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 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.⋮