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Job 38:1-40:2 — The Lord Speaks: The First Speech

Job.38.1-40.2

¹Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind, saying: ²"Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? ³Brace yourself now like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform me. ⁴Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. ⁵Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the measuring line upon it? ⁶On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, ⁷when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? ⁸Or who enclosed the sea with doors when it burst forth, issuing from the womb; ⁹when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band; ¹⁰and I prescribed my boundary for it, and set bars and doors, ¹¹and said, 'Thus far you shall come, and no farther, and here your proud waves shall be stayed'? ¹²Have 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 is changed like clay under a seal, and its features stand out like a garment. ¹⁵From the wicked their light is withheld, and the uplifted arm is broken. ¹⁶Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? ¹⁷Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? ¹⁸Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know it all. ¹⁹Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and as for darkness, where is its place, ²⁰that you may take it to its territory, and that you may discern the paths to its home? ²¹You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great! ²²Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, ²³which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war? ²⁴What is the way to where the light is distributed, or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth? ²⁵Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain, and a way for the thunderbolt, ²⁶to bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no human, ²⁷to satisfy the waste and desolate ground, and to cause the sprout of grass to spring up? ²⁸Does the rain have a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? ²⁹From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the frost of heaven? ³⁰The waters hide themselves and become like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. ³¹Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion? ³²Can you lead forth the constellations in their season, or can you guide the Bear with her cubs? ³³Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth? ³⁴Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that an abundance of water may cover you? ³⁵Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go and say to you, 'Here we are'? ³⁶Who has put wisdom in the inward parts , or who has given understanding to the mind? ³⁷Who can count the clouds by wisdom, or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens, ³⁸when the dust runs into a mass, and the clods of earth stick together? ³⁹Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, ⁴⁰when they crouch in their dens, and sit in the covert to lie in wait? ⁴¹Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food?

Chapter 39

¹"Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the does? ²Can you count the months that they fulfill, and do you know the time when they give birth, ³when they crouch, bring forth their offspring, and are delivered of their labor pains? ⁴Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open field; they go forth, and do not return to them. ⁵Who has let the wild donkey go free? Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey, ⁶to whom I have given the wilderness for a home, and the salt land for his dwelling place? ⁷He scorns the tumult of the city; he does not hear the shouts of the driver. ⁸He explores the mountains as his pasture, and he searches after every green thing. ⁹Will the wild ox be willing to serve you? Will he spend the night at your feeding trough? ¹⁰Can you bind the wild ox in the furrow with ropes, or will he harrow the valleys after you? ¹¹Will you trust him because his strength is great, and will you leave your labor to him? ¹²Will you rely on him to bring home your seed, and gather the grain of your threshing floor? ¹³The wings of the ostrich flap joyously, but are they the pinions and plumage of the stork ? ¹⁴For she leaves her eggs to the earth, and lets them be warmed in the dust, ¹⁵and forgets that a foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may trample them. ¹⁶She deals harshly with her young ones, as if they were not hers; though her labor is in vain, she has no fear, ¹⁷because God has made her forget wisdom, and has not given her a share in understanding. ¹⁸Yet when she lifts herself up on high, she laughs at the horse and its rider. ¹⁹Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane? ²⁰Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrifying. ²¹He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength; he goes out to meet the weapons. ²²He laughs at fear, and is not dismayed; and he does not turn back from the sword. ²³Upon him rattles the quiver, the flashing spear and the javelin. ²⁴With trembling and rage he swallows the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. ²⁵As often as the trumpet sounds he says, 'Aha!' He smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. ²⁶Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, and spreads his wings toward the south? ²⁷Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up, and makes his nest on high? ²⁸On the rock he dwells and makes his home, on the rocky crag and the stronghold. ²⁹From there he spies out the prey; his eyes see it from afar. ³⁰His young ones also suck up blood, and where the slain are, there is he."

Chapter 40

¹Then Yahweh answered Job, saying: ²“Will a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it .”

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4/11/2026

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