Job 38

KING JAMES BIBLE	NEW JERUSALEM
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,	1 Then from the heart of the tempest Yahweh gave Job his answer. He said:
2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?	2 Who is this, obscuring my intentions with his ignorant words?
3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.	3 Brace yourself like a fighter; I am going to ask the questions, and you are to inform me!
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.	4 Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations? Tel me, since you are so wel -informed!
5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?	5 Who decided its dimensions, do you know? Or who stretched the measuring line across it?
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;	6 What supports its pil ars at their bases? Who laid its cornerstone
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?	7 to the joyful concert of the morning stars and unanimous acclaim of the sons of God?
8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?	8 Who pent up the sea behind closed doors when it leapt tumultuous from the womb,
9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,	9 when I wrapped it in a robe of mist and made black clouds its swaddling bands;
10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,	10 when I cut out the place I had decreed for it and imposed gates and a bolt?
11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?	11 'Come so far,' I said, 'and no further; here your proud waves must break!'
12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;	12 Have you ever in your life given orders to the morning or sent the dawn to its post,
13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?	13 to grasp the earth by its edges and shake the wicked out of it?
14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.	14 She turns it as red as a clay seal, she tints it as though it were a dress,
15 And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.	15 stealing the light from evil-doers and breaking the arm raised to strike.
16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?	16 Have you been right down to the sources of the sea and walked about at the bottom of the Abyss?
17 Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?	17 Have you been shown the gates of Death, have you seen the janitors of the Shadow dark as death?
18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.	18 Have you an inkling of the extent of the earth? Tell me al about it if you have!
19 Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,	19 Which is the way to the home of the Light, and where does darkness live? -
20 That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?	20 You could then show them the way to their proper places, you could put them on the path homeagain!
21 Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?	21 If you do know, you must have been born when they were, you must be very old by now!
22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,	22 Have you visited the place where the snow is stored? Have you seen the stores of hail,
23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?	23 which I keep for times of distress, for days of battle and war?
24 By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?	24 From which direction does the lightning fork, where in the world does the east wind blow itself out?
25 Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;	25 Who bores a channel for the downpour or clears the way for the rol ing thunder
26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;	26 so that rain may fal on lands where no one lives, and the deserts void of human dwel ing,
27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?	27 to meet the needs of the lonely wastes and make grass sprout on the thirsty ground?
28 Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?	28 Has the rain a father? Who begets the dewdrops?
29 Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?	29 What womb brings forth the ice, who gives birth to the frost of heaven,
30 The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.	30 when the waters grow hard as stone and the surface of the deep congeals?
31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?	31 Can you fasten the harness of the Pleiades, or untie Orion's bands?
32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?	32 Can you guide the Crown season by season and show the Bear and its cubs which way to go?
33 Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?	33 Have you grasped the celestial laws? Could you make their writ run on the earth?
34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?	34 Can your voice carry as far as the clouds and make the pent-up waters do your bidding?
35 Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?	35 Will lightning flashes come at your command and answer, 'Here we are'?
36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?	36 Who endowed the ibis with wisdom and gave the cock his intel igence?
37 Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,	37 Whose skil details every cloud and tilts the water-skins of heaven
38 When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?	38 until the dust solidifies and the cracks in the ground close up?
39 Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,	39 Do you go hunting prey for the lioness; do you satisfy the hunger of young lions
40 When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?	40 where they crouch in their den, waiting eagerly in the bushes?
41 Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.	41 Who makes provision for the raven when his little ones cry out to God craning their necks in search offood?