Liber Iob, 38

1. Respondens autem Dominus Iob de turbine dixit:

1. Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:

2. “Quis est iste obscurans consilium sermonibus imperitis?

2. "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

3. Accinge sicut vir lumbos tuos; interrogabo te, et edoce me.

3. Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

4. Ubi eras, quando ponebam fundamenta terrae? Indica mihi, si habes intellegentiam.

4. "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

5. Quis posuit mensuras eius, si nosti? Vel quis tetendit super eam lineam?

5. Who determined its measurements -- surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?

6. Super quo bases illius solidatae sunt? Aut quis demisit lapidem angularem eius,

6. On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone,

7. cum clamarent simul astra matutina, et iubilarent omnes filii Dei?

7. when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8. Quis conclusit ostiis mare, quando erumpebat quasi de visceribus procedens,

8. "Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth from the womb;

9. cum ponerem nubem vestimentum eius et caligine illud quasi fascia obvolverem?

9. when I made clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band,

10. Definivi illud terminis meis et posui vectem et ostia

10. and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors,

11. et dixi: Usque huc venies et non procedes amplius et hic confringes tumentes fluctus tuos.

11. and said, `Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed'?

12. Numquid in diebus tuis praecepisti diluculo et assignasti aurorae locum suum,

12. "Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place,

13. et, cum extrema terrae teneres, excussi sunt impii ex ea?

13. that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?

14. Vertetur in lutum signatum et stabit sicut vestimentum.

14. It is changed like clay under the seal, and it is dyed like a garment.

15. Cohibetur ab impiis lux sua, et brachium excelsum confringetur.

15. From the wicked their light is withheld, and their uplifted arm is broken.

16. Numquid ingressus es scaturigines maris et in novissimis abyssi deambulasti?

16. "Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep?

17. Numquid apertae sunt tibi portae mortis, et ostia tenebrosa vidisti?

17. Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

18. Numquid considerasti latitudinem terrae? Indica mihi, si nosti omnia:

18. Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this.

19. In qua via lux habitet, et tenebrarum quis locus sit;

19. "Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness,

20. ut ducas unumquodque ad terminos suos et intellegas semitas domus eius?

20. that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home?

21. Novisti, nam tunc natus eras, et numerus dierum tuorum multus!

21. You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!

22. Numquid ingressus es thesauros nivis aut thesauros grandinis aspexisti,

22. "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

23. quae praeparavi in tempus angustiae, in diem pugnae et belli?

23. which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?

24. Per quam viam spargitur lux, diffunditur ventus urens super terram?

24. What is the way to the place where the light is distributed, or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?

25. Quis dedit vehementissimo imbri cursum et viam fulmini tonanti,

25. "Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain, and a way for the thunderbolt,

26. ut plueret super terram absque homine, in deserto, ubi nullus mortalium commoratur,

26. to bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no man;

27. ut impleret inviam et desolatam et produceret herbas in terra arida?

27. to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground put forth grass?

28. Quis est pluviae pater, vel quis genuit stillas roris?

28. "Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew?

29. De cuius sinu egressa est glacies, et pruinam de caelo quis genuit?

29. From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven?

30. In similitudinem lapidis aquae durantur, et superficies abyssi constringitur.

30. The waters become hard like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

31. Numquid coniungere valebis nexus stellarum Pleiadum aut funiculum Arcturi poteris solvere?

31. "Can you bind the chains of the Plei'ades, or loose the cords of Orion?

32. Numquid produces Coronam in tempore suo et Ursam cum filiis ducis tu?

32. Can you lead forth the Maz'zaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children?

33. Numquid nosti leges caeli et pones scripturam eius in terra?

33. Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth?

34. Numquid elevabis in nebula vocem tuam, et impetus aquarum operiet te?

34. "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of waters may cover you?

35. Numquid mittes fulgura, et ibunt et dicent tibi: “Adsumus!”?

35. Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go and say to you, `Here we are'?

36. Quis posuit in visceribus ibis sapientiam, vel quis dedit gallo intellegentiam?

36. Who has put wisdom in the clouds, or given understanding to the mists?

37. Quis recensebit nubes in sapientia, et utres caeli quis declinabit,

37. Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,

38. quando funditur pulvis in solidum, et glebae compinguntur?

38. when the dust runs into a mass and the clods cleave fast together?

39. Numquid capies leaenae praedam et animam catulorum eius implebis,

39. "Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

40. quando cubant in antris et in specubus insidiantur?

40. when they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in their covert?

41. Quis praeparat corvo escam suam, quando pulli eius clamant ad Deum vagantes, eo quod non habeant cibos?

41. Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food?