² “Who is this who darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
³ Now ^[a]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 ^[b]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 ^[c]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 ^[d]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 ^[e]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.^[f]

³¹ “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades,^[g]
Or loose the belt of Orion?
³² Can you bring out ^[h]Mazzaroth in its season?
Or can you guide ^[i]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 ^[j]the mind?
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?

⁵ “Who set the wild donkey free?
Who loosed the bonds of the ^[l]onager,
⁶ Whose home I have made the wilderness,
And the ^[m]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 ^[n]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 ^[o]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 ^[p]thunder?
²⁰ Can you ^[q]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 ^[r]prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me:

⁸ “Would you indeed ^[s]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 ^[t]behemoth, 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.

¹² “I will not ^[x]conceal his limbs,
His mighty power, or his graceful proportions.
¹³ Who can ^[y]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 ^[z]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 ^[aa]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 ^[ab]are beside 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^[ac] myself,
And repent in dust and ashes.”