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? |