Chapter 38

And Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?

Gird up now thy loins like a man; and I will demand of thee, and inform thou me.

Where wast thou when I founded the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.

Who set the measures thereof -- if thou knowest? or who stretched a line upon it?

Whereupon were the foundations thereof sunken? or who laid its corner-stone,

When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

And who shut up the sea with doors, when it burst forth, issuing out of the womb?

When I made the cloud its garment, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it;

When I cut out for it my boundary, and set bars and doors,

And said, Hitherto shalt thou come and no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

Hast thou since thy days commanded the morning? hast thou caused the dawn to know its place,

That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked might be shaken out of it?

It is changed like the signet-clay; and [all things] stand forth as in a garment:

And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the uplifted arm is broken.

Hast thou entered as far as the springs of the sea? and hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?

Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? and hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?

Hath thine understanding compassed the breadths of the earth? Declare if thou knowest it all.

Where is the way to where light dwelleth? and the darkness, where is its place,

That thou shouldest take it to its bound, and that thou shouldest know the paths to its house?

Thou knowest, for thou wast then born, and the number of thy days is great!

Hast thou entered into the storehouses of the snow, and hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail,

Which I have reserved for the time of distress, for the day of battle and war?

By what way is the light parted, [and] the east wind scattered upon the earth?

Who hath divided a channel for the rain-flood, and a way for the thunder's flash;

To cause it to rain on the earth, where no one is; on the wilderness wherein there is not a man;

To satisfy the desolate and waste [ground], and to cause the sprout of the grass to spring forth?

Hath the rain a father? or who begetteth the drops of dew?

Out of whose womb cometh the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who bringeth it forth?

When the waters lie hidden as in stone, and the face of the deep holdeth fast together.

Canst thou fasten the bands of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion?

Dost thou bring forth the constellations each in its season? or dost thou guide the Bear with her sons?

Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? dost thou determine their rule over the earth?

Dost thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that floods of waters may cover thee?

Dost thou send forth lightnings that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?

Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the mind?

Who numbereth the clouds with wisdom? or who poureth out the bottles of the heavens,

When the dust runneth as into a molten mass, and the clods cleave fast together?

Dost thou hunt the prey for the lioness, and dost thou satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

When they crouch in [their] dens, [and] abide in the thicket to lie in wait?

Who provideth for the raven his food, when his young ones cry unto ùGod, [and] they wander for lack of meat?