1 “At this, my own heart trembles
and leaps out of its place.
2 Just listen to the rumbling of his voice,
to the thunder that comes from his mouth!
3 He sends it out under all of heaven,
his lightning to the ends of the earth.
4 There follows a sound, a roar —
he is thundering with his majestic voice,
and he keeps releasing [the lightning]
even while his voice is being heard.
5 “God thunders wonderfully with his voice,
he does great things beyond our understanding.
6 He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth!’ —
likewise to the light rain, also to the downpour.
7 He brings all human activity to a stop,
so that everyone he has made can know it.
8 Then the animals go into their lairs
and hibernate in their dens.
9 “Out of its chamber comes the storm,
with cold out of the north.
10 By the breath of God, ice is given,
and the wide waters freeze over.
11 He weighs the clouds down with moisture,
and they flash forth his lightning.
12 He, by his plans, turns them around,
so they do what he commands them anywhere on earth;
13 he brings them forth on the earth
sometimes to punish, sometimes to express his grace.
14 “Listen to this, Iyov!
Stop, and consider God’s wonders.
15 Do you know how God puts them in place,
how he causes lightning to flash from his cloud?
16 Do you know how he balances the clouds?
These are marvels of him who knows everything!
17 “You, sweltering in your clothing
as the earth lies still under a sultry south wind,
18 can you, with him, spread out the sky,
hard as a cast metal mirror?
19 Teach us what we should tell him,
for the darkness keeps us from organizing our case.
20 Is he to be told that I will speak?
Can a man speak at all when he is already swallowed up?
21 Now people don’t see the light,
which is bright in the sky;
but then the wind blows
and clears [the clouds] away.
22 Out of the north comes a golden glow,
fearsome majesty surrounding God.
23 Shaddai, whom we cannot find,
whose power is immense,
in his great righteousness
does not pervert justice.
24 This is why people fear him;
he does not consider those
who think of themselves as wise.”