Job

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind. He said:

2Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?

2"Who is this that makes my plans sound dark and confusing, using words with no knowledge behind them?

3Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.

3Get ready now, like a man getting set for hard work. I will ask the questions, and you will answer me.

Note"Gird up thy loins" was how people got ready for hard work or a fight. They tucked their long robes into their belts so their legs were free. It means "get yourself ready."

4Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

4Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you understand so much.

5Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

5Who decided how big it should be? Surely you know! Who stretched the measuring line across it?

6Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

6What are its foundations resting on? Who set its cornerstone in place,

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

7while 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?

8Who shut the sea behind doors when it burst out, like a baby born from the womb?

9When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,

9I was the one who made the clouds its clothing and thick darkness its blanket.

10And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,

10I set the limits it could not pass. I put bars and doors in place for it.

11And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

11I said, 'You may come this far and no farther. Here your proud waves must stop.'

12Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;

12In all your life, have you ever ordered the morning to come, or shown the dawn where to rise?

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

13Have you told the light to grab the edges of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?

14It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.

14In that light the earth takes shape, the way soft clay takes the mark of a stamp. Its hills stand out like folds in a robe.

NoteIn that time, people pressed a carved stamp, called a seal, into soft clay to leave a picture. As dawn light spreads, hills and valleys appear the same way, coming out of flat darkness into shape.

15And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.

15Wicked people are kept from the light they want. The arm they raised to strike is broken.

16Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?

16Have you gone down to the places where the sea begins? Have you walked in the deepest valleys of the ocean?

17Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?

17Have the gates of death been opened to you? Have you seen the doors of the deepest darkness?

18Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.

18Have you measured how wide the earth is? Tell me, if you know all this.

19Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

19Where is the road that leads to the home of light? And darkness, where does it live?

20That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?

20Could you lead them back to their own borders? Do you know the paths to the houses where they stay?

21Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?

21Of course you know! After all, you were already born back then. You have lived so very many years.

NoteThis verse is said the opposite of how it sounds. God is pointing out that Job was not alive at creation and has not lived very long at all.

22Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

22Have you gone into the storerooms where I keep the snow? Have you seen where I store the hail,

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

23which I hold back for times of trouble, for the day of battle and war?

24By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?

24Which way does the lightning spread out? Where does the east wind get scattered across the earth?

25Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;

25Who cuts a channel for the pouring rain, or clears a path for the thunderstorm,

26To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

26so rain falls on empty land, on a desert where nobody lives,

27To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?

27soaking ground that is dry and bare, and making tender young grass sprout up?

28Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

28Does the rain have a father? Who is the parent of the drops of dew?

29Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

29Whose womb does the ice come out of? Who gives birth to the white frost from the sky,

30The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

30when water turns as hard as stone and the surface of the deep water freezes over?

31Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?

31Can you tie together the stars of the Pleiades, or untie the belt of Orion?

32Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

32Can you bring out the constellations each in its season? Can you lead out the Bear and her cubs?

Note"Mazzaroth" is a Hebrew word for star groups, probably the ones that appear at set times of year. "Arcturus with his sons" is an old name for the star group we call the Great Bear, or Big Dipper.

33Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

33Do you know the laws that rule the sky? Can you make those laws govern the earth?

34Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?

34Can you shout an order to the clouds and have a flood of water pour down on you?

35Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?

35Can you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you and say, 'Here we are'?

36Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?

36Who put wisdom deep inside a person? Who gave the mind its understanding?

37Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,

37Who is wise enough to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the sky,

38When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?

38so the dust turns hard and the lumps of dirt stick together?

39Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,

39Can you hunt down food for the lion? Can you fill the stomachs of her hungry cubs,

40When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?

40when they crouch low in their dens and wait in the bushes to pounce?

41Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.

41Who gives the raven its food, when its young cry out to God and wander around with nothing to eat?"