New American Standard Bible 1995

Christian Standard Bible

1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

1Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind. He said:

2"Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge?

2Who is this who obscures my counsel with ignorant words?

3"Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!

3Get ready to answer me like a man; when I question you, you will inform me.

4"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding,

4Where were you when I established the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

5Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it?

5Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?

6"On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone,

6What supports its foundations? Or who laid its cornerstone

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?

8"Or who enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;

8Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst from the womb,

9When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band,

9when I made the clouds its garment and total darkness its blanket,

10And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors,

10when I determined its boundaries and put its bars and doors in place,

11And I said, 'Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop '?

11when I declared: "You may come this far, but no farther; your proud waves stop here"?

12"Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place,

12Have you ever in your life commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place,

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

13so it may seize the edges of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?

14"It is changed like clay under the seal; And they stand forth like a garment.

14The earth is changed as clay is by a seal; its hills stand out like the folds of a garment.

15"From the wicked their light is withheld, And the uplifted arm is broken.

15Light is withheld from the wicked, and the arm raised in violence is broken.

16"Have you entered into the springs of the sea Or walked in the recesses of the deep?

16Have you traveled to the sources of the sea or walked in the depths of the oceans?

17"Have the gates of death been revealed to you, Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

17Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

18"Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.

18Have you comprehended the extent of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.

19"Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place,

19Where is the road to the home of light? Do you know where darkness lives,

20That you may take it to its territory And that you may discern the paths to its home?

20so you can lead it back to its border? Are you familiar with the paths to its home?

21"You know, for you were born then, And the number of your days is great!

21Don't you know? You were already born; you have lived so long!

22"Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

22Have you entered the place where the snow is stored? Or have you seen the storehouses of hail,

23Which I have reserved for the time of distress, For the day of war and battle?

23which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of warfare and battle?

24"Where is the way that the light is divided, Or the east wind scattered on the earth?

24What road leads to the place where light is dispersed? Where is the source of the east wind that spreads across the earth?

25"Who has cleft a channel for the flood, Or a way for the thunderbolt,

25Who cuts a channel for the flooding rain or clears the way for lightning,

26To bring rain on a land without people, On a desert without a man in it,

26to bring rain on an uninhabited land, on a desert with no human life,

27To satisfy the waste and desolate land And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?

27to satisfy the parched wasteland and cause the grass to sprout?

28"Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

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

29"From whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?

29Whose womb did the ice come from? Who gave birth to the frost of heaven

30"Water becomes hard like stone, And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.

30when water becomes as hard as stone, and the surface of the watery depths is frozen?

31"Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, Or loose the cords of Orion?

31Can you fasten the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion?

32"Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, And guide the Bear with her satellites?

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

33"Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or fix their rule over the earth?

33Do you know the laws of heaven? Can you impose its authority on earth?

34"Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you?

34Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?

35"Can you send forth lightnings that they may go And say to you, 'Here we are'?

35Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go? Do they report to you: "Here we are"?

36"Who has put wisdom in the innermost being Or given understanding to the mind?

36Who put wisdom in the heart or gave the mind understanding?

37"Who can count the clouds by wisdom, Or tip the water jars of the heavens,

37Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of heaven

38When the dust hardens into a mass And the clods stick together?

38when the dust hardens like cast metal and the clods of dirt stick together?

39"Can you hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

39Can you hunt prey for a lioness or satisfy the appetite of young lions

40When they crouch in their dens And lie in wait in their lair?

40when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait within their lairs?

41"Who prepares for the raven its nourishment When its young cry to God And wander about without food?

41Who provides the raven's food when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.