| 1 | Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, |
| 2 | Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? |
| 3 | Gird up now your loins like a man, and I will demand of you, and you declare to Me. |
| 4 | Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Declare to Me, if you have
and
know understanding. |
| 5 | Who determined the measures of the earth, if you know? Or who stretched the measuring line upon it? |
| 6 | Upon what were the foundations of it fastened, or who laid its cornerstone, |
| 7 | When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? |
| 8 | Or who shut up the sea with doors when it broke forth
and
issued out of the womb?— |
| 9 | When I made the clouds the garment of it, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, |
| 10 | And marked for it My appointed boundary and set bars and doors, |
| 11 | And said, Thus far shall you come and no farther; and here shall your proud waves be stayed? |
| 12 | Have you commanded the morning since your days began and caused the dawn to know its place, |
| 13 | So that [light] may get hold of the corners of the earth and shake the wickedness [of night] out of it? |
| 14 | It is changed like clay into which a seal is pressed; and things stand out like a many-colored garment. |
| 15 | From the wicked their light is withheld, and their uplifted arm is broken. |
| 16 | Have you explored the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep? |
| 17 | Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of deep darkness? |
| 18 | Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know it all. |
| 19 | Where is the
[a]way where light dwells? And as for darkness, where is its abode, |
| 20 | That you may conduct it to its home, and may know the paths to its house? |
| 21 | You must know, since you were born then! Or because you are so extremely old! |
| 22 | Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, or have you seen the treasuries of the hail, |
| 23 | Which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war? |
| 24 | By what way is the light distributed, or the east wind spread over the earth? |
| 25 | Who has prepared a channel for the torrents of rain, or a path for the thunderbolt, |
| 26 | To cause it to rain on the uninhabited land [and] on the desert where no man lives, |
| 27 | To satisfy the waste
and
desolate ground and to cause the tender grass to spring forth? |
| 28 | Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? |
| 29 | Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who has given it birth? |
| 30 | The waters are congealed like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. |
| 31 | Can you bind the chains of [the cluster of stars called] Pleiades, or loose the cords of [the constellation] Orion? |
| 32 | Can you lead forth the signs of the zodiac in their season? Or can you guide [the stars of] the Bear with her young? |
| 33 | Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule upon the earth? |
| 34 | Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that an abundance of waters may cover you? |
| 35 | Can you send lightnings, that they may go and say to you, Here we are? |
| 36 | Who has put wisdom in the inward parts [or in the dark clouds]? Or who has given understanding to the mind [or to the meteor]? |
| 37 | Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the [water] bottles of the heavens |
| 38 | When [heat has caused] the dust to run into a mass and the clods to cleave fast together? |
| 39 | Can you [Job] hunt the prey for the lion? Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions |
| 40 | When they couch in their dens or lie in wait in their hiding place? |
| 41 | Who provides for the raven its prey when its young ones cry to God and wander about for lack of food? |
Cross references:
-
Job 38:2 : Job 35:16.
-
Job 38:10 : Jer. 5:22.
-
Job 38:11 : Ps. 89:9; 93:4.
-
Job 38:23 : Exod. 9:18; Josh. 10:11; Isa. 30:30; Rev. 16:21.
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