² “Who is this who obscures my intentions
    with words devoid of knowledge?
³ Gird up your loins now like a man.
    I will ask you questions,
    and you will give me the answers.

⁴ “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations?
    Tell me, if you have understanding.
⁵ Who determined its measurements? Do you know?
    Who stretched out the measuring line over it?
⁶ What supports the pillars at its bases?
    Who laid its cornerstone
⁷ while the morning stars sang in unison
    and the sons of God shouted for joy?
⁸ “Who shut up the sea behind doors
    when it burst forth from the womb,
⁹ when I made the clouds its garment
    and wrapped it in thick darkness,
¹⁰ when I established bounds for it
    and set its barred doors in place,
¹¹ when I said, ‘This far may you come, but no farther;
    here is where your proud waves must halt’?

¹² “During your entire life have you ever commanded the morning to appear
    or caused the dawn to rise in the east
¹³ so that it might grasp the ends of the earth
    and shake the wicked from its surface?
¹⁴ She turns it like clay under a seal
    and dyes it as though it were a garment.
¹⁵ But light^[d] is withheld from the wicked,
    and their raised arm is broken.

¹⁶ “Have you ever descended to the depths of the sea
    and walked at the bottom of the abyss?
¹⁷ Have the gates of death been revealed to you
    or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
¹⁸ Have you comprehended the vast expanse of the earth?
    Tell me if you know all this.
¹⁹ “Can you point out the way to the dwelling of light
    and show the abode of darkness,
²⁰ so that you may assign each to its designated boundary
    and escort them on their homeward paths?
²¹ Surely you must know this,
    for you had already been born
    and the years of your life are beyond numbering!

^22 [f]“Have you entered the place where the snow is stored,
    or seen the storehouses of the hail,
²³ which I have reserved for times of distress,
    for the times of war and battle?
²⁴ Can you show me the place where lightning is dispersed
    or where the east wind is scattered over the earth?
²⁵ “Who has cut a channel for the downpour of rain
    and cleared a path for the thunderstorm
²⁶ so that rain may fall on uninhabited lands,
    on the wilderness devoid of human life,
²⁷ and thus reinvigorate the wastes and the desolate land,
    enabling grass to sprout on the thirsty ground?
²⁸ “Does the rain have a father?
    Who has begotten the drops of dew?
²⁹ Whose womb brings forth the ice?
    Who gives birth to the frost of heaven,
³⁰ causing a layer of stone to cover the waters
    and the surface of the earth to congeal?

³¹ “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades
    or loosen the bonds of Orion?
³² Can you bring forth the constellations in their season
    or indicate which way to go to the Bear^[g] and its cubs?
³³ Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
    Can you put into effect their rule on the earth?
³⁴ “Can you raise up your voice to command the clouds
    to envelop you in a deluge of rain?
³⁵ Will flashes of lightning come forth at your command
    and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
³⁶ Who has endowed the heart with wisdom
    and given understanding to the mind?
³⁷ Who can number all the rain clouds
    and empty the cisterns of the heavens
³⁸ so that the dust solidifies into a thick mass
    and the clods of earth cling together?

³⁹ “Can you hunt prey for the lioness
    or satisfy the hunger of young lions
⁴⁰ while they crouch in their dens
    or lie in wait in the bushes?
⁴¹ Who provides the raven with prey
    when its little ones cry out to God
    in their need for sustenance?