² “Who is this who darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
³ Now prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me.

⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundations 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 To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
⁷ When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸ “Or who shut in the sea with doors,
When it burst forth and issued from the womb;
⁹ When I made the clouds its garment,
And thick darkness its swaddling band;
¹⁰ When I fixed My limit for it,
And set bars and doors;
¹¹ When I said,
‘This far you may come, but no farther,
And here your proud waves must stop!’

¹² “Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
¹³ That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?
¹⁴ It takes on form like clay under a seal,
And stands out like a garment.
¹⁵ From the wicked their light is withheld,
And the upraised arm is broken.

¹⁶ “Have you entered the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in search of the depths?
¹⁷ Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
¹⁸ Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.

¹⁹ “Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,
²⁰ That you may take it to its territory,
That you may know the paths to its home?
²¹ Do you know it, because you were born then,
Or because the number of your days is great?

²² “Have you entered the treasury of snow,
Or have you seen the treasury of hail,
²³ Which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
For the day of battle and war?
²⁴ By what way is light diffused,
Or the east wind scattered over the earth?

²⁵ “Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water,
Or a path for the thunderbolt,
²⁶ To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one,
A wilderness in which there is no man;
²⁷ To satisfy the desolate waste,
And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?
²⁸ Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
²⁹ From whose womb comes the ice?
And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?
³⁰ The waters harden like stone,
And the surface of the deep is frozen.

³¹ “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades,
Or loose the belt of Orion?
³² Can you bring out Mazzaroth^[a] in its season?
Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs?
³³ Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you set their dominion over the earth?

³⁴ “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
That an abundance of water may cover you?
³⁵ Can you send out lightnings, that they may go,
And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?
³⁶ Who has put wisdom in the mind?^[b]
Or who has given understanding to the heart?
³⁷ Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,
³⁸ When the dust hardens in clumps,
And the clods cling together?

³⁹ “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
⁴⁰ When they crouch in their dens,
Or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait?
⁴¹ Who provides food for the raven,
When its young ones cry to God,
And wander about for lack of food?

39 “Do you know the time when the wild mountain goats bear young?
Or can you mark when the deer gives birth?
² Can you number the months that they fulfill?
Or do you know the time when they bear young?
³ They bow down,
They bring forth their young,
They deliver their offspring.^[c]
4 Their young ones are healthy,
They grow strong with grain;
They depart and do not return to them.

⁵ “Who set the wild donkey free?
Who loosed the bonds of the onager,
⁶ Whose home I have made the wilderness,
And the barren land his dwelling?
⁷ He scorns the tumult of the city;
He does not heed the shouts of the driver.
⁸ The range of the mountains is his pasture,
And he searches after every green thing.

⁹ “Will the wild ox be willing to serve you?
Will he bed by your manger?
¹⁰ Can you bind the wild ox in the furrow with ropes?
Or will he plow the valleys behind you?
¹¹ Will you trust him because his strength is great?
Or will you leave your labor to him?
¹² Will you trust him to bring home your grain,
And gather it to your threshing floor?

¹³ “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,
But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork’s?
¹⁴ For she leaves her eggs on the ground,
And warms them in the dust;
¹⁵ She forgets that a foot may crush them,
Or that a wild beast may break them.
¹⁶ She treats her young harshly, as though they were not hers;
Her labor is in vain, without concern,
¹⁷ Because God deprived her of wisdom,
And did not endow her with understanding.
¹⁸ When she lifts herself on high,
She scorns the horse and its rider.

¹⁹ “Have you given the horse strength?
Have you clothed his neck with thunder?^[d]
20 Can you frighten him like a locust?
His majestic snorting strikes terror.
²¹ He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
He gallops into the clash of arms.
²² He mocks at fear, and is not frightened;
Nor does he turn back from the sword.
²³ The quiver rattles against him,
The glittering spear and javelin.
²⁴ He devours the distance with fierceness and rage;
Nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded.
²⁵ At the blast of the trumpet he says, ‘Aha!’
He smells the battle from afar,
The thunder of captains and shouting.

²⁶ “Does the hawk fly by your wisdom,
And spread its wings toward the south?
²⁷ Does the eagle mount up at your command,
And make its nest on high?
²⁸ On the rock it dwells and resides,
On the crag of the rock and the stronghold.
²⁹ From there it spies out the prey;
Its eyes observe from afar.
³⁰ Its young ones suck up blood;
And where the slain are, there it is.”

