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Job 37-38
The Message
Job 37-38
The Message
37 1-13 “Whenever this happens, my heart stops—
I’m stunned, I can’t catch my breath.
Listen to it! Listen to his thunder,
the rolling, rumbling thunder of his voice.
He lets loose his lightnings from horizon to horizon,
lighting up the earth from pole to pole.
In their wake, the thunder echoes his voice,
powerful and majestic.
He lets out all the stops, he holds nothing back.
No one can mistake that voice—
His word thundering so wondrously,
his mighty acts staggering our understanding.
He orders the snow, ‘Blanket the earth!’
and the rain, ‘Soak the whole countryside!’
No one can escape the weather—it’s there.
And no one can escape from God.
Wild animals take shelter,
crawling into their dens,
When blizzards roar out of the north
and freezing rain crusts the land.
It’s God’s breath that forms the ice,
it’s God’s breath that turns lakes and rivers solid.
And yes, it’s God who fills clouds with rainwater
and hurls lightning from them every which way.
He puts them through their paces—first this way, then that—
commands them to do what he says all over the world.
Whether for discipline or grace or extravagant love,
he makes sure they make their mark.
A Terrible Beauty Streams from God
14-18 “Job, are you listening? Have you noticed all this?
Stop in your tracks! Take in God’s miracle-wonders!
Do you have any idea how God does it all,
how he makes bright lightning from dark storms,
How he piles up the cumulus clouds—
all these miracle-wonders of a perfect Mind?
Why, you don’t even know how to keep cool
on a sweltering hot day,
So how could you even dream
of making a dent in that hot-tin-roof sky?
19-22 “If you’re so smart, give us a lesson in how to address God.
We’re in the dark and can’t figure it out.
Do you think I’m dumb enough to challenge God?
Wouldn’t that just be asking for trouble?
No one in his right mind stares straight at the sun
on a clear and cloudless day.
As gold comes from the northern mountains,
so a terrible beauty streams from God.
23-24 “Mighty God! Far beyond our reach!
Unsurpassable in power and justice!
It’s unthinkable that he’d treat anyone unfairly.
So bow to him in deep reverence, one and all!
If you’re wise, you’ll most certainly worship him.”
God Confronts Job
Have You Gotten to the Bottom of Things?
38 1-11 And now, finally, God answered Job from the eye of a violent storm. He said:
“Why do you confuse the issue?
Why do you talk without knowing what you’re talking about?
Pull yourself together, Job!
Up on your feet! Stand tall!
I have some questions for you,
and I want some straight answers.
Where were you when I created the earth?
Tell me, since you know so much!
Who decided on its size? Certainly you’ll know that!
Who came up with the blueprints and measurements?
How was its foundation poured,
and who set the cornerstone,
While the morning stars sang in chorus
and all the angels shouted praise?
And who took charge of the ocean
when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb?
That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds,
and tucked it in safely at night.
Then I made a playpen for it,
a strong playpen so it couldn’t run loose,
And said, ‘Stay here, this is your place.
Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.’
12-15 “And have you ever ordered Morning, ‘Get up!’
told Dawn, ‘Get to work!’
So you could seize Earth like a blanket
and shake out the wicked like cockroaches?
As the sun brings everything to light,
brings out all the colors and shapes,
The cover of darkness is snatched from the wicked—
they’re caught in the very act!
16-18 “Have you ever gotten to the true bottom of things,
explored the labyrinthine caves of deep ocean?
Do you know the first thing about death?
Do you have one clue regarding death’s dark mysteries?
And do you have any idea how large this earth is?
Speak up if you have even the beginning of an answer.
19-21 “Do you know where Light comes from
and where Darkness lives
So you can take them by the hand
and lead them home when they get lost?
Why, of course you know that.
You’ve known them all your life,
grown up in the same neighborhood with them!
22-30 “Have you ever traveled to where snow is made,
seen the vault where hail is stockpiled,
The arsenals of hail and snow that I keep in readiness
for times of trouble and battle and war?
Can you find your way to where lightning is launched,
or to the place from which the wind blows?
Who do you suppose carves canyons
for the downpours of rain, and charts
the route of thunderstorms
That bring water to unvisited fields,
deserts no one ever lays eyes on,
Drenching the useless wastelands
so they’re carpeted with wildflowers and grass?
And who do you think is the father of rain and dew,
the mother of ice and frost?
You don’t for a minute imagine
these marvels of weather just happen, do you?
31-33 “Can you catch the eye of the beautiful Pleiades sisters,
or distract Orion from his hunt?
Can you get Venus to look your way,
or get the Great Bear and her cubs to come out and play?
Do you know the first thing about the sky’s constellations
and how they affect things on Earth?
34-35 “Can you get the attention of the clouds,
and commission a shower of rain?
Can you take charge of the lightning bolts
and have them report to you for orders?
What Do You Have to Say for Yourself?
36-38 “Who do you think gave weather-wisdom to the ibis,
and storm-savvy to the rooster?
Does anyone know enough to number all the clouds
or tip over the rain barrels of heaven
When the earth is cracked and dry,
the ground baked hard as a brick?
