Bible Gateway passage: Job 38 - New King James Version (2024)

The Lord Reveals His Omnipotence to Job^(A)

38Then the Lord answered Job ^(B)out of the whirlwind, and said:

²“Who^(C) is this who darkens counsel
By ^(D)words without knowledge?
^3(E)Now ^[a]prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me.

⁴“Where^(F) were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
⁵Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the ^[b]line upon it?
⁶To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
⁷When the morning stars sang together,
And all ^(G)the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸“Or^(H) who shut in the sea with doors,
When it burst forth and issued from the womb;
⁹When I made the clouds its garment,
And thick darkness its swaddling band;
¹⁰When ^(I)I fixed My limit for it,
And set bars and doors;
¹¹When I said,
‘This far you may come, but no farther,
And here your proud waves ^(J)must stop!’

¹²“Have you ^(K)commanded the morning since your days began,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
¹³That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And ^(L)the wicked be shaken out of it?
¹⁴It takes on form like clay under a seal,
And stands out like a garment.
¹⁵From the wicked their ^(M)light is withheld,
And ^(N)the ^[c]upraised arm is broken.

¹⁶“Have you ^(O)entered the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in search of the depths?
¹⁷Have ^(P)the gates of death been ^[d]revealed to you?
Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
¹⁸Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.

¹⁹“Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,
²⁰That you may take it to its territory,
That you may know the paths to its home?
²¹Do you know it, because you were born then,
Or because the number of your days is great?

²²“Have you entered ^(Q)the treasury of snow,
Or have you seen the treasury of hail,
^23(R)Which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
For the day of battle and war?
²⁴By what way is light ^[e]diffused,
Or the east wind scattered over the earth?

²⁵“Who ^(S)has divided a channel for the overflowing water,
Or a path for the thunderbolt,
²⁶To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one,
A wilderness in which there is no man;
^27(T)To satisfy the desolate waste,
And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?
^28(U)Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
²⁹From whose womb comes the ice?
And the ^(V)frost of heaven, who gives it birth?
³⁰The waters harden like stone,
And the surface of the deep is ^(W)frozen.^[f]

³¹“Can you bind the cluster of the ^(X)Pleiades,^[g]
Or loose the belt of Orion?
³²Can you bring out ^[h]Mazzaroth in its season?
Or can you guide ^[i]the Great Bear with its cubs?
³³Do you know ^(Y)the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you set their dominion over the earth?

³⁴“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
That an abundance of water may cover you?
³⁵Can you send out lightnings, that they may go,
And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?
^36(Z)Who has put wisdom in ^[j]the mind?
Or who has given understanding to the heart?
³⁷Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,
³⁸When the dust hardens in clumps,
And the clods cling together?

³⁹“Can^(AA) you hunt the prey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
⁴⁰When they crouch in their dens,
Or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait?
^41(AB)Who provides food for the raven,
When its young ones cry to God,
And wander about for lack of food?