Through the Bible – Day 185

₁From out of a storm,

the LORD said to Job:

₂Why do you talk so much

when you know so little?

₃Now get ready to face me!

Can you answer

the questions I ask?

₄How did I lay the foundation

for the earth?

Were you there?

₅Doubtless you know who decided

its length and width.

₆What supports the foundation?

Who placed the cornerstone,

₇while morning stars sang,

and angels rejoiced?

₈When the ocean was born,

I set its boundaries

₉and wrapped it in blankets

of thickest fog.

₁₀Then I built a wall around it,

locked the gates, ₁₁and said,

“Your powerful waves stop here!

They can go no further.”

₁₂Did you ever tell the sun to rise?

And did it obey?

₁₃Did it take hold of the earth

and shake out the wicked

like dust from a rug?

₁₄Early dawn outlines the hills

like stitches on clothing

or sketches on clay.

₁₅But its light is too much

for those who are evil,

and their power is broken.

₁₆Job, have you ever walked

on the ocean floor?

₁₇Have you seen the gate

to the world of the dead?

₁₈And how large is the earth?

Tell me, if you know!

₁₉Where is the home of light,

and where does darkness live?

₂₀Can you lead them home?

₂₁I'm certain you must be able to,

since you were already born

when I created everything.

₂₂Have you been to the places

where I keep snow and hail,

₂₃until I use them to punish

and conquer nations?

₂₄From where does lightning leap,

or the east wind blow?

₂₅Who carves out a path

for thunderstorms?

Who sends torrents of rain

₂₆on empty deserts

where no one lives?

₂₇Rain that changes barren land

to meadows green with grass.

₂₈Who is the father of the dew

and of the rain?

₂₉Who gives birth to the sleet

and the frost

₃₀that fall in winter,

when streams and lakes

freeze solid as a rock?

₃₁Can you arrange stars in groups

such as Orion

and the Pleiades?

₃₂Do you control the stars

or set in place the Great Bear

and the Little Bear?

₃₃Do you know the laws

that govern the heavens,

and can you make them rule

the earth?

₃₄Can you order the clouds

to send a downpour,

₃₅or will lightning flash

at your command?

₃₆Did you teach birds to know

that rain or floods

are on their way?

₃₇Can you count the clouds

or pour out their water

₃₈on the dry, lumpy soil?

₃₉When lions are hungry,

do you help them hunt?

₄₀Do you send an animal

into their den?

₄₁And when starving young ravens

cry out to me for food,

do you satisfy their hunger?

₁When do mountain goats

and deer give birth?

Have you been there

when their young are born?

_2-3How long are they pregnant

before they deliver?

₄Soon their young grow strong

and then leave

to be on their own.

₅Who set wild donkeys free?

₆I alone help them survive

in salty desert sand.

₇They stay far from crowded cities

and refuse to be tamed.

₈Instead, they roam the hills,

searching for pasture land.

₉Would a wild ox agree

to live in your barn

and labour for you?

₁₀Could you force him to plough

or to drag a heavy log

to smooth out the soil?

₁₁Can you depend on him

to use his great strength

and do your heavy work?

₁₂Can you trust him

to harvest your grain

or take it to your barn

from the threshing place?

₁₃An ostrich proudly

flaps her wings,

but not because

she loves her young.

₁₄She abandons her eggs

and lets the dusty ground

keep them warm.

₁₅And she doesn't seem to worry

that the feet of an animal

could crush them all.

₁₆She treats her eggs as though

they were not her own,

unconcerned that her work

might be for nothing.

₁₇I myself made her foolish

and without common sense.

₁₈But once she starts running,

she laughs at a rider

on the fastest horse.

₁₉Did you give horses their strength

and the flowing hair

along their necks?

₂₀Did you make them able

to jump like grasshoppers

or to frighten people

with their snorting?

₂₁Before horses are ridden

into battle,

they paw at the ground,

proud of their strength.

₂₂Laughing at fear, they rush

towards the fighting,

₂₃while the weapons of their riders

rattle and flash in the sun.

₂₄Unable to stand still,

they gallop eagerly into battle

when trumpets blast.

₂₅Stirred by the distant smells

and sounds of war, they snort

in reply to the trumpet.

₂₆Did you teach hawks to fly south

for the winter?

_27-28Did you train eagles to build

their nests on rocky cliffs,

₂₉where they can look down

to spot their next meal?

₃₀Then their young gather to feast

wherever the victim lies.

_1-2I am the LORD All-Powerful,

but you have argued

that I am wrong.

Now you must answer me.

₃Job said to the LORD:

₄Who am I to answer you?

₅I did speak once or twice,

but never again.

₆Then out of the storm

the LORD said to Job:

₇Face me and answer

the questions I ask!

₈Are you trying to prove

that you are innocent

by accusing me of injustice?

₉Do you have a powerful arm

and a thundering voice

that compare with mine?

₁₀If so, then surround yourself

with glory and majesty.

_11-12Show your furious anger!

Throw down and crush

all who are proud and evil.

₁₃Wrap them in grave clothes

and bury them together

in the dusty soil.

₁₄Do this, and I will agree

that you have won

this argument.

₁₅I created both you

and the hippopotamus.

It eats only grass like an ox,

₁₆but look at the mighty muscles

in its body ₁₇and legs.

Its tail is like a cedar tree,

and its thighs are thick.

₁₈The bones in its legs

are like bronze or iron.

₁₉I made it more powerful

than any other creature,

yet I am stronger still.

₂₀Undisturbed, it eats grass

while the other animals

play nearby.

_21-22It rests in the shade of trees

along the river bank

or hides among reeds

in the swamp.

₂₃It remains calm and unafraid

with the River Jordan rushing

and splashing in its face.

₂₄There is no way to capture

a hippopotamus—

not even by hooking its nose

or blinding its eyes.

“I have placed you here

as a light

for the Gentiles.

You are to take

the saving power of God

to people everywhere on earth.”