39-41 “Can you teach the lioness to stalk her prey
and satisfy the appetite of her cubs
As they crouch in their den,
waiting hungrily in their cave?
And who sets out food for the ravens
when their young cry to God,
fluttering about because they have no food?”
Job 37-38
New International Version
Job 37-38
New International Version
37 “At this my heart pounds(A)
and leaps from its place.
2 Listen!(B) Listen to the roar of his voice,(C)
to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.(D)
3 He unleashes his lightning(E) beneath the whole heaven
and sends it to the ends of the earth.(F)
4 After that comes the sound of his roar;
he thunders(G) with his majestic voice.(H)
When his voice resounds,
he holds nothing back.
5 God’s voice thunders(I) in marvelous ways;(J)
he does great things beyond our understanding.(K)
6 He says to the snow,(L) ‘Fall on the earth,’
and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’(M)
7 So that everyone he has made may know his work,(N)
he stops all people from their labor.[a](O)
8 The animals take cover;(P)
they remain in their dens.(Q)
9 The tempest comes out from its chamber,(R)
the cold from the driving winds.(S)
10 The breath of God produces ice,
and the broad waters become frozen.(T)
11 He loads the clouds with moisture;(U)
he scatters his lightning(V) through them.(W)
12 At his direction they swirl around
over the face of the whole earth
to do whatever he commands them.(X)
13 He brings the clouds to punish people,(Y)
or to water his earth and show his love.(Z)
14 “Listen(AA) to this, Job;
stop and consider God’s wonders.(AB)
15 Do you know how God controls the clouds
and makes his lightning(AC) flash?(AD)
16 Do you know how the clouds hang poised,(AE)
those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?(AF)
17 You who swelter in your clothes
when the land lies hushed under the south wind,(AG)
18 can you join him in spreading out the skies,(AH)
hard as a mirror of cast bronze?(AI)
19 “Tell us what we should say to him;(AJ)
we cannot draw up our case(AK) because of our darkness.(AL)
20 Should he be told that I want to speak?
Would anyone ask to be swallowed up?
21 Now no one can look at the sun,(AM)
bright as it is in the skies
after the wind has swept them clean.
22 Out of the north he comes in golden splendor;(AN)
God comes in awesome majesty.(AO)
23 The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power;(AP)
in his justice(AQ) and great righteousness, he does not oppress.(AR)
24 Therefore, people revere him,(AS)
for does he not have regard for all the wise(AT) in heart?[b]”
The Lord Speaks
38 Then the Lord spoke to Job(AU) out of the storm.(AV) He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans(AW)
with words without knowledge?(AX)
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.(AY)
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?(AZ)
Tell me, if you understand.(BA)
5 Who marked off its dimensions?(BB) Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line(BC) across it?
6 On what were its footings set,(BD)
or who laid its cornerstone(BE)—
7 while the morning stars(BF) sang together(BG)
and all the angels[c](BH) shouted for joy?(BI)
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors(BJ)
when it burst forth from the womb,(BK)
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,(BL)
10 when I fixed limits for it(BM)
and set its doors and bars in place,(BN)
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;(BO)
here is where your proud waves halt’?(BP)
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,(BQ)
or shown the dawn its place,(BR)
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked(BS) out of it?(BT)
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;(BU)
its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,(BV)
and their upraised arm is broken.(BW)
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?(BX)
17 Have the gates of death(BY) been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?(BZ)
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?(CA)
Tell me, if you know all this.(CB)
19 “What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?(CC)
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths(CD) to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!(CE)
You have lived so many years!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow(CF)
or seen the storehouses(CG) of the hail,(CH)
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,(CI)
for days of war and battle?(CJ)
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,(CK)
or the place where the east winds(CL) are scattered over the earth?(CM)
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,(CN)
26 to water(CO) a land where no one lives,
an uninhabited desert,(CP)
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?(CQ)
28 Does the rain have a father?(CR)
Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens(CS)
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?(CT)
31 “Can you bind the chains[d] of the Pleiades?
Can you loosen Orion’s belt?(CU)
32 Can you bring forth the constellations(CV) in their seasons[e]
or lead out the Bear[f] with its cubs?(CW)
33 Do you know the laws(CX) of the heavens?(CY)
Can you set up God’s[g] dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?(CZ)
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?(DA)
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom[h](DB)
or gives the rooster understanding?[i](DC)
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars(DD) of the heavens(DE)
38 when the dust becomes hard(DF)
and the clods of earth stick together?(DG)
Footnotes
- Job 37:7 Or work, / he fills all people with fear by his power
- Job 37:24 Or for he does not have regard for any who think they are wise.
- Job 38:7 Hebrew the sons of God
- Job 38:31 Septuagint; Hebrew beauty
- Job 38:32 Or the morning star in its season
- Job 38:32 Or out Leo
- Job 38:33 Or their
- Job 38:36 That is, wisdom about the flooding of the Nile
- Job 38:36 That is, understanding of when to crow; the meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.