The Word Am I

The Book of Job

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- Chapter 38 -

The Lord reveals his omnipotence to Job

1
But the Lord, responding to Job from a whirlwind, said:(a)
2
Who is this that wraps sentences in unskilled words?
3
Gird your waist like a man. I will question you, and you must answer me.
4
Where were you, when I set the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.
5
Who set its measurements, if you know, or who stretched a line over it?
6
Upon what have its bases been grounded, and who set forth its cornerstone,
7
when the morning stars praised me together, and all the sons of God made a joyful noise?
8
Who enclosed the sea with doors, when it broke forth as if issuing from the womb,
9
when I stationed a cloud as its garment and wrapped it in a mist as if swaddling an infant?(b)
10
I encircled it with my limits, and I positioned its bars and doors.
11
And I said: “This far you will approach, and you will proceed no further, and here you will break your swelling waves.”
12
Did you, after your birth, command the birth of the sun and show the sunrise its place?(c)
13
And did you hold the extremities of the earth, shaking them, and have you shaken the impious out of it?
14
The seal will be restored like clay, and it will remain in place like a garment.
15
From the impious, the light will be taken away, and the exalted arm will be broken.
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 opened to you, and have you seen the doors of darkness?(d)
18
Have you considered the breadth of the earth? If you know all things, reveal them to me.
19
Which is the way that holds the light, and which is the place of darkness?
20
In this way, you might lead each thing to its final place, and understand the paths of its house.
21
So then, did you know when you were to be born? And did you know the number of your days?
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 prepared for the time of the enemy, for the day of the battle and the war?
24
In what way is the light scattered, and the heat distributed, over the earth?
25
Who gave a course to the rainstorms, and a path to the resounding thunder,
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so that it would rain on the earth far from man, in the wilderness where no mortal lingers,
27
so that it would fill impassable and desolate places, and would bring forth green plants?
28
Who is the father of rain, or who conceived the drops of dew?
29
From whose womb did the ice proceed, and who created the frost from the air?(e)
30
The waters are hardened to become like stone, and the surface of the abyss freezes over.
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?(f)
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 order of heaven, and can you explain its rules here on the earth?
34
Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that an onslaught of waters will cover you?
35
Can you send forth lightning bolts, and will they go, and on returning, say to you: “Here we are?”
36
Who placed discernment in the guts of man, or who gave the rooster intelligence?(g)
37
Who can describe the rules of the heavens, or who can put to rest the harmony of heaven?
38
When was the dust cast to become the earth, and when were its clods fastened together?
39
Will you seize prey for the lioness, and will you sustain the lives of her young,
40
as they rest in their dens or lie in wait in pits?
41
Who provides the raven with its meal, when her chicks cry out to God, as they wander around because they have no food?

Footnotes

(a)38:1 The Lord:That is, an angel speaking in the name of the Lord.(Challoner)
(b)38:9 Literally, the first part reads: ‘When I set its cloudy garment....” As for the last part, some translations ignore the word infant, in favor of calling it ‘swaddling bands.’(Conte)
(c)38:12 There is a play on words in Latin here. The word ‘ortum’ can refer to birth or to daybreak. The verse compares one’s birth to the sunrise (the daily birth of the sun).(Conte)
(d)38:17 In the phrase ‘ostia tenebrosa,’ the word ‘tenebrosa’ is not genitive in case, so a literal translation would be ‘dark doors’ or ‘gloomy doors.’ But a better translation changes the case of the word ‘tenebrosa’ to genitive: ‘the doors of darkness’ or ‘the doors of the darkness.’(Conte)
(e)38:29 The word ‘utero’ in Latin does not simply mean ‘womb.’ It is often used to refer to men as well as to women. It is often translated, for men, as ‘belly’ or ‘abdomen.’ However, it has another possible meaning that is not often recognized. It can refer to the generative capability in either a man or a woman, in other words, to the ability to procreate (to conceive a child). In this verse, the word ‘utero’ is used figuratively to refer to God’s ability to create: ‘From whose ability-to-create did the ice proceed?’ Similarly, the word ‘genuit,’ often translated as ‘begot,’ in this context refers instead to God’s ability to create.(Conte)
(f)38:31 Pleiades:Hebrew, Cimah. A cluster of seven stars in the constellation Taurus or the Bull. Arcturus, a bright star in the constellation Bootes. The Hebrew name Cesil, is variously interpreted; by some, Orion; by others, the Great Bear is understood.(Challoner)
(g)38:36 Understanding:That instinct by which he distinguishes the times of crowing in the night.(Challoner)

The Lord reveals his omnipotence to Job

1
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind,
2
“Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3
Brace yourself like a man, for I will question you, then you answer me!
4
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.
5
Who determined its measures, if you know? Or who stretched the line on it?
6
What were its foundations fastened on? Or who laid its cornerstone,
7
when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8
“Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke out of the womb,
9
when I made clouds its garment, and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10
marked out for it my bound, set bars and doors,
11
and said, ‘You may come here, but no further. Your proud waves shall be stopped here’?
12
“Have you commanded the morning in your days, and caused the dawn to know its place,
13
that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it?
14
It is changed as clay under the seal, and presented as a garment.
15
From the wicked, their light is withheld. The high arm is broken.
16
“Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
17
Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18
Have you comprehended the earth in its width? Declare, if you know it all.
19
“What is the way to the dwelling of light? As for darkness, where is its place,
20
that you should take it to its bound, that you should discern the paths to its house?
21
Surely you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!
22
Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23
which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
24
By what way is the lightning distributed, or the east wind scattered on the earth?
25
Who has cut a channel for the flood water, or the path for the thunderstorm,
26
to cause it to rain on a land where there is no man, on the wilderness, in which there is no man,
27
to satisfy the waste and desolate ground, to cause the tender grass to grow?
28
Does the rain have a father? Or who fathers the drops of dew?
29
Whose womb did the ice come out of? Who has given birth to the gray frost of the sky?
30
The waters become hard like stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen.
31
“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion?
32
Can you lead the constellations out in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs?
33
Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you establish its dominion over the earth?
34
“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover you?
35
Can you send out lightnings, that they may go? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36
Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the mind?
37
Who can count the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the containers of the sky,
38
when the dust runs into a mass, and the clods of earth stick together?
39
“Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40
when they crouch in their dens, and lie in wait in the thicket?
41
Who provides for the raven his prey, when his young ones cry to God, and wander for lack of food?
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