Job 38

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Then from the heart of the tempest Yahweh gave Job his answer. He said:	1 Then the LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said:
2 Who is this, obscuring my intentions with his ignorant words?	2 Who is this that obscures divine plans with words of ignorance?
3 Brace yourself like a fighter; I am going to ask the questions, and you are to inform me!	3 Gird up your loins now, like a man; I will question you, and you tell me the answers!
4 Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations? Tel me, since you are so wel -informed!	4 Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who decided its dimensions, do you know? Or who stretched the measuring line across it?	5 Who determined its size; do you know? Who stretched out the measuring line for it?
6 What supports its pil ars at their bases? Who laid its cornerstone	6 Into what were its pedestals sunk, and who laid the cornerstone,
7 to the joyful concert of the morning stars and unanimous acclaim of the sons of God?	7 While the morning stars sang in chorus and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 Who pent up the sea behind closed doors when it leapt tumultuous from the womb,	8 And who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb;
9 when I wrapped it in a robe of mist and made black clouds its swaddling bands;	9 When I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands?
10 when I cut out the place I had decreed for it and imposed gates and a bolt?	10 When I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door,
11 'Come so far,' I said, 'and no further; here your proud waves must break!'	11 And said: Thus far shall you come but no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stilled!
12 Have you ever in your life given orders to the morning or sent the dawn to its post,	12 Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place
13 to grasp the earth by its edges and shake the wicked out of it?	13 For taking hold of the ends of the earth, till the wicked are shaken from its surface?
14 She turns it as red as a clay seal, she tints it as though it were a dress,	14 The earth is changed as is clay by the seal, and dyed as though it were a garment;
15 stealing the light from evil-doers and breaking the arm raised to strike.	15 But from the wicked the light is withheld, and the arm of pride is shattered.
16 Have you been right down to the sources of the sea and walked about at the bottom of the Abyss?	16 Have you entered into the sources of the sea, or walked about in the depths of the abyss?
17 Have you been shown the gates of Death, have you seen the janitors of the Shadow dark as death?	17 Have the gates of death been shown to you, or have you seen the gates of darkness?
18 Have you an inkling of the extent of the earth? Tell me al about it if you have!	18 Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell me, if you know all:
19 Which is the way to the home of the Light, and where does darkness live? -	19 Which is the way to the dwelling place of light, and where is the abode of darkness,
20 You could then show them the way to their proper places, you could put them on the path homeagain!	20 That you may take them to their boundaries and set them on their homeward paths?
21 If you do know, you must have been born when they were, you must be very old by now!	21 You know, because you were born before them, and the number of your years is great!
22 Have you visited the place where the snow is stored? Have you seen the stores of hail,	22 Have you entered the storehouse of the snow, and seen the treasury of the hail
23 which I keep for times of distress, for days of battle and war?	23 Which I have reserved for times of stress, for the days of war and of battle?
24 From which direction does the lightning fork, where in the world does the east wind blow itself out?	24 Which way to the parting of the winds, whence the east wind spreads over the earth?
25 Who bores a channel for the downpour or clears the way for the rol ing thunder	25 Who has laid out a channel for the downpour and for the thunderstorm a path
26 so that rain may fal on lands where no one lives, and the deserts void of human dwel ing,	26 To bring rain to no man's land, the unpeopled wilderness;
27 to meet the needs of the lonely wastes and make grass sprout on the thirsty ground?	27 To enrich the waste and desolate ground till the desert blooms with verdure?
28 Has the rain a father? Who begets the dewdrops?	28 Has the rain a father; or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 What womb brings forth the ice, who gives birth to the frost of heaven,	29 Out of whose womb comes the ice, and who gives the hoarfrost its birth in the skies,
30 when the waters grow hard as stone and the surface of the deep congeals?	30 When the waters lie covered as though with stone that holds captive the surface of the deep?
31 Can you fasten the harness of the Pleiades, or untie Orion's bands?	31 Have you fitted a curb to the Pleiades, or loosened the bonds of Orion?
32 Can you guide the Crown season by season and show the Bear and its cubs which way to go?	32 Can you bring forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or guide the Bear with its train?
33 Have you grasped the celestial laws? Could you make their writ run on the earth?	33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens; can you put into effect their plan on the earth?
34 Can your voice carry as far as the clouds and make the pent-up waters do your bidding?	34 Can you raise your voice among the clouds, or veil yourself in the waters of the storm?
35 Will lightning flashes come at your command and answer, 'Here we are'?	35 Can you send forth the lightnings on their way, or will they say to you, "Here we are"?
36 Who endowed the ibis with wisdom and gave the cock his intel igence?	36 Who puts wisdom in the heart, and gives the cock its understanding?
37 Whose skil details every cloud and tilts the water-skins of heaven	37 Who counts the clouds in his wisdom? Or who tilts the water jars of heaven
38 until the dust solidifies and the cracks in the ground close up?	38 So that the dust of earth is fused into a mass and its clods made solid?
39 Do you go hunting prey for the lioness; do you satisfy the hunger of young lions	39 Do you hunt the prey for the lioness or appease the hunger of her cubs,
40 where they crouch in their den, waiting eagerly in the bushes?	40 While they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in the thicket?
41 Who makes provision for the raven when his little ones cry out to God craning their necks in search offood?	41 Who provides nourishment for the ravens when their young ones cry out to God, and they rove abroad without food?