[38:1] Then out of the storm the Lord spoke to Job.
The Lord
[38:2] Who are you to question my wisdom with your ignorant, empty words?
[38:3] Now stand up straight and answer the questions I ask you.
[38:4] Were you there when I made the world? If you know so much, tell me about it.
[38:5] Who decided how large it would be? Who stretched the measuring line over it? Do you know all the answers?
[38:6] What holds up the pillars that support the earth? Who laid the cornerstone of the world?
[38:7] In the dawn of that day the stars sang together, and the heavenly beings shouted for joy.
[38:8] Who closed the gates to hold back the sea when it burst from the womb of the earth?
[38:9] It was I who covered the sea with clouds and wrapped it in darkness.
[38:10] I marked a boundary for the sea and kept it behind bolted gates.
[38:11] I told it, “So far and no farther! Here your powerful waves must stop.”
[38:12] Job, have you ever in all your life commanded a day to dawn?
[38:13] Have you ordered the dawn to seize the earth and shake the wicked from their hiding places?
[38:14] Daylight makes the hills and valleys stand out like the folds of a garment, clear as the imprint of a seal on clay.
[38:15] The light of day is too bright for the wicked and restrains them from doing violence.
[38:16] Have you been to the springs in the depths of the sea? Have you walked on the floor of the ocean?
[38:17] Has anyone ever shown you the gates that guard the dark world of the dead?
[38:18] Have you any idea how big the world is? Answer me if you know.
[38:19] Do you know where the light comes from or what the source of darkness is?
[38:20] Can you show them how far to go, or send them back again?
[38:21] I am sure you can, because you're so old and were there when the world was made!
[38:22] Have you ever visited the storerooms, where I keep the snow and the hail?
[38:23] I keep them ready for times of trouble, for days of battle and war.
[38:24] Have you been to the place where the sun comes up, or the place from which the east wind blows?
[38:25] Who dug a channel for the pouring rain and cleared the way for the thunderstorm?
[38:26] Who makes rain fall where no one lives?
[38:27] Who waters the dry and thirsty land, so that grass springs up?
[38:28] Does either the rain or the dew have a father?
[38:29] Who is the mother of the ice and the frost,
[38:30] which turn the waters to stone and freeze the face of the sea?
[38:31] Can you tie the Pleiades together or loosen the bonds that hold Orion?
[38:32] Can you guide the stars season by season and direct the Big and the Little Dipper?
[38:33] Do you know the laws that govern the skies, and can you make them apply to the earth?
[38:34] Can you shout orders to the clouds and make them drench you with rain?
[38:35] And if you command the lightning to flash, will it come to you and say, “At your service”?
[38:36] Who tells the ibis when the Nile will flood, or who tells the rooster that rain will fall?
[38:37] Who is wise enough to count the clouds and tilt them over to pour out the rain,
[38:38] rain that hardens the dust into lumps?
[38:39] Do you find food for lions to eat, and satisfy hungry young lions
[38:40] when they hide in their caves, or lie in wait in their dens?
[38:41] Who is it that feeds the ravens when they wander about hungry, when their young cry to me for food?
[39:1] Do you know when mountain goats are born? Have you watched wild deer give birth?
[39:2] Do you know how long they carry their young? Do you know the time for their birth?
[39:3] Do you know when they will crouch down and bring their young into the world?
[39:4] In the wilds their young grow strong; they go away and don't come back.
[39:5] Who gave the wild donkeys their freedom? Who turned them loose and let them roam?
[39:6] I gave them the desert to be their home, and let them live on the salt plains.
[39:7] They keep far away from the noisy cities, and no one can tame them and make them work.
[39:8] The mountains are the pastures where they feed, where they search for anything green to eat.
[39:9] Will a wild ox work for you? Is he willing to spend the night in your stable?
[39:10] Can you hold one with a rope and make him plow? Or make him pull a harrow in your fields?
[39:11] Can you rely on his great strength and expect him to do your heavy work?
[39:12] Do you expect him to bring in your harvest and gather the grain from your threshing place?
[39:13] How fast the wings of an ostrich beat! But no ostrich can fly like a stork.
[39:14] The ostrich leaves her eggs on the ground for the heat in the soil to warm them.
[39:15] She is unaware that a foot may crush them or a wild animal break them.
[39:16] She acts as if the eggs were not hers, and is unconcerned that her efforts were wasted.
[39:17] It was I who made her foolish and did not give her wisdom.
[39:18] But when she begins to run, she can laugh at any horse and rider.
[39:19] Was it you, Job, who made horses so strong and gave them their flowing manes?
[39:20] Did you make them leap like locusts and frighten people with their snorting?
[39:21] They eagerly paw the ground in the valley; they rush into battle with all their strength.
[39:22] They do not know the meaning of fear, and no sword can turn them back.
[39:23] The weapons which their riders carry rattle and flash in the sun.
[39:24] Trembling with excitement, the horses race ahead; when the trumpet blows, they can't stand still.
[39:25] At each blast of the trumpet they snort; they can smell a battle before they get near, and they hear the officers shouting commands.
