Job 38 · Clearspring

The LORD Challenges Job

¹Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,+ ²Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?+ ³Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.+ ⁴Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.+ ⁵Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?+ ⁶Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;+ ⁷When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?+ ⁸Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?+ ⁹When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,+ ¹⁰And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,+ ¹¹And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?+ ¹²Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;+ ¹³That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?+ ¹⁴It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.+ ¹⁵And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.+ ¹⁶Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?+ ¹⁷Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?+ ¹⁸Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.+ ¹⁹Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,+ ²⁰That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?+ ²¹Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?+ ²²Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,+ ²³Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?+ ²⁴By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?+ ²⁵Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;+ ²⁶To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;+ ²⁷To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?+ ²⁸Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?+ ²⁹Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?+ ³⁰The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.+ ³¹Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?+ ³²Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?+ ³³Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?+ ³⁴Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?+ ³⁵Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?+ ³⁶Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?+ ³⁷Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,+ ³⁸When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together? ³⁹Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,+ ⁴⁰When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?+ ⁴¹Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.+

The LORD Challenges Job

Study Job 38