38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, |
38:2 "Who do I see that darkens counsel By words without knowledge? |
38:3 "Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me! |
38:4 "Where did you exist when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, |
38:5 Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? |
38:6 "On what locations did I sink its bases? 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 enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; |
38:9 When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band, |
38:10 And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors, |
38:11 And I said, 'Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop'? |
38:12 "Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place, |
38:13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked find themselves shaken out of it? |
38:14 "It changes like clay under the seal; And they stand forth like a garment. |
38:15 " From the wicked their light becomes withheld, And the uplifted arm breaks. |
38:16 "Have you entered into the springs of the sea Or walked in the recesses of the deep? |
38:17 "Have the gates of death revealed themselves to you, Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? |
38:18 "Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this. |
38:19 "Where can you find your way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where does it reside, |
38:20 That you may take it to its territory And that you may discern the paths to its home? |
38:21 "You know, for you had your nativity then, And the number of your days has increased! |
38:22 "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, |
38:23 Which I have reserved for the time of distress, For the day of war and battle? |
38:24 "Where do we find the division between light and darkness, Or the east wind scattered on the earth? |
38:25 "Who has cleft a channel for the flood, Or a way for the thunderbolt, |
38:26 To bring rain on a land without people, On a desert without a man in it, |
38:27 To satisfy the waste and desolate land And to make the seeds of grass to sprout? |
38:28 "Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? |
38:29 "From whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth? |
38:30 "Water becomes hard like stone, And the surface of the deep becomes imprisoned. |
38:31 "Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, Or loose the cords of Orion? |
38:32 "Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, And guide the Bear with her satellites? |
38:33 "Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or fix their rule over the earth? |
38:34 "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you? |
38:35 "Can you send forth lightnings that they may go And say to you, 'Here we come'? |
38:36 "Who has put wisdom in the innermost being Or given understanding to the mind? |
38:37 "Who can count the clouds by wisdom, Or tip the water jars of the heavens, |
38:38 When the dust hardens into a mass And the clods stick together? |
38:39 "Can you hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, |
38:40 When they crouch in their dens And lie in wait in their lair? |
38:41 "Who prepares for the raven its nourishment When its young cry to God And wander about without food? |