H1540H7200H8179H675718Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know!H995H7338H776H5046H304519"Where does light come from, and where does darkness go?H1870H216H7931H2822H472520Can you take each to its home? Do you know how to get there?H3947H1366H995H5410H100421But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!H3045H3205H4557H3117H722722"Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail?H935H214H7950H7200H214H125923(I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war.)H2820H6256H6862H3117H7128H442124Where is the path to the source of light? Where is the home of the east wind?H335H1870H216H2505H6327H6921H77625"Who created a channel for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the lightning?H6385H8585H7858H1870H2385H696326Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives?H4305H776H376H4057H12027Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground and make the tender grass spring up?H7646H7722H4875H4161H1877H677928"Does the rain have a father? Who gives birth to the dew?H3426H4306H1H3205H96H291929Who is the mother of the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?H990H3318H7140H3713H8064H320530For the water turns to ice as hard as rock, and the surface of the water freezes.H4325H2244H68H6440H8415H392031"Can you direct the movement of the stars—binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion?H7194H4575H3598H6605H4189H368532Can you direct the sequence of the seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?H3318H4216H6256H5148H5906H112133Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?H3045H2708H8064H7760H4896H77634"Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain?H7311H6963H5645H8229H4325H368035Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct?H7971H1300H3212H55936Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind?H7896H2451H2910H5414H998H790737Who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heavenH5608H7834H2451H7901H5035H806438when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods?H6083H3332H4165H7263H169239"Can you stalk prey for a lioness and satisfy the young lions' appetitesH6679H2964H3833H4390H2416H371540as they lie in their dens or crouch in the thicket?H7817H4585H3427H5521H3926H69541Who provides food for the ravens when their young cry out to God and wander about in hunger?H3559H6158H6718H3206H7768H410H8582H1097H400