Job Chapter 37 to 38 : Easy-to-Read Version  | SearchSearch | Next Version | Previous Page | Next Page |

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37 “The thunder and lightning frighten me, my heart pounds in my chest. 2Listen everyone! God’s voice sounds like thunder. Listen to the thundering sound that comes from God’s mouth. 3God sends his lightning to flash across the whole sky. It flashed all over the earth. 4Then after the lightning flashes, God’s roaring voice can be heard. God thunders with his wonderful voice! While the lightning flashes, God’s voice thunders. 5God’s thundering voice is wonderful! He does great things that we can’t understand.  6God says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth.’ And God says to the rain, ‘Pour down on the earth.’ 7God does that so all of the people that God has made will know what he can do. That is his proof. 8The animals run into their dens and stay there. 9Whirlwinds come from the south. The cold winds come from the north. 10God’s breath makes ice, and freezes the oceans. 11God fills the clouds with water, and scatters those thunderclouds. 12God orders the clouds to blow all around the earth. The clouds do whatever God commands. 13God brings the clouds to bring floods to punish people or to bring water to show his love. 14“Job, stop for a minute and listen. Think about the wonderful things God does. 15Job, do you know how God controls the clouds? Do you know how God makes his lightning flash? 16Do you know how the clouds hang in the sky? Clouds are just one example of the wonderful things God made. And God knows everything about them. 17But Job, you don’t know these things. All you know is that you sweat, your clothes stick to you, and everything is still and quiet when the heat wave comes from the south. 18Job, can you help God spread out the sky, and make it shine like polished brass? 19“Job, tell us what we should say to God! We can’t think of what to say because of our ignorance.* 20I wouldn’t tell God that I wanted to talk to him. That would be like asking to be destroyed. 21A person cannot look at the sun. It is very bright and shiny in the sky after the wind blows the clouds away. 22{And God is like that too!} God’s golden glory shines from the Holy Mountain.* There is a bright light around God. 23God All-Powerful is great! We can’t understand God! God is very powerful, but he is also good and fair to us. God doesn’t want to hurt us! 24That is why people respect God. But God doesn’t respect proud people that think they are wise.”

We can’t … ignorance Literally, “We can’t arrange {our thoughts} because of the darkness”  Holy Mountain Or, “the north” or “Zaphon”.


God Speaks to Job

38 Then the Lord spoke to Job from a whirlwind. God said: 2“Who is this ignorant person that is saying these foolish things?”* 3Job, brace yourself* and get ready to answer the questions that I will ask you. 4“Job, where were you when I made the earth? If you are so smart, then answer me. 5If you are so smart, Who decided how big the world would be? Who measured the world with a measuring line? 6What is the earth resting on? Who put the first stone in its place? 7The morning stars sang together and the angels* shouted with joy when that was done!  8“Job, who closed the gates to stop the sea when it flowed from deep in the earth? 9At that time I covered it with clouds, and wrapped it in darkness. 10I set the limits for the sea and put it behind locked gates. 11I said to the sea, ‘You can come this far, but no farther. This is where your proud waves will stop.’ 12“Job, did you ever in your life command the morning to start or the day to begin? 13Job, did you ever tell the morning light to grab the earth and shake the evil people out of their hiding places? 14The morning light makes the hills and the valleys easy to see. When the daylight comes to the earth, the shapes of those places stand out like the folds of a coat. Those places take shape like soft clay that is pressed with a stamp. 15Evil people don’t like the daylight. When it shines bright, it stops them from doing their bad things. 16“Job, have you ever gone to the deepest parts of the sea where the sea begins? Have you ever walked on the ocean bottom? 17Job, have you ever seen the gates leading to the world of the dead? Have you ever seen the gates leading to that dark place of death? 18Job, do you really understand how large the earth is? Tell me, if you know all this. 19“Job, where does light come from? Where does darkness come from? 20Job, can you take light and dark back to the place they came from? Do you know how to go to that place? 21Surely you know these things, Job. You are very old and wise. You were alive when I made those things, weren’t you?* 22“Job, have you ever gone into the storerooms where I keep the snow and the hail? 23I save the snow and the hail for times of trouble, for the times of war and battle. 24Have you ever gone to the place where the sun comes up, where it makes the east wind blow all over the earth?* 25Who dug ditches in the sky for the heavy rain? Who made a path for the thunderstorm? 26Who makes it rain even in places where no people live? 27That rain gives plenty of water to that empty land and grass begins to grow. 28Does the rain have a father? Who produces the drops of dew? 29Does ice have a mother? Who gives birth to the hail? 30Water freezes as hard as a rock. And even the ocean freezes over! 31“Job, can you tie up the Pleiades?* Can you unfasten the belt of Orion?* 32Can you bring out the constellations* at the right times? Or can you lead out the Bear* with its cubs?  33Do you know the laws that control the sky? Can you make them rule over the earth? 34“Job, can you shout at the clouds and command them to cover you with rain? 35Can you give a command to the lightning? Will it come to you and say, ‘Here we are. What do you want, sir?’ Will it go wherever you want it to go? 36“Job, who makes people wise? Who puts wisdom deep inside of them? 37Who is wise enough to count the clouds and tip them over to pour out their rain? 38So the dust becomes mud and the clods of dirt stick together. 39“Job, do you find food for the lions? Do you feed their hungry babies? 40Those lions lie down in their caves, they crouch down in the grass {ready to attack their prey}. 41Who feeds the ravens when their babies yell out to God and wander around without food?

Who … things Or, “Who is this person darkening (hiding) advice with ignorant words.” brace yourself Literally, “gird yourself like a man (soldier).” This means, “get ready for battle.” angels Literally, “sons of God.” Verses 19–21 God doesn’t really mean this. This kind of talking is called sarcasm. It is saying something that is not true in a way that everyone knows it is not true.  Verse 24 Or, “Where is the place that the fog disperses and the place where the east wind scatters it all over the earth?” Pleiades A famous constellation (group of stars). It is often called, “The Seven Sisters.” Orion A famous constellation (group of stars). It looks like a hunter or powerful soldier. constellations Groups in the night sky. Here this probably means the twelve constellations of the Zodiac. They seem to pass through the sky so that a new constellation is in a certain part of the sky each month. Bear A famous constellation (group of stars). It looks like a bear. It is often called, “the Big Dipper.” Near it is a smaller constellation that looks like a small bear. It is often called, “the Little Dipper.”

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