² Eternal One: Who is this that darkens counsel,
        who covers over sound instruction with empty words void of knowledge?
³     Now, prepare yourself and gather your courage like a warrior.
        Prepare yourself for the task at hand.
    I’ll be asking the questions, now—
        you will supply the answers.
⁴     Where were you when I dug and laid the foundation of the earth?
        Explain it to me, if you are acquainted with understanding.
⁵     Who decided on the measurements? Surely you know that!
        Who stretched out a line to measure the dimensions?
⁶     Upon what base was the foundation set?
        Or who laid the cornerstone
⁷     On the day when the stars of the morning broke out in song
        and God’s heavenly throng, elated, shouted along?

³⁴     Can you bellow out orders at the clouds
        and pull down a flood of rain around you?
³⁵     Can you dispatch bolts of lightning on their way,
        who instantly obey and say to you, “Here we are”?
³⁶     Who put wisdom within the center of the created
        or granted understanding to the mind?^[a]
37     Who has the wisdom to count the clouds and send them on their way
        or tip over the water skins of heaven to refresh the ground below
³⁸     When the dry dust is as hard as metal
        and clods of clay clump together?

³⁹     Can you hunt prey for the lioness
        or sate the appetites of her cubs
⁴⁰     While they crouch in their dens
        and wait in the brush?
⁴¹     Who nourishes the hungry raven
        when its young chirp to God and wander for want of food?