¹⁴ “Hear this, O Job;
    stop and ^(X)consider the wondrous works of God.
¹⁵ Do you know how God lays his command upon them
    and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine?
¹⁶ Do you know the balancings^[b] of the clouds,
    the wondrous works of him who is ^(Y)perfect in knowledge,
¹⁷ you whose garments are hot
    when the earth is still because of the south wind?
¹⁸ Can you, like him, ^(Z)spread out the skies,
    hard as a cast metal ^(AA)mirror?
¹⁹ Teach us what we shall say to him;
    we cannot draw up our case because of ^(AB)darkness.
²⁰ Shall it be told him that I would speak?
    Did a man ever wish that he would be swallowed up?

²¹ “And now no one looks on the light
    when it is bright in the skies,
    when the wind has passed and cleared them.
²² Out of the north comes golden splendor;
    God is clothed with ^(AC)awesome majesty.
²³ The Almighty—we ^(AD)cannot find him;
    he is ^(AE)great in power;
    ^(AF)justice and abundant righteousness he will not ^(AG)violate.
²⁴ Therefore men ^(AH)fear him;
    he does not regard any who are ^(AI)wise in their own conceit.”^[c]

² “Who is this that ^(AK)darkens counsel by words ^(AL)without knowledge?
^3 (AM)Dress for action^[d] like a man;
    I will question you, and you make it known to me.

⁴ “Where were you when I ^(AN)laid the foundation of the earth?
    Tell me, if you have understanding.
⁵ Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
    Or who stretched the line upon it?
⁶ On what were its bases sunk,
    or who laid its cornerstone,
⁷ when the morning stars ^(AO)sang together
    and all ^(AP)the sons of God ^(AQ)shouted for joy?

⁸ “Or who ^(AR)shut in the sea with doors
    when it burst out from the womb,
⁹ when I made clouds its garment
    and ^(AS)thick darkness its swaddling band,
¹⁰ and prescribed ^(AT)limits for it
    and set bars and doors,
¹¹ and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
    and here shall your ^(AU)proud waves be stayed’?

¹² “Have you ^(AV)commanded the morning since your days began,
    and caused the dawn to know its place,
¹³ that it might take hold of ^(AW)the skirts of the earth,
    and the wicked be ^(AX)shaken out of it?
¹⁴ It is changed like clay under the seal,
    and its features stand out like a garment.
¹⁵ From the wicked their ^(AY)light is withheld,
    and ^(AZ)their uplifted arm is broken.

¹⁶ “Have you ^(BA)entered into the springs of the sea,
    or walked in the recesses of the deep?
¹⁷ Have ^(BB)the gates of death been revealed to you,
    or have you seen the gates of ^(BC)deep darkness?
¹⁸ Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
    Declare, if you know all this.

¹⁹ “Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
    and where is the place of darkness,
²⁰ that you may take it to its territory
    and that you may discern ^(BD)the paths to its home?
²¹ You know, for ^(BE)you were born then,
    and the number of your days is great!

²² “Have you entered ^(BF)the storehouses of the snow,
    or have you seen ^(BG)the storehouses of the hail,
²³ which I have reserved ^(BH)for the time of trouble,
    ^(BI)for the day of battle and war?
²⁴ What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
    or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?

²⁵ “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain
    and ^(BJ)a way for the thunderbolt,
²⁶ to bring rain on ^(BK)a land where no man is,
    on ^(BL)the desert in which there is no man,
²⁷ to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
    and to make the ground sprout with ^(BM)grass?

²⁸ “Has ^(BN)the rain a father,
    or who has begotten the drops of dew?
²⁹ From whose womb did ^(BO)the ice come forth,
    and who has given birth to ^(BP)the frost of heaven?
³⁰ The waters become hard like stone,
    and the face of the deep is ^(BQ)frozen.

³¹ “Can you bind the chains of ^(BR)the Pleiades
    or loose the cords of ^(BS)Orion?
³² Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth^[e] in their season,
    or can you guide ^(BT)the Bear with its children?
³³ Do you know ^(BU)the ordinances of the heavens?
    Can you establish their rule on the earth?

³⁴ “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
    that ^(BV)a flood of waters may cover you?
³⁵ Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go
    and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
³⁶ Who has ^(BW)put wisdom in ^(BX)the inward parts^[f]
    or given understanding to the mind?^[g]
37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
    Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
³⁸ when the dust runs into a mass
    and ^(BY)the clods stick fast together?

