Job 38

The Lord Challenges Job

1Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

2“Who is this that questions my wisdom

with such ignorant words?

3Brace yourself like a man,

because I have some questions for you,

and you must answer them.

4“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

Tell me, if you know so much.

5Who determined its dimensions

and stretched out the surveying line?

6What supports its foundations,

and who laid its cornerstone

7as the morning stars sang together

and all the angels* shouted for joy?

8“Who kept the sea inside its boundaries

as it burst from the womb,

9and as I clothed it with clouds

and wrapped it in thick darkness?

10For I locked it behind barred gates,

limiting its shores.

11I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.

Here your proud waves must stop!’

12“Have you ever commanded the morning to appear

and caused the dawn to rise in the east?

13Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,

to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?

14As the light approaches,

the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal;

it is robed in brilliant colors.*

15The light disturbs the wicked

and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

16“Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?

Have you explored their depths?

17Do you know where the gates of death are located?

Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?

18Do you realize the extent of the earth?

Tell me about it if you know!