Job 37-39
Contemporary English Version
Elihu Continues
I Am Frightened
37 I am frightened
and tremble all over,
2 when I hear the roaring voice
of God in the thunder,
3 and when I see his lightning
flash across the sky.
4 God's majestic voice
thunders his commands,[a]
5 creating miracles too marvelous
for us to understand.
6 Snow and heavy rainstorms
7 make us stop and think
about God's power,[b]
8 and they force animals
to seek shelter.
9 The windstorms of winter strike,
10 and the breath of God
freezes streams and rivers.
11 Rain clouds filled with lightning
appear at God's command,
12 traveling across the sky
13 to release their cargo—
sometimes as punishment for sin,
sometimes as kindness.
Consider Carefully
14 Job, consider carefully
the many wonders of God.
15 Can you explain why lightning
flashes at the orders
16 of God who knows all things?
Or how he hangs the clouds
in empty space?
17 You almost melt in the heat
of fierce desert winds
when the sky is like brass.
18 God can hammer out the clouds
in spite of the oppressive heat,
but can you?
19 Tell us what to say to God!
Our minds are in the dark,
and we don't know how
to argue our case.
20 Should I risk my life
by telling God
that I want to speak?
21 No one can stare at the sun
after a breeze has blown
the clouds from the sky.
22 Yet the glorious splendor
of God All-Powerful
is brighter by far.
23 God cannot be seen—
but his power is great,
and he is always fair.
24 And so we humans fear God,
because he shows no respect
for those who are proud
and think they know so much.
The Lord Speaks
From Out of a Storm
38 From out of a storm,
the Lord said to Job:
2 Why do you talk so much
when you know so little?
3 Now get ready to face me!
Can you answer
the questions I ask?
4 How did I lay the foundation
for the earth?
Were you there?
5 Doubtless you know who decided
its length and width.
6 What supports the foundation?
Who placed the cornerstone,
7 (A) while morning stars sang,
and angels rejoiced?
8 (B) When the ocean was born,
I set its boundaries
9 and wrapped it in blankets
of thickest fog.
10 Then I built a wall around it,
locked the gates, 11 and said,
“Your powerful waves stop here!
They can go no farther.”
Did You Ever Tell the Sun To Rise?
12 Did you ever tell the sun to rise?
And did it obey?
13 Did it take hold of the earth
and shake out the wicked
like dust from a rug?
14 Early dawn outlines the hills
like stitches on clothing
or sketches on clay.
15 But its light is too much
for those who are evil,
and their power is broken.
16 Job, have you ever walked
on the ocean floor?
17 Have you seen the gate
to the world of the dead?
18 And how large is the earth?
Tell me, if you know!
19 Where is the home of light,
and where does darkness live?
20 Can you lead them home?
21 I'm certain you must be able to,
since you were already born
when I created everything.
22 Have you been to the places
where I keep snow and hail,
23 until I use them to punish
and conquer nations?
24 From where does lightning leap,
or the east wind blow?
25 Who carves out a path
for thunderstorms?
Who sends torrents of rain
26 on empty deserts
where no one lives?
27 Rain that changes barren land
to meadows green with grass.
28 Who is the father of the dew
and of the rain?
29 Who gives birth to the sleet
and the frost
30 that fall in winter,
when streams and lakes
freeze solid as a rock?
Can You Arrange Stars?
31 (C) Can you arrange stars in groups
such as Orion
and the Pleiades?
32 Do you control the stars
or set in place the Big Dipper
and the Little Dipper?
33 Do you know the laws
that govern the heavens,
and can you make them rule
the earth?
34 Can you order the clouds
to send a downpour,
35 or will lightning flash
at your command?
36 Did you teach birds to know
that rain or floods
are on their way?[c]
37 Can you count the clouds
or pour out their water
38 on the dry, lumpy soil?
39 When lions are hungry,
do you help them hunt?
40 Do you send an animal
into their den?
41 And when starving young ravens
cry out to me for food,
do you satisfy their hunger?
The Lord Continues
When Do Mountain Goats Give Birth?
39 When do mountain goats
and deer give birth?
Have you been there
when their young are born?
* 2 How long are they pregnant
3 before they deliver?
4 Soon their young grow strong
and then leave
to be on their own.
5 Who set wild donkeys free?
6 I alone help them survive
in salty desert sand.
7 They stay far from crowded cities
and refuse to be tamed.
8 Instead, they roam the hills,
searching for pastureland.
9 Would a wild ox agree
to live in your barn
and labor for you?
10 Could you force him to plow
or to drag a heavy log
to smooth out the soil?
11 Can you depend on him
to use his great strength
and do your heavy work?
12 Can you trust him
to harvest your grain
or take it to your barn
from the threshing place?
An Ostrich Proudly Flaps Her Wings
13 An ostrich proudly
flaps her wings,
but not because
she loves her young.[d]
14 She abandons her eggs
and lets the dusty ground
keep them warm.
15 And she doesn't seem to worry
that the feet of an animal
could crush them all.
16 She treats her eggs as though
they were not her own,
unconcerned that her work
might be for nothing.
17 I myself made her foolish
and without common sense.
18 But once she starts running,[e]
she laughs at a rider
on the fastest horse.
Did You Give Horses Their Strength?
19 Did you give horses their strength
and the flowing hair
along their necks?
20 Did you make them able
to jump like grasshoppers
or to frighten people
with their snorting?
21 Before horses are ridden
into battle,
they paw at the ground,
proud of their strength.
22 Laughing at fear, they rush
toward the fighting,
23 while the weapons of their riders
rattle and flash in the sun.
24 Unable to stand still,
they gallop eagerly into battle
when trumpets blast.
25 Stirred by the distant smells
and sounds of war, they snort
in reply to the trumpet.
26 Did you teach hawks to fly south
for the winter?
* 27 Did you train eagles[f] to build
28 their nests on rocky cliffs,
29 where they can look down
to spot their next meal?
30 (D) Then their young gather to feast
wherever the victim lies.
The Lord Continues
I Am the Lord All-Powerful
*
Footnotes
- 37.4 commands: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 4.
- 37.7 God's power: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 7.
- 38.36 way: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 36.
- 39.13 young: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 13.
- 39.18 starts running: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 39.27 eagles: Or “vultures.”
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