THEN the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;
13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.
15 And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.
16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?
17 Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?
18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.
19 Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
20 That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?
21 Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?
22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
24 By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?
25 Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;
26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?
28 Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
29 Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
30 The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?
33 Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?
34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?
35 Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?
36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?
37 Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,
38 When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?
39 Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,
40 When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?
41 Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.

1Then the Lord answered Iob out of the whirlewind, and sayd,

2Who is this that darkneth counsell by words without knowledge?

3Gird vp nowe thy loines like a man; for I will demaund of thee, and answere thou me.

4Where wast thou when I layd the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast vnderstanding.

5Who hath layd the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line vpon it?

6Wherepuon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who layd the corner stone thereof?

7When the morning starres sang together, and all the sonnes of God shouted for ioy.

8Or who shut vp the sea with doores, when it brake foorth as if it had issued out of the wombe?

9When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thicke darknesse a swadling band for it,

10And brake vp for it my decreed place, and set barres and doores,

11And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and heere shall thy proud waues be stayed.

12Hast thou commaunded the morning since thy daies? and caused the day-spring to know his place,

13That it might take hold of the endes of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

14It is turned as clay to the seale, and they stand as a garment.

15And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arme shalbe broken.

16Hast thou entred into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?

17Haue the gates of death bene opened vnto thee? or hast thou seene the doores of the shadow of death?

18Hast thou perceiued the breadth of the earth? Declare if thou knowest it all.

19Where is the way where light dwelleth? And as for darknesse, where is the place thereof?

20That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the pathes to the house thereof.

21Knowest thou it, because thou wast then borne? or because the number of thy daies is great?

22Hast thou entred into the treasures of the snowe? or hast thou seene the treasures of the haile,

23Which I haue reserued against the time of trouble, against the day of battaile and warre?

24By what way is the light parted? which scattereth the East wind vpon the earth.

25Who hath diuided a water-course for the ouerflowing of waters? or a way for the lightning of thunder,

26To cause it to raine on the earth, where no man is: on the wildernesse wherein there is no man?

27To satisfie the desolate and waste ground, and to cause the bud of the tender herbe to spring forth.

28Hath the raine a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

29Out of whose wombe came the yce? and the hoary frost of heauen, who hath gendred it?

30The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deepe is frozen.

31Canst thou bind the sweete influences of Pleiades? or loose the bands of Orion?

32Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season, or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sonnes?

33Knowest thou the ordinances of heauen? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

34Canst thou lift vp thy voice to the cloudes, that abundance of waters may couer thee?

35Canst thou send lightnings, that they may goe, and say vnto thee, Here we are?

36Who hath put wisedome in the inward parts? or who hath giuen vnderstanding to the heart?

37Who can number the cloudes in wisedome? or who can stay the bottles of heauen,

38When the dust groweeh into hardnesse, and the clods cleaue fast together?

39Wilt thou hunt the pray for the lyon? or fill the appetite of the young lyons,

40When they couch in their dennes, and abide in the couert to lie in waite?

41Who prouideth for the rauen his foode? when his young ones cry vnto God, they wander for lacke of meate.

I == Ex 19:16 , 18 ; 1st Kings 19:11 ; Ezek 1:4 ; Nah 1:3

 

II == Job 34:35 ; 42:3 ; 1st Tim 1:7

III == Job 40:7

IV == Ps 104:5 ; Prov 8:29 ; 30:4

 

 

VII == Job 1:6

 

VIII == Gen 1:9 ; Ps 33:7 ; 104:9 ; Prov 8:29

 

 

X == Job 26:10

 

XI == Ps 89:9 ; 93:4

 

XII == Ps 74:16 ; 148:5

XIII == Ps 104:35

 

 

 

XV == Job 18:5 ; Ps 10:15

XVI == Ps 77:19

 

XVII == Ps 9:13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXII == Ps 135:7

 

XXIII == Ex 9:18 ; Josh 10:11 ; Isa 30:30 ; Ezek 13:11 , 13 ; Rev 16:21

 

XXV == Job 28:26

 

 

 

XXVII == Ps 107:35

 

XXVIII == Ps 147:8 ; Jer 14:22

XXIX == Ps 147:16

XXX == Job 37:10

XXXI == Job 9:9 ; Amos 5:8

 

 

 

XXXIII == Jer 31:35

 

 

 

 

XXXVI == Job 32:8 ; Ps 51:6 ; Eccl 2:26

 

 

 

XXXIX == Ps 104:21 ; 145:15

 

 

XLI == Ps 147:9 ; Matt 6:26

 

 

1 Then the LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said:

2 Who is this that obscures divine plans with words of ignorance?

3 Gird up your loins now, like a man; I will question you, and you tell me the answers!

4 Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

5 Who determined its size; do you know? Who stretched out the measuring line for it?

6 Into what were its pedestals sunk, and who laid the cornerstone,

7 While the morning stars sang in chorus and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 And who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb;

