Bible Society of South Africa

Bible Reading Plan – Day 271

Bible text(s)

Job 37

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.

Job 38

The LORD Answers Job

1Then out of the storm the LORD spoke to Job.

The LORD

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?

Job 39

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.

Job 40

1-2Job, you challenged Almighty God;

will you give up now, or will you answer?

Job

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.

Job 37:1-40:5GNBOpen in Bible reader
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