Login Go Premium

Job 38

The Lord Reveals His Omnipotence to Job

¹Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

²“Whois this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge?

³Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.

⁴“Wherewere you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.

⁵Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?

⁶To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,

⁷When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸“Orwho shut in the sea with doors, When it burst forth and issued from the womb;

⁹When I made the clouds its garment, And thick darkness its swaddling band;

¹⁰When I fixed My limit for it, And set bars and doors;

¹¹When I said, ‘This far you may come, but no farther, And here your proud waves must stop!’

¹²“Have you commanded the morning since your days began, And caused the dawn to know its place,

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

¹⁴It takes on form like clay under a seal, And stands out like a garment.

¹⁵From the wicked their light is withheld, And the upraised arm is broken.

¹⁶“Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths?

¹⁷Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?

¹⁸Have you comprehended the breadth of 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,

²⁰That you may take it to its territory, That you may know the paths to its home?

²¹Do you know it, because you were born then, Or because the number of your days is great?

²²“Have you entered the treasury of snow, Or have you seen the treasury of hail,

²³Which I have reserved for the time of trouble, For the day of battle and war?

²⁴By what way is light diffused, Or the east wind scattered over the earth?

²⁵“Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, Or a path for the thunderbolt,

²⁶To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one, A wilderness in which there is no man;

²⁷To satisfy the desolate waste, And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?

²⁸Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

²⁹From whose womb comes the ice? And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?

³⁰The waters harden like stone, And the surface of the deep is frozen.

³¹“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the belt of Orion?

³²Can you bring out Mazzaroth in its season? Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs?

³³Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?

³⁴“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That an abundance of water may cover you?

³⁵Can you send out lightnings, that they may go, And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?

³⁶Who has put wisdom in the mind? Or who has given understanding to the heart?

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

³⁸When the dust hardens in clumps, And the clods cling together?

³⁹“Canyou hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

⁴⁰When they crouch in their dens, Or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait?

⁴¹Who provides food for the raven, When its young ones cry to God, And wander about for lack of food?

Job 38 (NKJV)

Click verse numbers to view individual verses with commentary

View interlinear text with original Hebrew/Greek →

Job

Chapter 38

38 of 42