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? |