[39:26] Does a hawk learn from you how to fly when it spreads its wings toward the south?
[39:27] Does an eagle wait for your command to build its nest high in the mountains?
[39:28] It makes its home on the highest rocks and makes the sharp peaks its fortress.
[39:29] From there it watches near and far for something to kill and eat.
[39:30] Around dead bodies the eagles gather, and the young eagles drink the blood. will you give up now, or will you answer?
Job
I will not try to say anything else.
[40:5] I have already said more than I should.
[40:6] Then out of the storm the Lord spoke to Job once again.
The Lord
[40:7] Now stand up straight and answer my questions.
[40:8] Are you trying to prove that I am unjust— to put me in the wrong and yourself in the right?
[40:9] Are you as strong as I am? Can your voice thunder as loud as mine?
[40:10] If so, stand up in your honor and pride; clothe yourself with majesty and glory.
[40:11] Look at those who are proud; pour out your anger and humble them.
[40:12] Yes, look at them and bring them down; crush the wicked where they stand.
[40:13] Bury them all in the ground; bind them in the world of the dead.
[40:14] Then I will be the first to praise you and admit that you won the victory yourself.
[40:15] Look at the monster Behemoth; I created him and I created you. He eats grass like a cow,
[40:16] but what strength there is in his body, and what power there is in his muscles!
[40:17] His tail stands up like a cedar, and the muscles in his legs are strong.
[40:18] His bones are as strong as bronze, and his legs are like iron bars.
[40:19] The most amazing of all my creatures! Only his Creator can defeat him.
[40:20] Grass to feed him grows on the hills where wild beasts play.
[40:21] He lies down under the thorn bushes, and hides among the reeds in the swamp.
[40:22] The thorn bushes and the willows by the stream give him shelter in their shade.
[40:23] He is not afraid of a rushing river; he is calm when the Jordan dashes in his face.
[40:24] Who can blind his eyes and capture him? Or who can catch his snout in a trap?
[41:1] Can you catch Leviathan with a fishhook or tie his tongue down with a rope?
[41:2] Can you put a rope through his snout or put a hook through his jaws?
[41:3] Will he beg you to let him go? Will he plead with you for mercy?
[41:4] Will he make an agreement with you and promise to serve you forever?
[41:5] Will you tie him like a pet bird, like something to amuse your servant women?
[41:6] Will fishermen bargain over him? Will merchants cut him up to sell?
[41:7] Can you fill his hide with fishing spears or pierce his head with a harpoon?
[41:8] Touch him once and you'll never try it again; you'll never forget the fight!
[41:9] Anyone who sees Leviathan loses courage and falls to the ground.
[41:10] When he is aroused, he is fierce; no one would dare to stand before him.
[41:11] Who can attack him and still be safe? No one in all the world can do it.
[41:12] Let me tell you about Leviathan's legs and describe how great and strong he is.
[41:13] No one can tear off his outer coat or pierce the armor he wears.
[41:14] Who can make him open his jaws, ringed with those terrifying teeth?
[41:15] His back is made of rows of shields, fastened together and hard as stone.
[41:16] Each one is joined so tight to the next, not even a breath can come between.
[41:17] They all are fastened so firmly together that nothing can ever pull them apart.
[41:18] Light flashes when he sneezes, and his eyes glow like the rising sun.
[41:19] Flames blaze from his mouth, and streams of sparks fly out.
[41:20] Smoke comes pouring out of his nose, like smoke from weeds burning under a pot.
[41:21] His breath starts fires burning; flames leap out of his mouth.
[41:22] His neck is so powerful that all who meet him are terrified.
[41:23] There is not a weak spot in his skin; it is as hard and unyielding as iron.
[41:24] His stony heart is without fear, as unyielding and hard as a millstone.
[41:25] When he rises up, even the strongest are frightened; they are helpless with fear.
[41:26] There is no sword that can wound him; no spear or arrow or lance that can harm him.
[41:27] For him iron is as flimsy as straw, and bronze as soft as rotten wood.
[41:28] There is no arrow that can make him run; rocks thrown at him are like bits of straw.
[41:29] To him a club is a piece of straw, and he laughs when men throw spears.
[41:30] The scales on his belly are like jagged pieces of pottery; they tear up the muddy ground like a threshing sledge.
[41:31] He churns up the sea like boiling water and makes it bubble like a pot of oil.
[41:32] He leaves a shining path behind him and turns the sea to white foam.
[41:33] There is nothing on earth to compare with him; he is a creature that has no fear.
[41:34] He looks down on even the proudest animals; he is king of all wild beasts.
[42:1] Then Job answered the Lord.
Job
[42:2] I know, Lord, that you are all-powerful; that you can do everything you want.
[42:3] You ask how I dare question your wisdom when I am so very ignorant. I talked about things I did not understand, about marvels too great for me to know.
[42:4] You told me to listen while you spoke and to try to answer your questions.
[42:5] In the past I knew only what others had told me, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
[42:6] So I am ashamed of all I have said and repent in dust and ashes.