38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:
38:2 “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?
38:3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
38:4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
38:5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?
38:6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone–
38:7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?
38:8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
38:9 when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,
38:10 when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,
38:11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’?
38:12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place,
38:13 that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?
38:14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment.
38:15 The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken.
38:16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?
38:17 Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
38:18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.
38:19 “What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?
38:20 Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
38:21 Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years!
38:22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail,
38:23 which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?
38:24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
38:25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,
38:26 to water a land where no man lives, a desert with no one in it,
38:27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?
38:28 Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew?
38:29 From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
38:30 when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen?
38:31 “Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion?
38:32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs?
38:33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’sdominion over the earth?
38:34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?
38:35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
38:36 Who endowed the heart with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind?
38:37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38:38 when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together?
38:39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions
38:40 when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket?
38:41 Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?
38:1 Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
38:2 Who is this who darkens counsel / By words without knowledge?
38:3 Gird up now your loins like a mighty man; / For I will ask of you, and you shall inform Me.
38:4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? / Tell Me, if you have understanding.
38:5 Who set its measurements ? if you know? / Or who stretched the measuring line over it?
38:6 Onto what were its bases sunk, / Or who laid its cornerstone,
38:7 When the morning stars sang together / And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
38:8 And who hedged in the sea with doors / When it burst forth, issuing from the womb,
38:9 When I made clouds its clothing / And deep darkness its swaddling clothes,
38:10 And I broke out My boundaries for it / And set up bars and doors,
38:11 And I said, To here you shall come and no farther, / And here shall your proud waves be stopped?
38:12 Have you ever commanded the morning since your days began? / Have you ever caused the dawn to know its place,
38:13 So that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, / And the wicked might be shaken out of it?
38:14 The earth is changed like clay under a seal, / And all things on it stand forth like a garment.
38:15 And from the wicked their light is withheld, / And the high arm is broken.
38:16 Have you entered into the springs of the sea, / Or have you walked about in the recesses of the deep?
38:17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you, / Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
38:18 Have you comprehended the full expanse of the earth? / Declare it, if you know it all.
38:19 Where is the way to the dwelling of the light? / And the darkness, where is its place,
38:20 That you may take it to its boundary, / And that you may perceive the paths to its house?
38:21 You know, for you were born then, / And the number of your days is great.
38:22 Have you entered into the storehouses of the snow, / Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
38:23 Which I have reserved for the day of calamity, / For the day of battle and of war?
38:24 Where is the way to the place where the light is divided, / To the place where the east wind scatters upon the earth?
38:25 Who cut a channel for the rain torrent, / Or a way for the thunderbolt,
38:26 To make it rain on a land where no man is, / On a wilderness in which there is no man;
38:27 To satisfy the waste and desolate land / And to cause the shoots of grass to sprout?
38:28 Does the rain have a father? / Or who begot the drops of dew?
38:29 From whose womb does the ice come forth? / And the frost of heaven, who gave birth to it?
38:30 The waters hide themselves and become like stone, / And the surface of the deep is frozen.
38:31 Can you fasten the bands of the Pleiades, / Or loosen the cords of Orion?
38:32 Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? / Or can you guide the Bear with its cubs?
38:33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? / Do you establish their rule on the earth?
38:34 Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, / So that a flood of water would cover you?
38:35 Can you send forth lightnings, so that they would go / And say to you, Here we are?
38:36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, / Or given understanding to the mind?
38:37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom, / Or who can tip over the water jars of heaven,
38:38 When the dust runs into a mass / And the clods stick together?
38:39 Can you hunt prey for the lioness, / Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
38:40 When they crouch in their dens, / When they lie in wait in the thicket?
38:41 Who provides for the raven its prey / When its young ones cry out to God / And wander about for lack of food?