25 When he established the force of the wind
    and measured out the waters,(A)
26 when he made a decree for the rain(B)
    and a path for the thunderstorm,(C)
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
    he confirmed it and tested it.(D)

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“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?(A)
    Tell me, if you understand.(B)
Who marked off its dimensions?(C) Surely you know!
    Who stretched a measuring line(D) across it?
On what were its footings set,(E)
    or who laid its cornerstone(F)
while the morning stars(G) sang together(H)
    and all the angels[a](I) shouted for joy?(J)

“Who shut up the sea behind doors(K)
    when it burst forth from the womb,(L)
when I made the clouds its garment
    and wrapped it in thick darkness,(M)
10 when I fixed limits for it(N)
    and set its doors and bars in place,(O)
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;(P)
    here is where your proud waves halt’?(Q)

12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,(R)
    or shown the dawn its place,(S)
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
    and shake the wicked(T) out of it?(U)
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;(V)
    its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,(W)
    and their upraised arm is broken.(X)

16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
    or walked in the recesses of the deep?(Y)
17 Have the gates of death(Z) been shown to you?
    Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?(AA)
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?(AB)
    Tell me, if you know all this.(AC)

19 “What is the way to the abode of light?
    And where does darkness reside?(AD)
20 Can you take them to their places?
    Do you know the paths(AE) to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!(AF)
    You have lived so many years!

22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow(AG)
    or seen the storehouses(AH) of the hail,(AI)
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,(AJ)
    for days of war and battle?(AK)
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,(AL)
    or the place where the east winds(AM) are scattered over the earth?(AN)
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
    and a path for the thunderstorm,(AO)
26 to water(AP) a land where no one lives,
    an uninhabited desert,(AQ)
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
    and make it sprout with grass?(AR)
28 Does the rain have a father?(AS)
    Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
    Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens(AT)
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
    when the surface of the deep is frozen?(AU)

31 “Can you bind the chains[b] of the Pleiades?
    Can you loosen Orion’s belt?(AV)
32 Can you bring forth the constellations(AW) in their seasons[c]
    or lead out the Bear[d] with its cubs?(AX)
33 Do you know the laws(AY) of the heavens?(AZ)
    Can you set up God’s[e] dominion over the earth?

34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
    and cover yourself with a flood of water?(BA)
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?(BB)
    Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom[f](BC)
    or gives the rooster understanding?[g](BD)
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
    Who can tip over the water jars(BE) of the heavens(BF)
38 when the dust becomes hard(BG)
    and the clods of earth stick together?(BH)

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Footnotes

  1. Job 38:7 Hebrew the sons of God
  2. Job 38:31 Septuagint; Hebrew beauty
  3. Job 38:32 Or the morning star in its season
  4. Job 38:32 Or out Leo
  5. Job 38:33 Or their
  6. Job 38:36 That is, wisdom about the flooding of the Nile
  7. Job 38:36 That is, understanding of when to crow; the meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.

Psalm 104

Praise the Lord, my soul.(A)

Lord my God, you are very great;
    you are clothed with splendor and majesty.(B)

The Lord wraps(C) himself in light(D) as with a garment;
    he stretches(E) out the heavens(F) like a tent(G)
    and lays the beams(H) of his upper chambers on their waters.(I)
He makes the clouds(J) his chariot(K)
    and rides on the wings of the wind.(L)
He makes winds his messengers,[a](M)
    flames of fire(N) his servants.

He set the earth(O) on its foundations;(P)
    it can never be moved.
You covered it(Q) with the watery depths(R) as with a garment;
    the waters stood(S) above the mountains.
But at your rebuke(T) the waters fled,
    at the sound of your thunder(U) they took to flight;
they flowed over the mountains,
    they went down into the valleys,
    to the place you assigned(V) for them.
You set a boundary(W) they cannot cross;
    never again will they cover the earth.

10 He makes springs(X) pour water into the ravines;
    it flows between the mountains.
11 They give water(Y) to all the beasts of the field;
    the wild donkeys(Z) quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky(AA) nest by the waters;
    they sing among the branches.(AB)
13 He waters the mountains(AC) from his upper chambers;(AD)
    the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.(AE)
14 He makes grass grow(AF) for the cattle,
    and plants for people to cultivate—
    bringing forth food(AG) from the earth:
15 wine(AH) that gladdens human hearts,
    oil(AI) to make their faces shine,
    and bread that sustains(AJ) their hearts.
16 The trees of the Lord(AK) are well watered,
    the cedars of Lebanon(AL) that he planted.
17 There the birds(AM) make their nests;
    the stork has its home in the junipers.
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats;(AN)
    the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.(AO)

19 He made the moon to mark the seasons,(AP)
    and the sun(AQ) knows when to go down.
20 You bring darkness,(AR) it becomes night,(AS)
    and all the beasts of the forest(AT) prowl.
21 The lions roar for their prey(AU)
    and seek their food from God.(AV)
22 The sun rises, and they steal away;
    they return and lie down in their dens.(AW)
23 Then people go out to their work,(AX)
    to their labor until evening.(AY)

24 How many are your works,(AZ) Lord!
    In wisdom you made(BA) them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.(BB)
25 There is the sea,(BC) vast and spacious,
    teeming with creatures beyond number—
    living things both large and small.(BD)
26 There the ships(BE) go to and fro,
    and Leviathan,(BF) which you formed to frolic(BG) there.(BH)

27 All creatures look to you
    to give them their food(BI) at the proper time.
28 When you give it to them,
    they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
    they are satisfied(BJ) with good things.
29 When you hide your face,(BK)
    they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
    they die and return to the dust.(BL)
30 When you send your Spirit,(BM)
    they are created,
    and you renew the face of the ground.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 104:4 Or angels

Who has gone up(A) to heaven and come down?
    Whose hands(B) have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters(C) in a cloak?(D)
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name,(E) and what is the name of his son?
    Surely you know!

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The Word Became Flesh

In the beginning was the Word,(A) and the Word was with God,(B) and the Word was God.(C) He was with God in the beginning.(D) Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.(E) In him was life,(F) and that life was the light(G) of all mankind.

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The Supremacy of the Son of God

15 The Son is the image(A) of the invisible God,(B) the firstborn(C) over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created:(D) things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;(E) all things have been created through him and for him.(F) 17 He is before all things,(G) and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head(H) of the body, the church;(I) he is the beginning and the firstborn(J) from among the dead,(K) so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased(L) to have all his fullness(M) dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile(N) to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,(O) by making peace(P) through his blood,(Q) shed on the cross.

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