Elihu Says God Is Back of the Storm
“At this also my heart trembles,
And leaps from its place.
2 “Listen closely to the athunder of His voice,
And the rumbling that goes out from His mouth.
3 “Under the whole heaven He lets it loose,
And His lightning to the aends of the earth.
4 “After it, a voice roars;
He thunders with His majestic voice,
And He does not restrain the lightnings when His voice is heard.
5 “God athunders with His voice wondrously,
Doing bgreat things which we cannot comprehend.
6 “For to athe snow He says, ‘Fall on the earth,’
And to the bdownpour and the rain, ‘Be strong.’
7 “He aseals the hand of every man,
That ball men may know His work.
8 “Then the beast goes into its alair
And remains in its den.
9 “Out of the asouth comes the storm,
And out of the north the cold.
10 “From the breath of God aice is made,
And the expanse of the waters is frozen.
11 “Also with moisture He aloads the thick cloud;
He bdisperses cthe cloud of His lightning.
12 “It changes direction, turning around by His guidance,
That it may do whatever He acommands it
On the bface of the inhabited earth.
13 “Whether for acorrection, or for bHis world,
Or for clovingkindness, He causes it to happen.
14 “Listen to this, O Job,
Stand and consider the wonders of God.
15 “Do you know how God establishes them,
And makes the lightning of His cloud to shine?
16 “Do you know about the layers of the thick clouds,
The awonders of one bperfect in knowledge,
17 You whose garments are hot,
When the land is still because of the south wind?
18 “Can you, with Him, aspread out the skies,
Strong as a molten mirror?
19 “Teach us what we shall say to Him;
We acannot arrange our case because of darkness.
20 “Shall it be told Him that I would speak?
Or should a man say that he would be swallowed up?
21 “Now men do not see the light which is bright in the skies;
But the wind has passed and cleared them.
22 “Out of the north comes golden splendor;
Around God is awesome majesty.
23 “The Almighty—awe cannot find Him;
He is bexalted in power
And cHe will not do violence dto justice and abundant righteousness.
24 “Therefore men afear Him;
He does not bregard any who are wise of heart.”
God Speaks Now to Job
Then the Lord aanswered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
2 “Who is this that adarkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
3 “Now agird up your loins like a man,
And bI will ask you, and you instruct Me!
4 “Where were you awhen I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding,
5 Who set its ameasurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the line on it?
6 “On what awere its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars sang together
And all the asons of God shouted for joy?
8 “Or who aenclosed the sea with doors
When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;
9 When I made a cloud its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 And I aplaced boundaries on it
And set a bolt and doors,
11 And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther;
And here shall your proud waves stop’?
God’s Mighty Power
12 “Have you ever in your life commanded the morning,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
13 That it might take hold of athe ends of the earth,
And bthe wicked be shaken out of it?
14 “It is changed like clay under the seal;
And they stand forth like a garment.
15 “aFrom the wicked their light is withheld,
And the buplifted arm is broken.
16 “Have you entered into athe springs of the sea
Or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 “Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
Or have you seen the gates of adeep darkness?
18 “Have you understood the expanse of athe earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.
19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,
20 That you may take it to aits territory
And that you may discern the paths to its home?
21 “You know, for ayou were born then,
And the number of your days is great!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses aof the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the bhail,
23 Which I have reserved for the time of distress,
For the day of war and battle?
24 “Where is the way that athe light is divided,
Or the east wind scattered on the earth?
25 “Who has cleft a channel for the flood,
Or a way for the thunderbolt,
26 To bring arain on a land without people,
On a desert without a man in it,
27 To asatisfy the waste and desolate land
And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?
28 “Has athe rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 “From whose womb has come the aice?
And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?
30 “Water becomes hard like stone,
And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.
31 “Can you bind the chains of the aPleiades,
Or loose the cords of Orion?
32 “Can you lead forth a constellation in its season,
And guide the Bear with her satellites?
33 “Do you know the aordinances of the heavens,
Or fix their rule over the earth?
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
So that an aabundance of water will cover you?
35 “Can you asend forth lightnings that they may go
And say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 “Who has aput wisdom in the innermost being
Or given bunderstanding to the mind?
37 “Who can count the clouds by wisdom,
Or atip the water jars of the heavens,
38 When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together?
39 “Can you hunt the aprey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 When they acrouch in their dens
And lie in wait in their lair?
41 “Who prepares for athe raven its nourishment
When its young cry to God
And wander about without food?
God Speaks of Nature and Its Beings
“Do you know the time the amountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the bdeer?
2 “Can you count the months they fulfill,
Or do you know the time they give birth?
3 “They kneel down, they bring forth their young,
They get rid of their labor pains.
4 “Their offspring become strong, they grow up in the open field;
They leave and do not return to them.
5 “Who sent out the awild donkey free?
And who loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
6 To whom I gave athe wilderness for a home
And the salt land for his dwelling place?
7 “He scorns the tumult of the city,
The shoutings of the driver he does not hear.
8 “He explores the mountains for his pasture
And searches after every green thing.
9 “Will the awild ox consent to serve you,
Or will he spend the night at your manger?
10 “Can you bind the wild ox in a furrow with ropes,
Or will he harrow the valleys after you?
11 “Will you trust him because his strength is great
And leave your labor to him?
12 “Will you have faith in him that he will return your grain
And gather it from your threshing floor?
13 “The ostriches’ wings flap joyously
With the pinion and plumage of love,
14 For she abandons her eggs to the earth
And warms them in the dust,
15 And she forgets that a foot may crush them,
Or that a wild beast may trample them.
16 “She treats her young acruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor be in vain, she is unconcerned;
17 Because God has made her forget wisdom,
And has not given her a share of understanding.
18 “When she lifts herself on high,
She laughs at the horse and his rider.
19 “Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
20 “Do you make him aleap like the locust?
His majestic bsnorting is terrible.
21 “He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
He agoes out to meet the weapons.
22 “He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
And he does not turn back from the sword.
23 “The quiver rattles against him,
The flashing spear and javelin.
24 “With shaking and rage he races over the ground,
And he does not stand still at the voice of the trumpet.
25 “As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’
And he scents the battle from afar,
And the thunder of the captains and the war cry.
26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,
Stretching his wings toward the south?
27 “Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
And makes ahis nest on high?
28 “On the cliff he dwells and lodges,
Upon the rocky crag, an inaccessible place.
29 “From there he aspies out food;
His eyes see it from afar.
30 “His young ones also suck up blood;
And awhere the slain are, there is he.”