³⁹ “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
    or ^(BZ)satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
⁴⁰ when they crouch in their ^(CA)dens
    or lie in wait ^(CB)in their thicket?
⁴¹ Who provides for ^(CC)the raven its prey,
    when its young ones cry to God for help,
    and wander about for lack of food?

39 “Do you know when ^(CD)the mountain goats give birth?
    Do you observe ^(CE)the calving of the does?
² Can you number the months that they fulfill,
    and do you know the time when they give birth,
³ when they ^(CF)crouch, bring forth their offspring,
    and are delivered of their young?
⁴ Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open;
    they go out and ^(CG)do not return to them.

⁵ “Who has let the wild donkey go free?
    Who has ^(CH)loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
⁶ to whom I have given ^(CI)the arid plain for his home
    and ^(CJ)the salt land for his dwelling place?
⁷ He scorns the tumult of the city;
    he hears not the shouts of the driver.
⁸ He ranges the mountains as his pasture,
    and he searches after every green thing.

⁹ “Is ^(CK)the wild ox willing to serve you?
    Will he spend the night at your ^(CL)manger?
¹⁰ Can you bind ^(CM)him in the furrow with ropes,
    or will he harrow the valleys after you?
¹¹ Will you depend on him because his strength is great,
    and will you leave to him your labor?
¹² Do you have faith in him that he will return your grain
    and gather it to your threshing floor?

¹³ “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,
    but are they the pinions and plumage of love?^[h]
14 For she leaves her eggs to the earth
    and lets them be warmed on the ground,
¹⁵ forgetting that a foot may crush them
    and that the wild beast may trample them.
¹⁶ She ^(CN)deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers;
    though her ^(CO)labor be in vain, yet she has no fear,
¹⁷ because God has made her forget wisdom
    and ^(CP)given her no share in understanding.
¹⁸ When she rouses herself to flee,^[i]
    she laughs at the horse and his rider.

¹⁹ “Do you give the horse his might?
    Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
²⁰ Do you make him leap like the locust?
    His majestic ^(CQ)snorting is terrifying.
²¹ He paws^[j] in the valley and exults in his strength;
    he ^(CR)goes out to meet the weapons.
²² He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
    he does not turn back from the sword.
²³ Upon him rattle the quiver,
    the flashing spear, and the javelin.
²⁴ With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground;
    he cannot stand still at ^(CS)the sound of the trumpet.
²⁵ When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’
    He smells the battle from afar,
    the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

²⁶ “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars
    and spreads his wings toward the south?
²⁷ Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
    and makes his ^(CT)nest on high?
²⁸ On the rock he dwells and makes his home,
    on ^(CU)the rocky crag and stronghold.
²⁹ From there he spies out the prey;
    his eyes behold it from far away.
³⁰ His young ones suck up blood,
    and ^(CV)where the slain are, there is he.”

⁶ The Lord works ^(J)righteousness
    and justice for all who are oppressed.
⁷ He made known his ^(K)ways to Moses,
    his ^(L)acts to the people of Israel.
⁸ The Lord is ^(M)merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
^9 (N)He will not always chide,
    nor will he ^(O)keep his anger forever.
¹⁰ He does not deal with us ^(P)according to our sins,
    nor repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For ^(Q)as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his ^(R)steadfast love toward ^(S)those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he ^(T)remove our transgressions from us.
¹³ As ^(U)a father shows compassion to his children,
    so the Lord shows compassion ^(V)to those who fear him.
¹⁴ For he knows our frame;^[a]
    he ^(W)remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵ As for man, his days are like ^(X)grass;
    he flourishes like ^(Y)a flower of the field;
¹⁶ for ^(Z)the wind passes over it, and ^(AA)it is gone,
    and ^(AB)its place knows it no more.
¹⁷ But ^(AC)the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on ^(AD)those who fear him,
    and his righteousness to ^(AE)children's children,
¹⁸ to those who ^(AF)keep his covenant
    and ^(AG)remember to do his commandments.
¹⁹ The Lord has ^(AH)established his throne in the heavens,
    and his ^(AI)kingdom rules over all.

²⁰ Bless the Lord, O you ^(AJ)his angels,
    you ^(AK)mighty ones who ^(AL)do his word,
    obeying the voice of his word!
²¹ Bless the Lord, all his ^(AM)hosts,
    his ^(AN)ministers, who do his will!
^22 (AO)Bless the Lord, all his works,
    in all places of his dominion.
^(AP)Bless the Lord, O my soul!