² “Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?
He who rebukes God, let him answer it.”

⁴ “Behold, I am vile;
What shall I answer You?
I lay my hand over my mouth.
⁵ Once I have spoken, but I will not answer;
Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”

⁷ “Now prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me:

⁸ “Would you indeed annul My judgment?
Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?
⁹ Have you an arm like God?
Or can you thunder with a voice like His?
¹⁰ Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,
And array yourself with glory and beauty.
¹¹ Disperse the rage of your wrath;
Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him.
¹² Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low;
Tread down the wicked in their place.
¹³ Hide them in the dust together,
Bind their faces in hidden darkness.
¹⁴ Then I will also confess to you
That your own right hand can save you.

¹⁵ “Look now at the behemoth,^[e] which I made along with you;
He eats grass like an ox.
¹⁶ See now, his strength is in his hips,
And his power is in his stomach muscles.
¹⁷ He moves his tail like a cedar;
The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.
¹⁸ His bones are like beams of bronze,
His ribs like bars of iron.
¹⁹ He is the first of the ways of God;
Only He who made him can bring near His sword.
²⁰ Surely the mountains yield food for him,
And all the beasts of the field play there.
²¹ He lies under the lotus trees,
In a covert of reeds and marsh.
²² The lotus trees cover him with their shade;
The willows by the brook surround him.
²³ Indeed the river may rage,
Yet he is not disturbed;
He is confident, though the Jordan gushes into his mouth,
²⁴ Though he takes it in his eyes,
Or one pierces his nose with a snare.

41 “Can you draw out Leviathan^[f] with a hook,
Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?
² Can you put a reed through his nose,
Or pierce his jaw with a hook?
³ Will he make many supplications to you?
Will he speak softly to you?
⁴ Will he make a covenant with you?
Will you take him as a servant forever?
⁵ Will you play with him as with a bird,
Or will you leash him for your maidens?
⁶ Will your companions make a banquet^[g] of him?
Will they apportion him among the merchants?
⁷ Can you fill his skin with harpoons,
Or his head with fishing spears?
⁸ Lay your hand on him;
Remember the battle—
Never do it again!
⁹ Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is false;
Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him?
¹⁰ No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up.
Who then is able to stand against Me?
¹¹ Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him?
Everything under heaven is Mine.

¹² “I will not conceal^[h] his limbs,
His mighty power, or his graceful proportions.
¹³ Who can remove his outer coat?
Who can approach him with a double bridle?
¹⁴ Who can open the doors of his face,
With his terrible teeth all around?
¹⁵ His rows of scales are his pride,
Shut up tightly as with a seal;
¹⁶ One is so near another
That no air can come between them;
¹⁷ They are joined one to another,
They stick together and cannot be parted.
¹⁸ His sneezings flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
¹⁹ Out of his mouth go burning lights;
Sparks of fire shoot out.
²⁰ Smoke goes out of his nostrils,
As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
²¹ His breath kindles coals,
And a flame goes out of his mouth.
²² Strength dwells in his neck,
And sorrow dances before him.
²³ The folds of his flesh are joined together;
They are firm on him and cannot be moved.
²⁴ His heart is as hard as stone,
Even as hard as the lower millstone.
²⁵ When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid;
Because of his crashings they are beside^[i] themselves.
²⁶ Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail;
Nor does spear, dart, or javelin.
²⁷ He regards iron as straw,
And bronze as rotten wood.
²⁸ The arrow cannot make him flee;
Slingstones become like stubble to him.
²⁹ Darts are regarded as straw;
He laughs at the threat of javelins.
³⁰ His undersides are like sharp potsherds;
He spreads pointed marks in the mire.
³¹ He makes the deep boil like a pot;
He makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
³² He leaves a shining wake behind him;
One would think the deep had white hair.
³³ On earth there is nothing like him,
Which is made without fear.
³⁴ He beholds every high thing;
He is king over all the children of pride.”

² “I know that You can do everything,
And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.
³ You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
⁴ Listen, please, and let me speak;
You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’

⁵ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees You.
⁶ Therefore I abhor myself,
And repent in dust and ashes.”