Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: | 1Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind: |
2“Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge? | 2“Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? |
3Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me. | 3Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. |
4Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. | 4“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. |
5Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched a measuring line across it? | 5Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? |
6On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone, | 6What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone |
7while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? | 7as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? |
8Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, | 8“Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb, |
9when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its blanket, | 9and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness? |
10when I fixed its boundaries and set in place its bars and doors, | 10For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. |
11and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther; here your proud waves must stop’? | 11I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!’ |
12In your days, have you commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place, | 12“Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? |
13that it might spread to the ends of the earth and shake the wicked out of it? | 13Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night’s wickedness? |
14The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its hills stand out like the folds of a garment. | 14As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal; it is robed in brilliant colors. |
15Light is withheld from the wicked, and their upraised arm is broken. | 15The light disturbs the wicked and stops the arm that is raised in violence. |
16Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep? | 16“Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you explored their depths? |
17Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? | 17Do you know where the gates of death are located? Have you seen the gates of utter gloom? |
18Have you surveyed the extent of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this. | 18Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know! |
19Where is the way to the home of light? Do you know where darkness resides, | 19“Where does light come from, and where does darkness go? |
20so you can lead it back to its border? Do you know the paths to its home? | 20Can you take each to its home? Do you know how to get there? |
21Surely you know, for you were already born! And the number of your days is great! | 21But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced! |
22Have you entered the storehouses of snow or observed the storehouses of hail, | 22“Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail? |
23which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of war and battle? | 23(I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war.) |
24In which direction is the lightning dispersed, or the east wind scattered over the earth? | 24Where is the path to the source of light? Where is the home of the east wind? |
25Who cuts a channel for the flood or clears a path for the thunderbolt, | 25“Who created a channel for the torrents of rain? Who laid out the path for the lightning? |
26to bring rain on a barren land, on a desert where no man lives, | 26Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives? |
27to satisfy the parched wasteland and make it sprout with tender grass? | 27Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground and make the tender grass spring up? |
28Does the rain have a father? Who has begotten the drops of dew? | 28“Does the rain have a father? Who gives birth to the dew? |
29From whose womb does the ice emerge? Who gives birth to the frost from heaven, | 29Who is the mother of the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens? |
30when the waters become hard as stone and the surface of the deep is frozen? | 30For the water turns to ice as hard as rock, and the surface of the water freezes. |
31Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion? | 31“Can you direct the movement of the stars— binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion? |
32Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear and her cubs? | 32Can you direct the constellations through the seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens? |
33Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth? | 33Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth? |
34Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you? | 34“Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain? |
35Can you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’? | 35Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct? |
36Who has put wisdom in the heart or given understanding to the mind? | 36Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind? |
37Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of the heavens | 37Who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven |
38when the dust hardens into a mass and the clods of earth stick together? | 38when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods? |
39Can you hunt the prey for a lioness or satisfy the hunger of young lions | 39“Can you stalk prey for a lioness and satisfy the young lions’ appetites |
40when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait in the thicket? | 40as they lie in their dens or crouch in the thicket? |
41Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God as they wander about for lack of food? | 41Who provides food for the ravens when their young cry out to God and wander about in hunger? |
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