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38Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: ²“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? ³Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

⁴“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. ⁵Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? ⁶On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone ⁷when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? ⁸“Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb?— ⁹when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, ¹⁰and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, ¹¹and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped’?

¹²“Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, ¹³so that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? ¹⁴It is changed like clay under the seal, and it is dyed like a garment. ¹⁵Light is withheld from the wicked, and their uplifted arm is broken. ¹⁶“Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? ¹⁷Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? ¹⁸Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this. ¹⁹“Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness, ²⁰that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home? ²¹Surely you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great! ²²“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, ²³which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war? ²⁴What is the way to the place where the light is distributed, or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?

²⁵“Who has cut a channel for the torrents of rain, and a way for the thunderbolt, ²⁶to bring rain on a land where no one lives, on the desert, which is empty of human life, ²⁷to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground put forth grass? ²⁸“Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew? ²⁹From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven? ³⁰The waters become hard like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. ³¹“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion? ³²Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children? ³³Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth? ³⁴“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that a flood of waters may cover you? ³⁵Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’? ³⁶Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, or given understanding to the mind? ³⁷Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens, ³⁸when the dust runs into a mass and the clods cling together? ³⁹“Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, ⁴⁰when they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in their covert? ⁴¹Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food?

39“Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the deer? ²Can you number the months that they fulfill, and do you know the time when they give birth, ³when they crouch to give birth to their offspring, and are delivered of their young? ⁴Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open; they go forth, and do not return to them. ⁵“Who has let the wild ass go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass, ⁶to which I have given the steppe for its home, the salt land for its dwelling place? ⁷It scorns the tumult of the city; it does not hear the shouts of the driver. ⁸It ranges the mountains as its pasture, and it searches after every green thing. ⁹“Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will it spend the night at your crib? ¹⁰Can you tie it in the furrow with ropes, or will it harrow the valleys after you? ¹¹Will you depend on it because its strength is great, and will you hand over your labor to it? ¹²Do you have faith in it that it will return, and bring your grain to your threshing floor?

¹³“The ostrich’s wings flap wildly, though its pinions lack plumage. ¹⁴For it leaves its eggs to the earth, and lets them be warmed on the ground, ¹⁵forgetting that a foot may crush them, and that a wild animal may trample them. ¹⁶It deals cruelly with its young, as if they were not its own; though its labor should be in vain, yet it has no fear; ¹⁷because God has made it forget wisdom, and given it no share in understanding. ¹⁸When it spreads its plumes aloft, it laughs at the horse and its rider.

¹⁹“Do you give the horse its might? Do you clothe its neck with mane? ²⁰Do you make it leap like the locust? Its majestic snorting is terrible. ²¹It paws violently, exults mightily; it goes out to meet the weapons. ²²It laughs at fear, and is not dismayed; it does not turn back from the sword. ²³Upon it rattle the quiver, the flashing spear, and the javelin. ²⁴With fierceness and rage it swallows the ground; it cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet. ²⁵When the trumpet sounds, it says ‘Aha!’ From a distance it smells the battle, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

²⁶“Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and spreads its wings toward the south? ²⁷Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes its nest on high? ²⁸It lives on the rock and makes its home in the fastness of the rocky crag. ²⁹From there it spies the prey; its eyes see it from far away. ³⁰Its young ones suck up blood; and where the slain are, there it is.”

40And the Lord said to Job: ²“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Anyone who argues with God must respond.” ³Then Job answered the Lord: ⁴“See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. ⁵I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but will proceed no further.”

⁶Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: ⁷“Gird up your loins like a man; I will question you, and you declare to me. ⁸Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be justified? ⁹Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his? ¹⁰“Deck yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor. ¹¹Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on all who are proud, and abase them. ¹²Look on all who are proud, and bring them low; tread down the wicked where they stand. ¹³Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below. ¹⁴Then I will also acknowledge to you that your own right hand can give you victory.

¹⁵“Look at Behemoth, which I made just as I made you; it eats grass like an ox. ¹⁶Its strength is in its loins, and its power in the muscles of its belly. ¹⁷It makes its tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are knit together. ¹⁸Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like bars of iron. ¹⁹“It is the first of the great acts of God— only its Maker can approach it with the sword. ²⁰For the mountains yield food for it where all the wild animals play. ²¹Under the lotus plants it lies, in the covert of the reeds and in the marsh. ²²The lotus trees cover it for shade; the willows of the wadi surround it. ²³Even if the river is turbulent, it is not frightened; it is confident though Jordan rushes against its mouth. ²⁴Can one take it with hooks or pierce its nose with a snare?

41“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook, or press down its tongue with a cord? ²Can you put a rope in its nose, or pierce its jaw with a hook? ³Will it make many supplications to you? Will it speak soft words to you? ⁴Will it make a covenant with you to be taken as your servant forever? ⁵Will you play with it as with a bird, or will you put it on leash for your girls? ⁶Will traders bargain over it? Will they divide it up among the merchants? ⁷Can you fill its skin with harpoons, or its head with fishing spears? ⁸Lay hands on it; think of the battle; you will not do it again! ⁹Any hope of capturing it will be disappointed; were not even the gods overwhelmed at the sight of it? ¹⁰No one is so fierce as to dare to stir it up. Who can stand before it?

¹¹Who can confront it and be safe? —under the whole heaven, who? ¹²“I will not keep silence concerning its limbs, or its mighty strength, or its splendid frame. ¹³Who can strip off its outer garment? Who can penetrate its double coat of mail? ¹⁴Who can open the doors of its face? There is terror all around its teeth. ¹⁵Its back is made of shields in rows, shut up closely as with a seal. ¹⁶One is so near to another that no air can come between them. ¹⁷They are joined one to another; they clasp each other and cannot be separated. ¹⁸Its sneezes flash forth light, and its eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn. ¹⁹From its mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap out. ²⁰Out of its nostrils comes smoke, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes. ²¹Its breath kindles coals, and a flame comes out of its mouth. ²²In its neck abides strength, and terror dances before it. ²³The folds of its flesh cling together; it is firmly cast and immovable. ²⁴Its heart is as hard as stone, as hard as the lower millstone. ²⁵When it raises itself up the gods are afraid; at the crashing they are beside themselves. ²⁶Though the sword reaches it, it does not avail, nor does the spear, the dart, or the javelin. ²⁷It counts iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood. ²⁸The arrow cannot make it flee; slingstones, for it, are turned to chaff. ²⁹Clubs are counted as chaff; it laughs at the rattle of javelins. ³⁰Its underparts are like sharp potsherds; it spreads itself like a threshing sledge on the mire. ³¹It makes the deep boil like a pot; it makes the sea like a pot of ointment. ³²It leaves a shining wake behind it; one would think the deep to be white-haired. ³³On earth it has no equal, a creature without fear. ³⁴It surveys everything that is lofty; it is king over all that are proud.”

42Then Job answered the Lord: ²“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ³‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ⁴‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me.’ ⁵I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; ⁶therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

⁷After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. ⁸Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has done.” ⁹So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

¹⁰And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. ¹¹Then there came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they ate bread with him in his house; they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him; and each of them gave him a piece of money and a gold ring. ¹²The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand donkeys. ¹³He also had seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴He named the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. ¹⁵In all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers. ¹⁶After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children, and his children’s children, four generations. ¹⁷And Job died, old and full of days.