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

2 “Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me. 4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 5 Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched a measuring line across it? 6 On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone, 7 while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, 9 when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its blanket, 10 when I fixed its boundaries and set in place its bars and doors, 11 and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther; here your proud waves must stop’? 12 In your days, have you commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place, 13 that it might spread to the ends of the earth and shake the wicked out of it? 14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its hills stand out like the folds of a garment. 15 Light is withheld from the wicked, and their upraised arm is broken. 16 Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep? 17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? 18 Have you surveyed the extent of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this. 19 Where is the way to the home of light? Do you know where darkness resides, 20 so you can lead it back to its border? Do you know the paths to its home? 21 Surely you know, for you were already born! And the number of your days is great! 22 Have you entered the storehouses of snow or observed the storehouses of hail, 23 which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of war and battle? 24 In which direction is the lightning dispersed, or the east wind scattered over the earth? 25 Who cuts a channel for the flood or clears a path for the thunderbolt, 26 to bring rain on a barren land, on a desert where no man lives, 27 to satisfy the parched wasteland and make it sprout with tender grass? 28 Does the rain have a father? Who has begotten the drops of dew? 29 From whose womb does the ice emerge? Who gives birth to the frost from heaven, 30 when the waters become hard as stone and the surface of the deep is frozen? 31 Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion? 32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear and her cubs? 33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth? 34 Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you? 35 Can you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’? 36 Who has put wisdom in the heart or given understanding to the mind? 37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of the heavens 38 when the dust hardens into a mass and the clods of earth stick together? 39 Can you hunt the prey for a lioness or satisfy the hunger of young lions 40 when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait in the thicket? 41 Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God as they wander about for lack of food?

39:1 “Do you know when mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the doe bear her fawn? 2 Can you count the months they are pregnant? Do you know the time they give birth? 3 They crouch down and bring forth their young; they deliver their newborn. 4 Their young ones thrive and grow up in the open field; they leave and do not return. 5 Who set the wild donkey free? Who released the swift donkey from the harness? 6 I made the wilderness his home and the salt flats his dwelling. 7 He scorns the tumult of the city and never hears the shouts of a driver. 8 He roams the mountains for pasture, searching for any green thing. 9 Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night? 10 Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he plow the valleys behind you? 11 Can you rely on his great strength? Will you leave your hard work to him? 12 Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor? 13 The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but cannot match the pinions and feathers of the stork. 14 For she leaves her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand. 15 She forgets that a foot may crush them, or a wild animal may trample them. 16 She treats her young harshly, as if not her own, with no concern that her labor was in vain. 17 For God has deprived her of wisdom; He has not endowed her with understanding. 18 Yet when she proudly spreads her wings, she laughs at the horse and its rider. 19 Do you give strength to the horse or adorn his neck with a mane? 20 Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting? 21 He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; he charges into battle. 22 He laughs at fear, frightened of nothing; he does not turn back from the sword. 23 A quiver rattles at his side, along with a flashing spear and lance. 24 Trembling with excitement, he devours the distance; he cannot stand still when the ram’s horn sounds. 25 At the blast of the horn, he snorts with fervor. He catches the scent of battle from afar— the shouts of captains and the cry of war. 26 Does the hawk take flight by your understanding and spread his wings toward the south? 27 Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high? 28 He dwells on a cliff and lodges there; his stronghold is on a rocky crag. 29 From there he spies out food; his eyes see it from afar. 30 His young ones feast on blood; and where the slain are, there he is.”

40:1 And the LORD said to Job:

2 “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who argues with God give an answer.” 3 Then Job answered the LORD:

4 “Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You? I place my hand over my mouth. 5 I have spoken once, but I have no answer— twice, but I have nothing to add.” 6 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

7 “Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me. 8 Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself? 9 Do you have an arm like God’s? Can you thunder with a voice like His? 10 Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, and clothe yourself with honor and glory. 11 Unleash the fury of your wrath; look on every proud man and bring him low. 12 Look on every proud man and humble him; trample the wicked where they stand. 13 Bury them together in the dust; imprison them in the grave. 14 Then I will confess to you that your own right hand can save you. 15 Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you. He feeds on grass like an ox. 16 See the strength of his loins and the power in the muscles of his belly. 17 His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. 18 His bones are tubes of bronze; his limbs are rods of iron. 19 He is the foremost of God’s works; only his Maker can draw the sword against him. 20 The hills yield him their produce, while all the beasts of the field play nearby. 21 He lies under the lotus plants, hidden among the reeds of the marsh. 22 The lotus plants conceal him in their shade; the willows of the brook surround him. 23 Though the river rages, Behemoth is unafraid; he remains secure, though the Jordan surges to his mouth. 24 Can anyone capture him as he looks on, or pierce his nose with a snare?

41:1 “Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook or tie down his tongue with a rope? 2 Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? 3 Will he beg you for mercy or speak to you softly? 4 Will he make a covenant with you to take him as a slave for life? 5 Can you pet him like a bird or put him on a leash for your maidens? 6 Will traders barter for him or divide him among the merchants? 7 Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears? 8 If you lay a hand on him, you will remember the battle and never repeat it! 9 Surely hope of overcoming him is false. Is not the sight of him overwhelming? 10 No one is so fierce as to rouse Leviathan. Then who is able to stand against Me? 11 Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Everything under heaven is Mine. 12 I cannot keep silent about his limbs, his power and graceful form. 13 Who can strip off his outer coat? Who can approach him with a bridle? 14 Who can open his jaws, ringed by his fearsome teeth? 15 His rows of scales are his pride, tightly sealed together. 16 One scale is so near to another that no air can pass between them. 17 They are joined to one another; they clasp and cannot be separated. 18 His snorting flashes with light, and his eyes are like the rays of dawn. 19 Firebrands stream from his mouth; fiery sparks shoot forth! 20 Smoke billows from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds. 21 His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames pour from his mouth. 22 Strength resides in his neck, and dismay leaps before him. 23 The folds of his flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable. 24 His chest is as hard as a rock, as hard as a lower millstone! 25 When Leviathan rises up, the mighty are terrified; they withdraw before his thrashing. 26 The sword that reaches him has no effect, nor does the spear or dart or arrow. 27 He regards iron as straw and bronze as rotten wood. 28 No arrow can make him flee; slingstones become like chaff to him. 29 A club is regarded as straw, and he laughs at the sound of the lance. 30 His undersides are jagged potsherds, spreading out the mud like a threshing sledge. 31 He makes the depths seethe like a cauldron; he makes the sea like a jar of ointment. 32 He leaves a glistening wake behind him; one would think the deep had white hair! 33 Nothing on earth is his equal— a creature devoid of fear! 34 He looks down on all the haughty; he is king over all the proud.”

The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.