Chapter 38

¹And Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, ²Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? ³Gird up now thy loins like a man; and I will demand of thee, and inform thou me. ⁴Where wast thou when I founded the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding. ⁵Who set the measures thereof -- if thou knowest? or who stretched a line upon it? ⁶Whereupon were the foundations thereof sunken? or who laid its corner-stone, ⁷When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? ⁸And who shut up the sea with doors, when it burst forth, issuing out of the womb? ⁹When I made the cloud its garment, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it; ¹⁰When I cut out for it my boundary, and set bars and doors, ¹¹And said, Hitherto shalt thou come and no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? ¹²Hast thou since thy days commanded the morning? hast thou caused the dawn to know its place, ¹³That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked might be shaken out of it? ¹⁴It is changed like the signet-clay; and [all things] stand forth as in a garment: ¹⁵And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the uplifted arm is broken. ¹⁶Hast thou entered as far as the springs of the sea? and hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep? ¹⁷Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? and hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death? ¹⁸Hath thine understanding compassed the breadths of the earth? Declare if thou knowest it all. ¹⁹Where is the way to where light dwelleth? and the darkness, where is its place, ²⁰That thou shouldest take it to its bound, and that thou shouldest know the paths to its house? ²¹Thou knowest, for thou wast then born, and the number of thy days is great! ²²Hast thou entered into the storehouses of the snow, and hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail, ²³Which I have reserved for the time of distress, for the day of battle and war? ²⁴By what way is the light parted, [and] the east wind scattered upon the earth? ²⁵Who hath divided a channel for the rain-flood, and a way for the thunder`s flash; ²⁶To cause it to rain on the earth, where no one is; on the wilderness wherein there is not a man; ²⁷To satisfy the desolate and waste [ground], and to cause the sprout of the grass to spring forth? ²⁸Hath the rain a father? or who begetteth the drops of dew? ²⁹Out of whose womb cometh the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who bringeth it forth? ³⁰When the waters lie hidden as in stone, and the face of the deep holdeth fast together. ³¹Canst thou fasten the bands of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion? ³²Dost thou bring forth the constellations each in its season? or dost thou guide the Bear with her sons? ³³Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? dost thou determine their rule over the earth? ³⁴Dost thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that floods of waters may cover thee? ³⁵Dost thou send forth lightnings that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are? ³⁶Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the mind? ³⁷Who numbereth the clouds with wisdom? or who poureth out the bottles of the heavens, ³⁸When the dust runneth as into a molten mass, and the clods cleave fast together? ³⁹Dost thou hunt the prey for the lioness, and dost thou satisfy the appetite of the young lions, ⁴⁰When they crouch in [their] dens, [and] abide in the thicket to lie in wait? ⁴¹Who provideth for the raven his food, when his young ones cry unto God, [and] they wander for lack of meat?