Job 38

¹ Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

² Who is this that darkeneth counsel By words without knowledge?

³ Gird up now thy loins like a man; For I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

⁴ Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.

⁵ Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched the line upon it?

⁶ Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,

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 brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb;

⁹ When I made clouds the garment thereof, And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,

¹⁰ And marked out for it my bound, And set bars and doors,

¹¹ And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

¹² Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began, And caused the dayspring to know its place;

¹³ That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?

¹⁴ It is changed as clay under the seal; And all things stand forth as a garment:

¹⁵ And from the wicked their light is withholden, And the high arm is broken.

¹⁶ Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?

¹⁷ Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?

¹⁸ Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth? Declare, if thou knowest it all.

¹⁹ Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

²⁰ That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?

²¹ Doubtless, thou knowest, for thou wast then born, And the number of thy days is great!

²² Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

²³ Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, Against the day of battle and war?

²⁴ By what way is the light parted, Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?

²⁵ Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood, Or the way for the lightning of the thunder;

²⁶ To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

²⁷ To satisfy the waste and desolate ground, And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?

²⁸ Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

²⁹ Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

³⁰ The waters hide themselves and become like stone, And the face of the deep is frozen.

³¹ Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the bands of Orion?

³² Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? Or canst thou guide the Bear with her train?

³³ Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?

³⁴ Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover thee?

³⁵ Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go, And say unto thee, Here we are?

³⁶ Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who hath given understanding to the mind?

³⁷ Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,

³⁸ When the dust runneth into a mass, And the clods cleave fast together?

³⁹ Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

⁴⁰ When they couch in their dens, And abide in the covert to lie in wait?

⁴¹ Who provideth for the raven his prey, When his young ones cry unto God, And wander for lack of food?