1 Then Yahweh 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 Whereupon were its foundations fastened? 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 forth from 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, 'Here you may come, but no further. Here your proud waves shall be stayed?' 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 stands forth 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 breadth? 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 treasuries of the snow, or have you seen the treasures 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 no man is; on the wilderness, in which there is no man; 27 to satisfy the waste and desolate ground, to cause the tender grass to spring forth? 28 Does the rain have a father? Or who fathers the drops of dew? 29 Out of whose womb came the ice? The gray frost of the sky, who has given birth to it? 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 forth the constellations 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 forth 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 number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles 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?
The Lord answers Job out of a whirlwind, and challenges him to answer, Job 38:1-3. He convinces him of ignorance and weakness, by an enumeration of some of his mighty works; particularly of the creation of the earth, Job 38:4-7. The sea and the deeps, Job 38:8-18. The light, Job 38:19-21. Snow, hail, thunder, lightning, rain, dew, ice, and hoar-frost, Job 38:22-30. Different constellations, and the ordinances of heaven influencing the earth, Job 38:31-33. Shows his own power and wisdom in the atmosphere, particularly in the thunder, lightnings, and rain, Job 38:34-38. His providence in reference to the brute creation, Job 38:39-41.
INTRODUCTION TO JOB 38
In this chapter the Lord takes up the controversy with Job; calls upon him to prepare to engage with him in it, and demands an answer to posing questions he puts to him, concerning the earth and the fabric of it, Job 38:1; concerning the sea, compared to an infant in embryo, at its birth, in its swaddling bands and cradle, Job 38:8; concerning the morning light, its spread and influence, Job 38:12; concerning the springs of the sea, the dark parts of the earth, the place both of light and darkness, Job 38:16; concerning the various meteors, snow, hail, rain, thunder, lightning, and the influences of the stars, Job 38:22; and concerning provision for lions and ravens, Job 38:40.
*More commentary available by clicking individual verses.