The Creator Speaks

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind. He said,

"Who is this who obscures [My] counsel with ignorant words? Get ready to answer Me like a man; when I question you, you will inform Me.

Where were you when I established the Earth? Tell [Me], if you have understanding. Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? What supports its foundations?

Or who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its blanket, when I determined its boundaries and put [its] bars and doors in place, when I declared: "You may come this far, but no farther; your proud waves stop here"?

Have you ever in your life commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place, so it may seize the edges of the Earth and shake the wicked out of it?

The Earth is changed as clay is by a seal; [its hills] stand out like [the folds of] a garment. Light is withheld from the wicked, and the arm raised [in violence] is broken.

Have you traveled to the sources of the sea or walked in the depths of the oceans? Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of death's shadow?

Have you comprehended the extent of the Earth? Tell [Me], if you know all this. Where is the road to the home of light? [Do you know] where darkness lives, so you can lead it back to its border? Are you familiar with the paths to its home? Don't you know? You were already born; you have lived so long!

Have you entered the [place] where the snow is stored? Or have you seen the storehouses of hail, which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of warfare and battle?

What road leads to [the place] where light is dispersed? [Where is the source of] the east wind that spreads across the Earth? Who cuts a channel for the flooding rain or clears the way for lightning, to bring rain on an uninhabited land, [on] a desert with no human life, to satisfy the parched wasteland and cause the grass to sprout?

Does the rain have a father? Who fathered the drops of dew? Whose womb did the ice come from? Who gave birth to the frost of Heaven when water becomes as hard as stone, and the surface of the watery depths is frozen?

Can you fasten the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion? Can you bring out the constellations in their season and lead the Bear and her cubs? Do you know the laws of Heaven? Can you impose its authority on Earth? Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you? Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go? Do they report to you: "Here we are"?

Who put wisdom in the heart or gave the mind understanding?Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of Heaven when the dust hardens like cast metal and the clods [of dirt] stick together?

Can you hunt prey for a lioness or satisfy the appetite of young lions when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait within their lairs? Who provides the raven's food when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food? Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the deer in labor? Can you count the months they are pregnant so you can know the time they give birth?

They crouch down to give birth to their young; they deliver their newborn. Their offsprings are healthy and grow up in the open field. They leave and do not return.

Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from its harness? I made the wilderness its home, and the salty wasteland its dwelling. It scoffs at the noise of the village and never hears the shouts of a driver. It roams the mountains for its pastureland, searching for anything green.

Would the wild ox be willing to serve you? Would it spend the night by your feeding trough? Can you hold the wild ox by its harness to the furrow? Will it plow the valleys behind you? Can you depend on it because of its strength? Would you leave it to do your hard work? Can you trust the wild ox to harvest your grain and bring [it] to your threshing floor?

The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but are her feathers and plumage like the stork's? She abandons her eggs on the ground and lets them be warmed in the sand. She forgets that a foot may crush them or that some wild animal may trample them. She treats her young harshly, as if [they] were not her own, with no fear that her labor may have been in vain. For God has deprived her of wisdom; He has not endowed her with understanding. When she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider.

Do you give strength to the horse? Do you adorn his neck with a mane? Do you make him leap like a locust? His proud snorting [fills one with] terror. He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; He charges into battle. He laughs at fear, since he is afraid of nothing; he does not run from the sword. A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and a lance. He charges ahead with trembling rage; he cannot stand still at the trumpet's sound. When the trumpet blasts, he snorts defiantly. He smells the battle from a distance; he hears the officers' shouts and the battle cry.

Does the hawk take flight by your understanding and spread its wings to the south? Does the eagle soar at your command and make its nest on high? It lives on a cliff where it spends the night; its stronghold is on a rocky crag. From there it searches for prey; its eyes penetrate the distance. Its brood gulps down blood, and wherever corpses lie, it is there."

The Lord answered Job:

"Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct [Him]? Let him who argues with God give an answer. "

Then Job answered the Lord:

"I am so insignificant. How can I answer You? I place my hand over my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not reply; twice, but [now] I can add nothing. "

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

"Get ready to answer Me like a man; When I question you, you will inform Me. Would you really challenge My justice? Would you declare Me guilty to justify yourself? Do you have an arm like God's? Can you thunder with a voice like His? Adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, and clothe yourself with honor and glory. Unleash your raging anger; look on every proud person and humiliate him. Look on every proud person and humble him; trample the wicked where they stand. Hide them together in the dust; imprison them in the grave. Then I will confess to you that your own right hand can deliver you."

Then Job replied to the Lord:

"I know that You can do anything and no plan of Yours can be thwarted. [You asked,] "Who is this who conceals [My] counsel with ignorance?" Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. [You said,] "Listen now, and I will speak. When I question you, you will inform Me." I had heard rumors about You, but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I take back [my words] and repent in dust and ashes." Job 38:1 - 41:14; 42:1-6