The Book of Job

38: 1Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

 ^38:2Who is this that darkeneth counsel

 By words without knowledge?

 ^38:3Gird up now thy loins like a man;

 For I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

 ^38:4Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?

 Declare, if thou hast understanding.

 ^38:5Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest?

 Or who stretched the line upon it?

 ^38:6Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened?

 Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,

 ^38:7When the morning stars sang together,

 And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
 
 

 ^38:8Or who shut up the sea with doors,

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

 ^38:9When I made clouds the garment thereof,

 And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,

 ^38:10And marked out for it my bound,

 And set bars and doors,

 ^38:11And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further;

 And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
 
 

 ^38:12Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began,

 And caused the dayspring to know its place;

 ^38:13That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,

 And the wicked be shaken out of it?

 ^38:14It is changed as clay under the seal;

 And all things stand forth as a garment:

 ^38:15And from the wicked their light is withholden,

 And the high arm is broken.
 
 

 ^38:16Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?

 Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?

 ^38:17Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee?

 Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?

 ^38:18Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth?

 Declare, if thou knowest it all.
 
 

 ^38:19Where is the way to the dwelling of light?

 And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

 ^38:20That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof,

 And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?

 ^38:21Doubtless, thou knowest, for thou wast then born,

 And the number of thy days is great!

 ^38:22Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow,

 Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

 ^38:23Which I have reserved against the time of trouble,

 Against the day of battle and war?

 ^38:24By what way is the light parted,

 Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?

 ^38:25Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood,

 Or the way for the lightning of the thunder;

 ^38:26To cause it to rain on a land where no man is;

 On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

 ^38:27To satisfy the waste and desolate ground,

 And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?

 ^38:28Hath the rain a father?

 Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

 ^38:29Out of whose womb came the ice?

 And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

 ^38:30The waters hide themselves and become like stone,

 And the face of the deep is frozen.
 
 

 ^38:31Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades,

 Or loose the bands of Orion?

 ^38:32Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season?

 Or canst thou guide the Bear with her train?

 ^38:33Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens?

 Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?
 
 

 ^38:34Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds,

 That abundance of waters may cover thee?

 ^38:35Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go,

 And say unto thee, Here we are?

 ^38:36Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts?

 Or who hath given understanding to the mind?

 ^38:37Who can number the clouds by wisdom?

 Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,

 ^38:38When the dust runneth into a mass,

 And the clods cleave fast together?
 
 

 ^38:39Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness,

 Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

 ^38:40When they couch in their dens,

 And abide in the covert to lie in wait?

 ^38:41Who provideth for the raven his prey,

 When his young ones cry unto God,

 And wander for lack of food?