38:1  THEN THE Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

38:2  Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

38:3  Gird up now your loins like a man, and I will demand of you, and you declare to Me.

38:4  Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Declare to Me, if you have {and} know understanding.

38:5  Who determined the measures of the earth, if you know? Or who stretched the measuring line upon it?

38:6  Upon what were the foundations of it fastened, or who laid its cornerstone,

38:7  When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

38:8  Or who shut up the sea with doors when it broke forth {and} issued out of the womb?--

38:9  When I made the clouds the garment of it, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it,

38:10  And marked for it My appointed boundary and set bars and doors,

38:11  And said, Thus far shall you come and no farther; and here shall your proud waves be stayed?

38:12  Have you commanded the morning since your days began and caused the dawn to know its place,

38:13  So that [light] may get hold of the corners of the earth and shake the wickedness [of night] out of it?

38:14  It is changed like clay into which a seal is pressed; and things stand out like a many-colored garment.

38:15  From the wicked their light is withheld, and their uplifted arm is broken.

38:16  Have you explored the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?

38:17  Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of deep darkness?

38:18  Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know it all.

38:19  Where is the way where light dwells? And as for darkness, where is its abode,

38:20  That you may conduct it to its home, and may know the paths to its house?

38:21  You must know, since you were born then! Or because you are so extremely old!

38:22  Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, or have you seen the treasuries of the hail,

38:23  Which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?

38:24  By what way is the light distributed, or the east wind spread over the earth?

38:25  Who has prepared a channel for the torrents of rain, or a path for the thunderbolt,

38:26  To cause it to rain on the uninhabited land [and] on the desert where no man lives,

38:27  To satisfy the waste {and} desolate ground and to cause the tender grass to spring forth?

38:28  Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

38:29  Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who has given it birth?

38:30  The waters are congealed like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

38:31  Can you bind the chains of [the cluster of stars called] Pleiades, or loose the cords of [the constellation] Orion?

38:32  Can you lead forth the signs of the zodiac in their season? Or can you guide [the stars of] the Bear with her young?

38:33  Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule upon the earth?

38:34  Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that an abundance of waters may cover you?

38:35  Can you send lightnings, that they may go and say to you, Here we are?

38:36  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]?

38:37  Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the [water] bottles of the heavens

38:38  When [heat has caused] the dust to run into a mass and the clods to cleave fast together?

38:39  Can you [Job] hunt the prey for the lion? Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions

38:40  When they couch in their dens or lie in wait in their hiding place?

38:41  Who provides for the raven its prey when its young ones cry to God and wander about for lack of food?