Job 37

¹“At this also my heart trembles,

and leaps out of its place.

²Listen, listen to the thunder of his voice

and the rumbling that comes from his mouth.

³Under the whole heaven he lets it loose,

and his lightning to the corners of the earth.

⁴After it his voice roars;

he thunders with his majestic voice

and he does not restrain the lightnings when his voice is heard.

⁵God thunders wondrously with his voice;

he does great things that we cannot comprehend.

⁶For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth’;

and the shower of rain, his heavy shower of rain,

⁷serves as a sign on everyone’s hand,

so that all whom he has made may know it.

⁸Then the animals go into their lairs

and remain in their dens.

⁹From its chamber comes the whirlwind,

and cold from the scattering winds.

¹⁰By the breath of God ice is given,

and the broad waters are frozen fast.

¹¹He loads the thick cloud with moisture;

the clouds scatter his lightning.

¹²They turn round and round by his guidance,

to accomplish all that he commands them

on the face of the habitable world.

¹³Whether for correction, or for his land,

or for love, he causes it to happen.

¹⁴“Hear this, O Job;

stop and consider the wondrous works of God.

¹⁵Do you know how God lays his command upon them,

and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine?

¹⁶Do you know the balancings of the clouds,

the wondrous works of the one whose knowledge is perfect,

¹⁷you whose garments are hot

when the earth is still because of the south wind?

¹⁸Can you, like him, spread out the skies,

hard as a molten mirror?

¹⁹Teach us what we shall say to him;

we cannot draw up our case because of darkness.

²⁰Should he be told that I want to speak?

Did anyone ever wish to be swallowed up?

²¹Now, no one can look on the light

when it is bright in the skies,

when the wind has passed and cleared them.

²²Out of the north comes golden splendor;

around God is awesome majesty.

²³The Almighty—we cannot find him;

he is great in power and justice,

and abundant righteousness he will not violate.

²⁴Therefore mortals fear him;

he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.”