9 When I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands?

10 When I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door,

11 And said: Thus far shall you come but no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stilled!

12 Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place

13 For taking hold of the ends of the earth, till the wicked are shaken from its surface?

14 The earth is changed as is clay by the seal, and dyed as though it were a garment;

15 But from the wicked the light is withheld, and the arm of pride is shattered.

16 Have you entered into the sources of the sea, or walked about in the depths of the abyss?

17 Have the gates of death been shown to you, or have you seen the gates of darkness?

18 Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell me, if you know all:

19 Which is the way to the dwelling place of light, and where is the abode of darkness,

20 That you may take them to their boundaries and set them on their homeward paths?

21 You know, because you were born before them, and the number of your years is great!

22 Have you entered the storehouse of the snow, and seen the treasury of the hail

23 Which I have reserved for times of stress, for the days of war and of battle?

24 Which way to the parting of the winds, whence the east wind spreads over the earth?

25 Who has laid out a channel for the downpour and for the thunderstorm a path

26 To bring rain to no man's land, the unpeopled wilderness;

27 To enrich the waste and desolate ground till the desert blooms with verdure?

28 Has the rain a father; or who has begotten the drops of dew?

29 Out of whose womb comes the ice, and who gives the hoarfrost its birth in the skies,

30 When the waters lie covered as though with stone that holds captive the surface of the deep?

31 Have you fitted a curb to the Pleiades, or loosened the bonds of Orion?

32 Can you bring forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or guide the Bear with its train?

33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens; can you put into effect their plan on the earth?

34 Can you raise your voice among the clouds, or veil yourself in the waters of the storm?

35 Can you send forth the lightnings on their way, or will they say to you, "Here we are"?

37 Who counts the clouds in his wisdom? Or who tilts the water jars of heaven

38 So that the dust of earth is fused into a mass and its clods made solid?

39 Do you hunt the prey for the lioness or appease the hunger of her cubs,

40 While they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in the thicket?

36 Who puts wisdom in the heart, and gives the cock its understanding?

41 Who provides nourishment for the ravens when their young ones cry out to God, and they rove abroad without food?

Job finally got his chance to converse with God, but not like he expected. He was going to demand answers from God as he would in a court. Instead, God asked him over 70 questions he could not answer. God interrupted his questioning and gave Job opportunity to answer, but in 40:3-5, he was too humbled to contest God. God did not explain his ways to Job, but He revealed himself, which brought Job to repentance.

v 1. God answered Job out of a whirlwind, the kind that took Elijah into heaven. This one may have been more violent, like the wind that destroyed his children. God was not in the great wind that ripped rocks apart, before he spoke to Elijah in a still small voice, 1 Ki. 19:11,12. Now he may have had to speak above the noise of storm.

v 2,3. God rebuked Job for speaking without knowledge, which Elihu had said in 34:35; 35:16. Job’s criticism of God would confuse people, so instead of answering him, God demanded that Job prepare to answer Him.
v 4-7. Job is confronted with the fact that he was not present  on the first day of creation, and can’t understand how God created the earth in precise order, so, implied, how can he understand God’s dealings with men. Since angels were created before the earth, they rejoiced when it was created. Commentators used to say that the stars singing was figurative, but new technology can transform a beam of light into sound waves of each star’s “song”. 

v 8,9. Job wasn’t present to see how God created a firmament dividing the waters above from the waters below on the second day of creation
v 10.11. Nor when he divided the earth from the water on the third day of creation.

v 12-15. This speaks of the lights God put in the firmament causing lights for day and night,  on the fourth day of creation, all without Job so how can he question God.

v 16-18. Job had not explored springs in the ocean, extent of the earth, or death.

v 19-21. God uses irony, that if Job was old and wise as he had indicated,  he should know that the sun does not dwell in a place, but a way, seen as earth rotates.

v 22-24. Job couldn’t know how God stored up (provided) snow and hail for time of trouble, or where lightning would strike or wind blow. God used hail, Josh. 10:11, and many other times in the Bible and since, He used hail, rain and wind in defeating some enemy. A shipload of TNT exploded with devastating effect in World War 1, and a man who read Job 38:23 got the idea of packing it in ice for safe transport.

v 35-30. Job could not know how God caused rain storms, dew, snows and cold times when ice formed, and meteorology can only yet predict with some accuracy.

v 31-33. Job could observe the constellations and clusters of stars, but he could not control them. How then could he question God’s dealings with mankind?

v 34-38. Job had no control over rain and lightning or over drouth conditions.

v 39-41. This begins comments regarding twelve animals, only two mentioned in this chapter. Job could not supply food for lions, but God supplied the food for all creatures on the third day, before creating them on the fifth and sixth days.  Ravens are sometimes forgotten by their parents, but even Jesus said that God took care of them, Lk. 12:24, so He would surely take care of man. Job needed to realize that instead of questioning God’s dealings with man.