1 Then the LORD 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 answer thou me.
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?
declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who
hath stretched the line upon it?
6 Whereupon are 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 the cloud the garment thereof, and thick
darkness a swaddlingband for it,
10 And brake up for it my decreed place, 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; and caused
the dayspring to know his place;
13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the
wicked might be shaken out of it?
14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.
15 And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high
arm shall be broken.
16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou
walked in the search of the depth?
17 Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou
seen the doors of the shadow of death?
18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if
thou knowest it all.
19 Where is the way where light
dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the
place thereof,
20 That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that
thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?
21 Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the
number of thy days is great?
22 Hast thou entered into the treasures 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, which scattereth
the east wind upon the earth?
25 Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of
waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;
26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no
man is; on the
wilderness, wherein there is no man;
27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb 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 are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is
frozen.
31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose
the bands of Orion?
32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst
thou guide Arcturus with his sons?
33 Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set 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 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 heart?
37 Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the
bottles of heaven,
38 When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave
fast together?
39 Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill 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 food? when his young ones
cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.
