38:1 Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
38:2 Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge?
38:3 Gird up now your loins like a [noble] man; For I will demand of you, and you declare to me.
38:4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.
38:5 Who determined its measures, if you know? Or who stretched the line on it?
38:6 On what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,
38:7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
38:8 Or [who] shut up the sea with doors, When it broke forth, [as if] it had issued out of the womb;
38:9 When I made clouds its garment, And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,
38:10 And marked out for it my bound, And set bars and doors,
38:11 And said, This far you will come, but no further; And here will your proud waves be placed?
38:12 Have you commanded the morning since your days [began], [And] caused the sunrise to know its place;
38:13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?
38:14 It is changed as clay under the seal; And [all things] stand forth as a garment:
38:15 And from the wicked their light is withheld, And the high arm is broken.
38:16 Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
38:17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
38:18 Have you comprehended the earth in its width? Declare, if you know it all.
38:19 Where is the way to the place that light stays? And as for darkness, where is its place,
38:20 That you should take it to its bound, And that you should discern the paths to its house?
38:21 [Doubtless], you know, for you were then born, And the number of your days is great!
38:22 Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, Or have you seen the treasures of the hail,
38:23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, Against the day of battle and war?
38:24 Where is the way to the place that light is distributed, Or [from where is] the east wind scattered on the earth?
38:25 Who has cleft a channel for the floodwater, And a way for the lightning of the thunder;
38:26 To cause it to rain on a land where there is not a man; On the wilderness, in which there is not man;
38:27 To satisfy the waste and desolate [ground], And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?
38:28 Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
38:29 Out of whose womb came the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given birth to it?
38:30 The waters hide themselves [and become] like stone, And the face of the deep is frozen.
38:31 Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the bands of Orion?
38:32 Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with her train?
38:33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their dominion in the earth?
38:34 Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover you?
38:35 Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go, And say to you, Here we are?
38:36 Who has put wisdom in the ibis? Or who has given understanding to the rooster?
38:37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,
38:38 When the dust runs into a mass, And the clods are stuck together?
38:39 Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
38:40 When they couch in their dens, [And] remain in the covert to lie in wait?
38:41 Who provides for the raven his prey, When his young ones cry to God, [And] wander for lack of food?