📖 Job — Chapter 38 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Job 38:1 RThen the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 38:2 RWho is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
Job 38:3 RGird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and Tanswer thou me.
Job 38:4 RWhere wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou Thast understanding.
Job 38:5 Who hath Rlaid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
Job 38:6 RWhereupon are the Tfoundations thereof Tfastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
Job 38:7 When Rthe morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Job 38:8 Or Rwho shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
Job 38:9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and Rthick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
Job 38:10 And RTbrake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
Job 38:11 And said, RHitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall Tthy proud waves be stayed?
Job 38:12 Hast thou Rcommanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;
Job 38:13 That it might Rtake hold of the Tends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
Job 38:14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand Ras a garment.
Job 38:15 And Rfrom the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.
Job 38:16 Hast thou entered into Rthe springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?
Job 38:17 Have Rthe gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?
Job 38:18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.
Job 38:19 Where is Rthe way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
Job 38:20 That thou shouldest take it Tto Rthe bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?
Job 38:21 Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?
Job 38:22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
Job 38:23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
Job 38:24 By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?
Job 38:25 Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;
Job 38:26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; Ron the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
Job 38:27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?
Job 38:28 RHath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
Job 38:29 Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
Job 38:30 The waters are hid as with a stone, and Rthe face of the deep Tis frozen.
Job 38:31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of RTPleiades, or loose the bands of TOrion?
Job 38:32 Canst thou bring forth RTMazzaroth in his season? or canst thou Tguide Arcturus with his sons?
Job 38:33 Knowest thou Rthe ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?
Job 38:34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?
Job 38:35 RCanst thou send lightnings, that they may go and say unto thee, THere we are?
Job 38:36 RWho hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?
Job 38:37 Who can Rnumber the clouds in wisdom? or who can Tstay the bottles of heaven,
Job 38:38 When the dust Tgroweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?
Job 38:39 RWilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill Tthe appetite of the young lions,
Job 38:40 RWhen they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?
Job 38:41 Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Job 38:1–15 — The Lord answers from the whirlwind
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The Lord answers Job with questions about earth, sea, and morning. Job did not establish their boundaries or direct their beginning. God broadens the discussion beyond the friends' accusations without explaining the heavenly events that readers saw at the book's opening.
Key Truth: The Creator's wisdom reaches beyond Job's perspective.
Check What You Remember
1. From what does the Lord answer Job? (Job 38:1)
Find it in Job 38:1 (KJV).
2. What did God lay? (Job 38:4)
Find it in Job 38:4 (KJV).
3. What sang together? (Job 38:7)
Find it in Job 38:7 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Job 38:16–30 — Depths, light, and rain
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Questions about the sea, death, light, snow, and rain continue. God waters even wilderness where no person lives. Creation has purposes beyond immediate human use. Job cannot survey all these places, so he cannot speak as though he possesses God's complete knowledge.
Key Truth: God cares for a world larger than our experience.
Check What You Remember
1. What gates does God ask about? (Job 38:17)
Find it in Job 38:17 (KJV).
2. What treasures are mentioned with hail? (Job 38:22)
Find it in Job 38:22 (KJV).
3. Where does rain fall although no person lives there? (Job 38:26)
Find it in Job 38:26 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Job 38:31–41 — Heaven and creatures under God's care
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
God asks about the stars, clouds, and the feeding of lions and ravens. The poetic questions place human understanding beside the Creator's ordering and provision. They invite wonder and humility rather than supplying a detailed scientific account of the heavens.
Key Truth: God's sustaining care includes creatures outside human management.
Check What You Remember
1. What constellation's bands are named? (Job 38:31)
Find it in Job 38:31 (KJV).
2. What can Job not send by command? (Job 38:35)
Find it in Job 38:35 (KJV).
3. Which bird's young cry to God? (Job 38:41)
Find it in Job 38:41 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Isaiah 55:8 — God's thoughts and ways are greater than ours.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
How do God's questions challenge the assumption that you must know the whole explanation before trusting his wisdom?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. How does the beginning change the speaker and setting?
2. What do the questions about earth’s foundations expose?
3. How is the sea described as bounded?
4. What does rain in uninhabited wilderness show within the questions?
5. How do the final animal questions continue the chapter’s challenge?
Notes
Write what you want to remember, questions to explore, or Scriptures to look up later. Your saved notes are private to your account.
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