Job 38 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

The LORD Reveals His Omnipotence to Job

God Shows Job’s Ignorance

(Gen. 1:1–10 )

Job 38:1

Job 38:1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

Job 38:2

Job 38:2“Who is this who darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?

Job 38:3

Job 38:3Now prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me.

Job 38:4

Job 38:4“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.

Job 38:5

Job 38:5Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?

Job 38:6

Job 38:6To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,

Job 38:7

Job 38:7When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Job 38:8

Job 38:8“Or who shut in the sea with doors,
When it burst forth and issued from the womb;

Job 38:9

Job 38:9When I made the clouds its garment,
And thick darkness its swaddling band;

Job 38:10

Job 38:10When I fixed My limit for it,
And set bars and doors;

Job 38:11

Job 38:11When I said,
‘This far you may come, but no farther,
And here your proud waves must stop!’

Job 38:12

Job 38:12“Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
And caused the dawn to know its place,

Job 38:13

Job 38:13That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?

Job 38:14

Job 38:14It takes on form like clay under a seal,
And stands out like a garment.

Job 38:15

Job 38:15From the wicked their light is withheld,
And the upraised arm is broken.

Job 38:16

Job 38:16“Have you entered the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in search of the depths?

Job 38:17

Job 38:17Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?

Job 38:18

Job 38:18Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.

Job 38:19

Job 38:19“Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,

Job 38:20

Job 38:20That you may take it to its territory,
That you may know the paths to its home?

Job 38:21

Job 38:21Do you know it, because you were born then,
Or because the number of your days is great?

Job 38:22

Job 38:22“Have you entered the treasury of snow,
Or have you seen the treasury of hail,

Job 38:23

Job 38:23Which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
For the day of battle and war?

Job 38:24

Job 38:24By what way is light diffused,
Or the east wind scattered over the earth?

Job 38:25

Job 38:25“Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water,
Or a path for the thunderbolt,

Job 38:26

Job 38:26To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one,
A wilderness in which there is no man;

Job 38:27

Job 38:27To satisfy the desolate waste,
And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?

Job 38:28

Job 38:28Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

Job 38:29

Job 38:29From whose womb comes the ice?
And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?

Job 38:30

Job 38:30The waters harden like stone,
And the surface of the deep is frozen.

Job 38:31

Job 38:31“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades,
Or loose the belt of Orion?

Job 38:32

Job 38:32Can you bring out Mazzaroth[fn] in its season?
Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs?

Job 38:33

Job 38:33Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you set their dominion over the earth?

Job 38:34

Job 38:34“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
That an abundance of water may cover you?

Job 38:35

Job 38:35Can you send out lightnings, that they may go,
And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?

Job 38:36

Job 38:36Who has put wisdom in the mind?[fn]
Or who has given understanding to the heart?

Job 38:37

Job 38:37Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,

Job 38:38

Job 38:38When the dust hardens in clumps,
And the clods cling together?

Job 38:39

Job 38:39“Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

Job 38:40

Job 38:40When they crouch in their dens,
Or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait?

Job 38:41

Job 38:41Who provides food for the raven,
When its young ones cry to God,
And wander about for lack of food?

See the NKJV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NKJV Footnotes

(38:32)

Literally Constellations

(38:36)

Literally inward parts

The text of the New King James Version (NKJV) appearing on or deriving from this or any other web page is for personal use only. Any other use of the NKJV must be in conformity with the Quotation Policy for the New King James Version. For more information about the New King James Version, the Quotation Policy, and for inquiries about permission to use the New King James Version, go to Thomas Nelson, Inc..

For more information on this translation, see the NKJV Preface.