1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
2 Who [is] this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Now gird up thy loins like a man; for I will enquire of thee, and answer thou me.
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Cause me to know, if thou hast understanding.
5 Who ordered its dimensions, if thou knowest? Or who has stretched the line upon it?
6 Upon what are its foundations founded? Or who laid its corner stone;
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 broke forth, [as if] it had issued out of the womb?
9 When I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness a swaddling band for it,
10 and established my decree upon it, and set bars and doors,
11 and said, Thou shalt come unto here, but no further; and there shall the pride of thy waves be stayed.
12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days? Hast thou shown the dayspring its 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 transformed as clay [to] the seal and then stands as a garment;
15 but the light of the wicked is taken from them, and the high arm is broken.
16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked searching out the deep?
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 to the habitation of the light, and where is the place of the darkness?
20 If thou shalt take it in its borders, and if thou should understand the paths [to] its house?
21 If thou didst know when thou wast to be born or if the number of thy days was to be great?
22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow, and 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 divided; from where is the east wind scattered upon the earth?
25 Who has 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, in which [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 Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of the dew?
29 Out of whose womb came the ice, and the hoary frost of heaven, who has begotten it?
30 The waters harden as 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 the signs of the heavens in their season, or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?
33 Dost thou know the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou use its power 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 put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who gave intelligence to understanding?
37 Who declared the heavens in wisdom? Or who can stay the bottles of heaven
38 when the dust hardens 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 crouch in [their] dens [and] abide in their lairs to lie in wait?
41 Who provided food for the raven; when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of food?: