Job
Chapter 38
1 1 Then the LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said:
上主由旋风中向约伯发言说：
2 Who is this that obscures divine plans with words of ignorance?
用无知的话，使我的计划模糊不明的是谁？
3 2 Gird up your loins now, like a man; I will question you, and you tell me the answers!
你要象勇士束好你的腰，我要问你，你要请指教我！
4 Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.
我奠定大地的基础时，你在那里？你若明知，尽管说罢！
5 Who determined its size; do you know? Who stretched out the measuring line for it?
你知道是谁制定了地的度量，是谁在地上拉了准绳？
6 Into what were its pedestals sunk, and who laid the cornerstone,
地的基础置在何处，是谁立了它的角石？
7 3 While the morning stars sang in chorus and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
当时星辰一起歌咏，天主的众子同声欢呼！
8 And who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb;
海水汹涌如出母胎时，是谁用门将海关闭？
9 When I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands?
是我用云彩作海的衣裳，用浓雾作海的襁褓。
10 When I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door,
是我给海划定了界限，设立了门和闩，
11 And said: Thus far shall you come but no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stilled!
并下令说：“你到此为止，不得越过；你的狂潮到此为止。”
12 Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place
你有生之日，何尝给晨光出过命令，又何尝使曙光知道它之所在？
13 For taking hold of the ends of the earth, till the wicked are shaken from its surface?
何尝使光握紧大地四角，将恶人从那里抖出去？
14 The earth is changed as is clay by the seal, and dyed as though it were a garment;
曙光改变大地，如在胶泥上盖印；使万物出现，如着锦衣；
15 But from the wicked the light is withheld, and the arm of pride is shattered.
撤去恶人的光明，折断高举的手。
16 Have you entered into the sources of the sea, or walked about in the depths of the abyss?
你曾否造访过海的源头，漫游深渊的底处？
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you, or have you seen the gates of darkness?
死亡的门你发现过吗？你见过死影之门吗？
18 Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell me, if you know all:
你知道大地的广阔吗？你若全知道，就请你说罢！
19 Which is the way to the dwelling place of light, and where is the abode of darkness,
赴光明之所的路是那一条，黑暗的住处在那里？
20 That you may take them to their boundaries and set them on their homeward paths?
你知道如何引导它们到自己的境域，领它们回到自己居所的道路上吗？
21 4 You know, because you were born before them, and the number of your years is great!
你该知道，因为你那时已诞生，而你的年数真浩繁。
22 5 Have you entered the storehouse of the snow, and seen the treasury of the hail
你到过雪库，见过雹仓吗？
23 Which I have reserved for times of stress, for the days of war and of battle?
那是我为降灾之时，为战争之日所存放的。
24 Which way to the parting of the winds, whence the east wind spreads over the earth?
云雾由那条路散开，东风由那条路倾泻大地？
25 Who has laid out a channel for the downpour and for the thunderstorm a path
谁为暴雨启开闸门，谁为雷电指示道路，
26 To bring rain to no man's land, the unpeopled wilderness;
好使雨落在无人之境，降在无人的荒野，
27 To enrich the waste and desolate ground till the desert blooms with verdure?
为润泽荒野干旱之地，好使原野绿草生长？
28 Has the rain a father; or who has begotten the drops of dew?
雨有父亲吗？谁生了露珠？
29 Out of whose womb comes the ice, and who gives the hoarfrost its birth in the skies,
冰出自谁的胎？天上的霜是谁生的？
30 When the waters lie covered as though with stone that holds captive the surface of the deep?
水怎样凝结如石？深渊的表面怎样固结？
31 6 Have you fitted a curb to the Pleiades, or loosened the bonds of Orion?
你岂能栓住昂宿的纽结，解开参星的绳索？
32 Can you bring forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or guide the Bear with its train?
你岂能使晨星按时升出，引导北斗和它的星群？
33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens; can you put into effect their plan on the earth?
你岂知道天体的定律，实施天律管治大地？
34 7 Can you raise your voice among the clouds, or veil yourself in the waters of the storm?
你岂能使你的声音上达云霄，使雨水沛然降在你处？
35 8 Can you send forth the lightnings on their way, or will they say to you, "Here we are"?
你能否一发令，闪电就发出，且向你说：“我们在这里？”
36 9 Who puts wisdom in the heart, and gives the cock its understanding?
谁将聪明给与鹳鸟，将智慧赋予雄鸡？
37 Who counts the clouds in his wisdom? Or who tilts the water jars of heaven
当土壤坚固，泥块凝结之时，
38 So that the dust of earth is fused into a mass and its clods made solid?
谁能凭智力数清云彩，能倾倒天上的水囊？
39 Do you hunt the prey for the lioness or appease the hunger of her cubs,
你是否能为牝狮猎取食物，满足幼狮的食欲？
40 While they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in the thicket?
当狮子伏于洞穴，卧于丛林埋伏的时候，
41 Who provides nourishment for the ravens when their young ones cry out to God, and they rove abroad without food?
当雏鸦无食，往还飞翔，向天主哀鸣的时候，谁能为乌鸦备食？
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Footnotes（注解）
1 [1] Now the LORD enters the debate and addresses two discourses (Job 38-39 and Job 40-41) to Job, in which he speaks of his wisdom and power, which are altogether beyond the capacity of Job, who therefore should never dare to demand a reason for the divine actions. Out of the storm: frequently the background of the appearances of the LORD in the Old Testament; cf Psalm 18; 50; Nahum 1:3; Hebrews 3.
2 [3] Gird up your loins: prepare for combat--figuratively, be ready to defend yourself in debate.
3 [7] Sons of God: angels; cf Job 1:6.
4 [21] Divine irony.
5 [22-23] Hail . . . of war: thus God used a hailstorm to rout Joshua's foes in the battle of Gibeon; cf Joshua 10:11; Sirach 46:5.
6 [31-32] Pleiades . . . Orion . . . Bear: cf Job 9:9. Mazzaroth: It is uncertain what astronomical group is meant by this Hebrew word; perhaps a southern constellation (cf Job 9:9).
7 [34] Veil yourself . . . storm: wrap yourself in a cloud, as God comes in a theophany; cf Psalm 18:12.
8 [35] Here we are: at your service.
9 [36] Understanding: the reflection of divine Wisdom discernible in the created animal instincts of the cock.