JOB 38

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 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 the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,⋮

10 And prescribed for it my decree, 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 breadth of the earth? 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 treasuries 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 a 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 are hidden as with 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 Wilt 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 food, when his young ones cry unto God, and wander for lack of meat?⋮