Job 38

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Then the LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said:	1 But the Lord, responding to Job from a whirlwind, said:
2 Who is this that obscures divine plans with words of ignorance?	2 Who is this that wraps sentences in unskilled words?
3 Gird up your loins now, like a man; I will question you, and you tell me the answers!	3 Gird your waist like a man. I will question you, and you must answer me.
4 Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.	4 Where were you, when I set the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its size; do you know? Who stretched out the measuring line for it?	5 Who set its measurements, if you know, or who stretched a line over it?
6 Into what were its pedestals sunk, and who laid the cornerstone,	6 Upon what have its bases been grounded, and who set forth its cornerstone,
7 While the morning stars sang in chorus and all the sons of God shouted for joy?	7 when the morning stars praised me together, and all the sons of God made a joyful noise?
8 And who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb;	8 Who enclosed the sea with doors, when it broke forth as if issuing from the womb,
9 When I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands?	9 when I stationed a cloud as its garment and wrapped it in a mist as if swaddling an infant?
10 When I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door,	10 I encircled it with my limits, and I positioned its bars and doors.
11 And said: Thus far shall you come but no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stilled!	11 And I said: “This far you will approach, and you will proceeded no further, and here you will break your swelling waves.”
12 Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place	12 Did you, after your birth, command the birth of the sun and show the sunrise its place?
13 For taking hold of the ends of the earth, till the wicked are shaken from its surface?	13 And did you hold the extremities of the earth, shaking them, and have you shaken the impious out of it?
14 The earth is changed as is clay by the seal, and dyed as though it were a garment;	14 The seal will be restored like clay, and it will remain in place like a garment.
15 But from the wicked the light is withheld, and the arm of pride is shattered.	15 From the impious, the light will be taken away, and the exalted arm will be broken.
16 Have you entered into the sources of the sea, or walked about in the depths of the abyss?	16 Have you entered the depths of the sea, and have you taken a walk in the uttermost parts of the abyss?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you, or have you seen the gates of darkness?	17 Have the gates of death been opened to you, and have you seen the doors of darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell me, if you know all:	18 Have you considered the breadth of the earth? If you know all things, reveal them to me.
19 Which is the way to the dwelling place of light, and where is the abode of darkness,	19 Which is the way that holds the light, and which is the place of darkness?
20 That you may take them to their boundaries and set them on their homeward paths?	20 In this way, you might lead each thing to its final place, and understand the paths of its house.
21 You know, because you were born before them, and the number of your years is great!	21 So then, did you know when you were to be born? And did you know the number of your days?
22 Have you entered the storehouse of the snow, and seen the treasury of the hail	22 Have you been admitted into the storehouses of the snows, and have you gazed upon the stockpile of the brimstone,
23 Which I have reserved for times of stress, for the days of war and of battle?	23 which I have prepared for the time of the enemy, for the day of the battle and the war?
24 Which way to the parting of the winds, whence the east wind spreads over the earth?	24 In what way is the light scattered, and the heat distributed, over the earth?
25 Who has laid out a channel for the downpour and for the thunderstorm a path	25 Who gave a course to the rainstorms, and a path to the resounding thunder,
26 To bring rain to no man's land, the unpeopled wilderness;	26 so that it would rain on the earth far from man, in the wilderness where no mortal lingers,
27 To enrich the waste and desolate ground till the desert blooms with verdure?	27 so that it would fill impassable and desolate places, and would bring forth green plants?
28 Has the rain a father; or who has begotten the drops of dew?	28 Who is the father of rain, or who conceived the drops of dew?
29 Out of whose womb comes the ice, and who gives the hoarfrost its birth in the skies,	29 From whose womb did the ice proceed, and who created the frost from the air?
30 When the waters lie covered as though with stone that holds captive the surface of the deep?	30 The waters are hardened to become like stone, and the surface of the abyss freezes over.
31 Have you fitted a curb to the Pleiades, or loosened the bonds of Orion?	31 Will you have the strength to join together the sparkling stars of the Pleiades, or are you able to disperse the circling of Arcturus?
32 Can you bring forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or guide the Bear with its train?	32 Can you bring forth the morning star, in its time, and make the evening star rise over the sons of the earth?
33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens; can you put into effect their plan on the earth?	33 Do you know the order of heaven, and can you explain its rules here on the earth?
34 Can you raise your voice among the clouds, or veil yourself in the waters of the storm?	34 Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that an onslaught of waters will cover you?
35 Can you send forth the lightnings on their way, or will they say to you, "Here we are"?	35 Can you send forth lightning bolts, and will they go, and on returning, say to you: “Here we are?”
36 Who puts wisdom in the heart, and gives the cock its understanding?	36 Who placed discernment in the guts of man, or who gave the rooster intelligence?
37 Who counts the clouds in his wisdom? Or who tilts the water jars of heaven	37 Who can describe the rules of the heavens, or who can put to rest the harmony of heaven?
38 So that the dust of earth is fused into a mass and its clods made solid?	38 When was the dust cast to become the earth, and when were its clods fastened together?
39 Do you hunt the prey for the lioness or appease the hunger of her cubs,	39 Will you seize prey for the lioness, and will you sustain the lives of her young,
40 While they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in the thicket?	40 as they rest in their dens or lie in wait in pits?
41 Who provides nourishment for the ravens when their young ones cry out to God, and they rove abroad without food?	41 Who provides the raven with its meal, when her chicks cry out to God, as they wander around because they have no food?