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Job 38 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

The LORD Reveals His Omnipotence to Job
God Shows Job’s Ignorance
Job 38:1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
Job 38:2“Who is this who darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
Job 38:3Now prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
Job 38:4“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
Job 38:5Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
Job 38:6To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
Job 38:7When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Job 38:8“Or who shut in the sea with doors,
When it burst forth and issued from the womb;
Job 38:9When I made the clouds its garment,
And thick darkness its swaddling band;
Job 38:10When I fixed My limit for it,
And set bars and doors;
Job 38:11When I said,
‘This far you may come, but no farther,
And here your proud waves must stop!’
Job 38:12“Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
Job 38:13That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?
Job 38:14It takes on form like clay under a seal,
And stands out like a garment.
Job 38:15From the wicked their light is withheld,
And the upraised arm is broken.
Job 38:16“Have you entered the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in search of the depths?
Job 38:17Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
Job 38:18Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.
Job 38:19“Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,
Job 38:20That you may take it to its territory,
That you may know the paths to its home?
Job 38:21Do you know it, because you were born then,
Or because the number of your days is great?
Job 38:22“Have you entered the treasury of snow,
Or have you seen the treasury of hail,
Job 38:23Which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
For the day of battle and war?
Job 38:24By what way is light diffused,
Or the east wind scattered over the earth?
Job 38:25“Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water,
Or a path for the thunderbolt,
Job 38:26To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one,
A wilderness in which there is no man;
Job 38:27To satisfy the desolate waste,
And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?
Job 38:28Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
Job 38:29From whose womb comes the ice?
And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?
Job 38:30The waters harden like stone,
And the surface of the deep is frozen.
Job 38:31“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades,
Or loose the belt of Orion?
Job 38:32Can you bring out Mazzaroth[fn] in its season?
Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs?
Job 38:33Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you set their dominion over the earth?
Job 38:34“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
That an abundance of water may cover you?
Job 38:35Can you send out lightnings, that they may go,
And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?
Job 38:36Who has put wisdom in the mind?[fn]
Or who has given understanding to the heart?
Job 38:37Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,
Job 38:38When the dust hardens in clumps,
And the clods cling together?
Job 38:39“Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
Job 38:40When they crouch in their dens,
Or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait?
Job 38:41Who provides food for the raven,
When its young ones cry to God,
And wander about for lack of food?
NKJV Footnotes
Literally Constellations
Literally inward parts
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Job Chapter 38 — Additional Translations: