Job 38

¹Then the Lord answered Job out of a whirlwind, and said:

²Who is this that wrappeth up sentences in unskilful words?

³Gird up thy loins like a man: I will ask thee, and answer thou me.

⁴Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? tell me if thou hast understanding.

⁵Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest or who hath stretched the line upon it?

⁶Upon what are its bases grounded? or who laid the corner stone thereof,

⁷When the morning stars praised me together, and all the sons of God made a joyful melody?

⁸Who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth as issuing out of the womb:

⁹When I made a cloud the garment thereof, and wrapped it in a mist as in swaddling bands?

¹⁰I set my bounds around it, and made it bars and doors:

¹¹And I said: Hitherto thou shalt come, and shalt go no further, and here thou shalt break thy swelling waves.

¹²Didst thou since thy birth command the morning, and shew the dawning of the day its place?

¹³And didst thou hold the extremities of the earth shaking them, and hast thou shaken the ungodly out of it?

¹⁴The seal shall be restored as clay, and shall stand as a garment.

¹⁵From the wicked their light shall be taken away, and the high arm shall be broken.

¹⁶Hast thou entered into the depths of the sea, and walked in the lowest parts of the deep?

¹⁷Have the gates of death been opened to thee, and hast thou seen the darksome doors?

¹⁸Hast thou considered the breadth of the earth? tell me, if thou knowest all things.

¹⁹Where is the way where light dwelleth, and where is the place of darkness?

²⁰That thou mayst bring every thing to its own bounds, and understand the paths of the house thereof.

²¹Didst thou know then that thou shouldst be born? and didst thou know the number of thy days?

²²Hast thou entered into the storehouses of the snow, or hast thou beheld the treasures of the hail:

²³Which I have prepared for the time of the enemy, against the day of battle and war?

²⁴By what way is the light spread, and heat divided upon the earth?

²⁵Who gave a course to violent showers, or a way for noisy thunder:

²⁶That it should rain on the earth without man in the wilderness, where no mortal dwelleth:

²⁷That it should fill the desert and desolate land, and should bring forth green grass?

²⁸Who is the father of rain? or who begot the drops of dew?

²⁹Out of whose womb came the ice? and the frost from heaven who hath gendered it?

³⁰The waters are hardened like a stone, and the surface of the deep is congealed.

³¹Shalt thou be able to join together the shining stars the Pleiades, or canst thou stop the turning about of Arcturus?

³²Canst thou bring forth the day star in its time, and make the evening star to rise upon the children of the earth?

³³Dost thou know the order of heaven, and canst thou set down the reason thereof on the earth?

³⁴Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that an abundance of waters may cover thee?

³⁵Canst thou send lightnings, and will they go, and will they return and say to thee: Here we are?

³⁶Who hath put wisdom in the heart of man? or who gave the cock understanding?

³⁷Who can declare the order of the heavens, or who can make the harmony of heaven to sleep?

³⁸When was the dust poured on the earth, and the clods fastened together?

³⁹Wilt thou take the prey for the lioness, and satisfy the appetite of her whelps,

⁴⁰When they couch in the dens and lie in wait in holes?

⁴¹Who provideth food for the raven, when her young ones cry to God, wandering about, because they have no meat?

Job 38

¹Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

²Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?

³Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.

⁴Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

⁵Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

⁶Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

⁷When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?

⁹When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,

¹⁰And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,

¹¹And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

¹²Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;

¹³That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

¹⁴It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.

¹⁵And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.

¹⁶Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?

¹⁷Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?

¹⁸Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.

¹⁹Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

²⁰That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?

²¹Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?

²²Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

²³Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?

²⁴By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?

²⁵Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;

²⁶To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

²⁷To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?

²⁸Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

²⁹Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

³⁰The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

³¹Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?

³²Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

³³Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

³⁴Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?

³⁵Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?

³⁶Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?

³⁷Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,

³⁸When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?

³⁹Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,

⁴⁰When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?

⁴¹Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.