[1] Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: [2] "Who is this that
darkens counsel by words without knowledge? [3] Gird up your loins like a
man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me. [4] "Where were you
when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have
understanding. [5] Who determined its measurements--surely you know! Or who
stretched the line upon it? [6] On what were its bases sunk, or who laid
its cornerstone, [7] when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons
of God shouted for joy? [8] "Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it
burst forth from the womb; [9] when I made clouds its garment, and thick
darkness its swaddling band, [10] and prescribed bounds for it, and set
bars and doors, [11] and said, `d said, "Thus far shall you come, and no
farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed'? [12] "Have you
commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know
its place, [13] that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the
wicked be shaken out of it? [14] It is changed like clay under the seal,
and it is dyed like a garment. [15] From the wicked their light is
withheld, and their uplifted arm is broken. [16] "Have you entered into the
springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? [17] Have the
gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep
darkness? [18] Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if
you know all this. [19] "Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and
where is the place of darkness, [20] that you may take it to its territory
and that you may discern the paths to its home? [21] You know, for you were
born then, and the number of your days is great! [22] "Have you entered the
storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, [23]
which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and
war? [24] What is the way to the place where the light is distributed, or
where the east wind is scattered upon the earth? [25] "Who has cleft a
channel for the torrents of rain, and a way for the thunderbolt, [26] to
bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no
man; [27] to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground
put forth grass? [28] "Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops
of dew? [29] From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given
birth to the hoarfrost of heaven? [30] The waters become hard like stone,
and the face of the deep is frozen. [31] "Can you bind the chains of the
Plei'ades, or loose the cords of Orion? [32] Can you lead forth the
Maz'zaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children?
[33] Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their
rule on the earth? [34] "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a
flood of waters may cover you? [35] Can you send forth lightnings, that
they may go and say to you, `d say to you, "Here we are'? [36] Who has put
wisdom in the clouds, or given understanding to the mists? [37] Who can
number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
[38] when the dust runs into a mass and the clods cleave fast together?
[39] "Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the
young lions, [40] when they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in their
covert? [41] Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry
to God, and wander about for lack of food?
