Bible Reading Plan – Day 271

₁The storm makes my heart beat wildly.

₂Listen, all of you, to the voice of God,

to the thunder that comes from his mouth.

₃He sends the lightning across the sky,

from one end of the earth to the other.

₄Then the roar of his voice is heard,

the majestic sound of thunder,

and all the while the lightning flashes.

₅At God's command amazing things happen,

wonderful things that we can't understand.

₆He commands snow to fall on the earth,

and sends torrents of drenching rain.

₇He brings our work to a stop;

he shows us what he can do.

₈The wild animals go to their dens.

₉The storm winds come from the south,

and the biting cold from the north.

₁₀The breath of God freezes the waters,

and turns them to solid ice.

₁₁Lightning flashes from the clouds,

₁₂as they move at God's will.

They do all that God commands,

everywhere throughout the world.

₁₃God sends rain to water the earth;

he may send it to punish us,

or to show us his favour.

₁₄Pause a moment, Job, and listen;

consider the wonderful things God does.

₁₅Do you know how God gives the command

and makes lightning flash from the clouds?

₁₆Do you know how clouds float in the sky,

the work of God's amazing skill?

₁₇No, you can only suffer in the heat

when the south wind oppresses the land.

₁₈Can you help God stretch out the sky

and make it as hard as polished metal?

₁₉Teach us what to say to God;

our minds are blank; we have nothing to say.

₂₀I won't ask to speak with God;

why should I give him a chance to destroy me?

₂₁And now the light in the sky is dazzling,

too bright for us to look at it;

and the sky has been swept clean by the wind.

₂₂A golden glow is seen in the north,

and the glory of God fills us with awe.

₂₃God's power is so great that we cannot come near him;

he is righteous and just in his dealings with us.

₂₄No wonder, then, that everyone stands in awe of him,

and that he ignores those who claim to be wise.

₂Who are you to question my wisdom

with your ignorant, empty words?

₃Now stand up straight

and answer the questions I ask you.

₄Were you there when I made the world?

If you know so much, tell me about it.

₅Who decided how large it would be?

Who stretched the measuring line over it?

Do you know all the answers?

₆What holds up the pillars that support the earth?

Who laid the cornerstone of the world?

₇In the dawn of that day the stars sang together,

and the heavenly beings shouted for joy.

₈Who closed the gates to hold back the sea

when it burst from the womb of the earth?

₉It was I who covered the sea with clouds

and wrapped it in darkness.

₁₀I marked a boundary for the sea

and kept it behind bolted gates.

₁₁I told it, “So far and no farther!

Here your powerful waves must stop.”

₁₂Job, have you ever in all your life

commanded a day to dawn?

₁₃Have you ordered the dawn to seize the earth

and shake the wicked from their hiding places?

₁₄Daylight makes the hills and valleys stand out

like the folds of a garment,

clear as the imprint of a seal on clay.

₁₅The light of day is too bright for the wicked

and restrains them from deeds of violence.

₁₆Have you been to the springs in the depths of the sea?

Have you walked on the floor of the ocean?

₁₇Has anyone ever shown you the gates

that guard the dark world of the dead?

₁₈Have you any idea how big the world is?

Answer me if you know.

₁₉Do you know where the light comes from

or what the source of darkness is?

₂₀Can you show them how far to go,

or send them back again?

₂₁I am sure you can, because you're so old

and were there when the world was made!

₂₂Have you ever visited the storerooms,

where I keep the snow and the hail?

₂₃I keep them ready for times of trouble,

for days of battle and war.

₂₄Have you been to the place where the sun comes up,

or the place from which the east wind blows?

₂₅Who dug a channel for the pouring rain

and cleared the way for the thunderstorm?

₂₆Who makes rain fall where no one lives?

₂₇Who waters the dry and thirsty land,

so that grass springs up?

₂₈Does either the rain or the dew have a father?

₂₉Who is the mother of the ice and the frost,

₃₀which turn the waters to stone

and freeze the face of the sea?

₃₁Can you tie the Pleiades together

or loosen the bonds that hold Orion?

₃₂Can you guide the stars season by season

and direct the Great and the Little Bear?

₃₃Do you know the laws that govern the skies,

and can you make them apply to the earth?

₃₄Can you shout orders to the clouds

and make them drench you with rain?

₃₅And if you command the lightning to flash,

will it come to you and say, “At your service”?

₃₆Who tells the ibis when the Nile will flood,

or who tells the cock that rain will fall?

₃₇Who is wise enough to count the clouds

and tilt them over to pour out the rain,

₃₈rain that hardens the dust into lumps?

₃₉Do you find food for lions to eat,

and satisfy hungry young lions

₄₀when they hide in their caves,

or lie in wait in their dens?

₄₁Who is it that feeds the ravens

when they wander about hungry,

when their young cry to me for food?

₁Do you know when mountain goats are born?

Have you watched wild deer give birth?

₂Do you know how long they carry their young?

Do you know the time for their birth?

₃Do you know when they will crouch down

and bring their young into the world?

₄In the wilds their young grow strong;

they go away and don't come back.

₅Who gave the wild donkeys their freedom?

Who turned them loose and let them roam?

₆I gave them the desert to be their home,

and let them live on the salt plains.

₇They keep far away from the noisy cities,

and no one can tame them and make them work.

₈The mountains are the pastures where they feed,

where they search for anything green to eat.

₉Will a wild ox work for you?

Is he willing to spend the night in your stable?

₁₀Can you hold one with a rope and make him plough?

Or make him pull a harrow in your fields?

₁₁Can you rely on his great strength

and expect him to do your heavy work?

₁₂Do you expect him to bring in your harvest

and gather the grain from your threshing place?

₁₃How fast the wings of an ostrich beat!

But no ostrich can fly like a stork.

₁₄The ostrich leaves her eggs on the ground

for the heat in the soil to warm them.

₁₅She is unaware that a foot may crush them

or a wild animal break them.

₁₆She acts as if the eggs were not hers,

and is unconcerned that her efforts were wasted.

₁₇It was I who made her foolish

and did not give her wisdom.

₁₈But when she begins to run,

she can laugh at any horse and rider.

₁₉Was it you, Job, who made horses so strong

and gave them their flowing manes?

₂₀Did you make them leap like locusts

and frighten people with their snorting?

₂₁They eagerly paw the ground in the valley;

they rush into battle with all their strength.

₂₂They do not know the meaning of fear,

and no sword can turn them back.

₂₃The weapons which their riders carry

rattle and flash in the sun.

₂₄Trembling with excitement, the horses race ahead;

when the trumpet blows, they can't stand still.

₂₅At each blast of the trumpet they snort;

they can smell a battle before they get near,

and they hear the officers shouting commands.

₂₆Does a hawk learn from you how to fly

when it spreads its wings towards the south?

₂₇Does an eagle wait for your command

to build its nest high in the mountains?

₂₈It makes its home on the highest rocks

and makes the sharp peaks its fortress.

₂₉From there it watches near and far

for something to kill and eat.

₃₀Around dead bodies the eagles gather,

and the young eagles drink the blood.

_1-2Job, you challenged Almighty God;

will you give up now, or will you answer?

_3-4I spoke foolishly, LORD. What can I answer?

I will not try to say anything else.

₅I have already said more than I should.