⁶ “For to the snow He says, ‘Fall to the earth,’
and to the torrential rain—be a mighty downpour of rain.
⁷ He seals the hand of every man,
    so that all men will know His work.
⁸ The animals go into their lairs;
    they remain in their dens.
⁹ Out of its chamber comes the storm,
    and icy cold from the driving wind.
¹⁰ From the breath of God frost is made,
    and the watery expanse freezes.
¹¹ He loads the cloud with moisture;
    He scatters His cloud of lightning.
¹² It swirls around by His guidance,
    to do whatever He commands
    on the face of the inhabited world.
¹³ Whether it is a rod of punishment
    or for His land or for lovingkindness,
    He causes it to happen.

¹⁴ “Listen to this, Job:
    stand and consider God’s wonders.
¹⁵ Do you know how God orders them,
    and makes the lightning flash in His cloud?
¹⁶ Do you know the balancing of clouds,
    the wonders of Him who has perfect knowledge?

¹⁷ “You, whose clothes are hot,
    when the earth is still, because of the south wind,
¹⁸ can you, with Him, stretch out the skies,
    strong as a mirror of molten metal?
¹⁹ Teach us what to say to Him;
    we cannot prepare a case because of the darkness.
²⁰ Should He be informed that I want to speak?
If a man speaks, would he be swallowed up?
²¹ But now, they do not see the light,
    bright as it is in the skies,
until the wind has passed
    and cleared the clouds away.
²² Out of the north comes in golden splendor;
    around God is awesome majesty.
²³ Shaddai, we cannot find Him!
    He is great in power and justice,
and abundant righteousness He does not oppress.
²⁴ Therefore people fear Him;
    He does not regard all the wise of heart.”

² “Who is this, who darkens counsel
    with words without knowledge?
³ Now gird up your loins like a man;
    I will question you,
    and you will inform Me!

⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundations of earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
⁵ Who set its dimensions—if you know—
    or who stretched a line over it?
⁶ On what were its foundations set,
    or who laid its cornerstone—
⁷ when the morning stars sang together,
    and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸ “And who shut up the sea behind doors
    when it burst forth from the womb,
⁹ when I made a cloud its garment
    and thick darkness its swaddling cloth,
¹⁰ when I prescribed my boundary for it,
    and set bars and gates,
¹¹ when I said, ‘This far you may come, but no further;
        here your majestic waves will stop.’
¹² “Have you ever in your life commanded the morning,
    or caused dawn to know its place;
¹³ that it would take hold of the corners of the earth
    and shake the wicked out of it?
¹⁴ It changes shape like clay under a seal—
    they stand out like those of a garment.
¹⁵ And from the wicked their light is withheld,
    and the upraised arm is broken.

¹⁶ “Have you gone to the springs of the sea,
    or walked in the recesses of the deep?
¹⁷ Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
    Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
¹⁸ Have you comprehended the expanses of the earth?
    If you know it all, declare it!
¹⁹ In what direction does light dwell,
    and darkness, where is its place—
²⁰ that you can take it to its borders,
    and discern the paths to its home?
²¹ Surely you know, for you were born then;
    and the number of your days is great!

²² “Have you entered the storehouses of snow
    or seen the storehouses of hail,
²³ which I reserved for a time of distress,
    for a day of battle and war?
²⁴ In what direction is light distributed,
    or the east wind scattered over the earth?
²⁵ Who cuts a channel for the flood,
    and a path for the thunderstorm,
²⁶ to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land,
    a desert with no one in it,
²⁷ to satisfy a devastated and desolate land,
    and cause it to sprout grass?
²⁸ Does the rain have a father,
    or who has birthed the drops of dew?
²⁹ From whose womb comes the ice?
    Who gives birth to the frost of heaven,
³⁰ when the waters hide like stone,
    and the surface of the deep is frozen?

³¹ “Can you bind the chains of Pleiades
    or loosen the belt of Orion?
³² Do you bring out the constellations in their season
    or guide the Bear with her cubs?
³³ Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
    Can you set up dominion over the earth?

³⁴ “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
    and cover yourself with an abundance of water?
³⁵ Can you send out lightning bolts, so they go?
Will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?
³⁶ Who put wisdom in the secret place
    or gave understanding to the mind?
³⁷ Who can count the clouds by wisdom,
    or tip over the water jars of heaven,
³⁸ when dust hardens into a mass
    and clods of earth stick together?

³⁹ “Do you hunt prey for the lioness
    or satisfy the hunger of young lions,
⁴⁰ when they crouch in their dens
    or lie in wait in the thicket?
⁴¹ Who arranges provision for the raven,
    when its young cry out to God,
and wander about for lack of food?
39 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
    Do you observe the calving doe?
² Do you count the months they fulfill
    and do you know the time when they give birth
³ when they kneel, bring forth their young,
    and their labor pains end?
⁴ Their young thrive and grow strong in the open field;
They leaveand never return to them.

⁵ “Who sent the wild donkey free?
    Who released the bonds of the wild ass,
⁶ to whom I gave the Arabah as its home,
    the salt land as its dwelling place?
⁷ It scorns the commotion in the town;
    it does not hear the taskmaster’s shouts.
⁸ It explores the mountains as its pasture
    and searches after every green thing.

⁹ “Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
    Will it spend the night at your manger?
¹⁰ Will you bind a wild ox to a furrow with his rope?
    Will it plow valleys behind you?
¹¹ Will you rely on it for its great strength?
    Will you leave your labor to it?
¹² Can you trust it to bring in your seed
    and gather it to your threshing floor?
¹³ “The wings of the ostrich flap joyously,
    but are they the pinions and plumage of a stork?
¹⁴ For she leaves her eggs on the ground
    and lets them warm in the soil,
¹⁵ and forgets that a foot may crush them,
    that a wild beast may trample them.
¹⁶ She treats her young ones harshly, as if they were not hers;
She is not concerned that her labor was in vain,
¹⁷ for God did not endow her with wisdom
    or give her a share of understanding.
¹⁸ When she lifts herself to flee
    she laughs at the horse and its rider.

¹⁹ “Do you give the horse its strength?
    Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
²⁰ Do you cause him to leap like locust?
    His majestic snorting is terrifying!
²¹ He paws in the valley
    and exalting in his strength he charges into the fray.
²² He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
    he does not recoil from the sword.
²³ On him the quiver rattles;
    the spear and javelin flash.
²⁴ With quaking and excitement, he swallows up the ground.
    He cannot stand still when the shofar sounds.
²⁵ At the blast of the shofar, he says, ‘Aha!’
From a distance he smells battle,
    the shout of the captains and the battle cry.
²⁶ “Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars,
    spreading its wings toward the south?
²⁷ Is it by your command that an eagle soars
    and builds its nest high?
²⁸ It dwells on a cliff
    and spends the night there, on a rocky crag and stronghold.
²⁹ From there it searches for food;
    its eyes detect it from afar.
³⁰ Its young ones suck up blood,
    and where the slain are, there it is.”

¹³ The slacker says, “There’s a lion outside!
I’ll be killed in the streets.”