1“At the sound of his thunder, my heart pounds.
It is as if my heart will jump out of my chest.
2Listen! Listen to the thunder of God’s voice.
Listen to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
3He turns his lightning loose under the whole sky.
And he sends it to the farthest parts of the earth.
4After that you can hear the roar
when he thunders with a great sound.
He does not hold back the flashing
when his voice is heard.
5God’s voice thunders in wonderful ways.
He does great things we cannot understand.
6God says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth.’
And he says to the rain shower, ‘Be a heavy rain.’
7With it, God stops everyone from working.
That way, everyone knows it is the work of God.
8The animals take cover from the rain.
They stay in their dens.
9The storm comes from where it was stored.
The cold comes from the strong winds.
10The breath of God makes ice.
And the wide waters become frozen.
11God fills the clouds up with water.
And he scatters his lightning through them.
12At God’s command they swirl around
over the whole earth.
They do whatever he commands.
13God uses the clouds to punish people
or to water his earth and show his love.
14“Job, listen to this.
Stop and notice God’s miracles.
15Do you know how God controls the clouds
and makes his lightning flash?
16Do you know how the clouds hang in the sky?
They are the miracles of God, who knows everything.
17You suffer in your clothes
when the land is made quiet by the hot, south wind.
18You cannot stretch out the sky like God
and make it look as hard as polished bronze.
19Tell us what we should say to God.
We cannot get our arguments ready because we do not have enough understanding.
20Should God be told that I want to speak?
A man might try to speak to God, but he would surely be
swallowed up.
21No one can look at the sun
when it is bright in the sky
after the wind has blown all the clouds away.
22God comes out of the north in golden light.
He comes in overwhelming greatness.
23God All-Powerful is too high for us to reach.
He has great strength.
He is always right and never punishes unfairly.
24That is why people honor God.
He does not respect those who say they are wise.”