Beginning
38 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
2 “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3 “Now gird up your loins, like a man. I will demand of you, and you declare to Me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the Earth? Declare, if you have understanding.
5 “Who has laid its measures, if you know. Or who has stretched the line over it.
6 “Upon what are its foundations set. Or who laid its cornerstone
7 “when the stars of the morning praised together, and all the children of God rejoiced?
8 “Or who has shut up the sea with doors, when it issued and came forth as out of the womb,
9 “when I made the clouds as its covering, and darkness as its swaddling bands,
10 “when I established My Commandment upon it, and set bars and doors,
11 “and said, ‘To here shall you come, but no further. And here shall it stop your proud waves’?
12 “Have you ever commanded the morning in all your life? Have you caused the morning to know its place,
13 “so that it might take hold of the corners of the Earth, and so that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
14 “It is turned, as clay under a seal. And all stand up as a garment.
15 “And their light shall be withheld from the wicked, and the raised arm shall be broken.
16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked to seek out the depths?
17 “Have the gates of death been opened to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 “Have you perceived the breadth of the Earth? Tell if you know all this.
19 “Where is the way where light dwells? And where is the place of darkness,
20 “so that you should receive it in its bounds, and so that you should know the paths to its house?
21 “Did you know it because you were alive then, and the number of your days is great?
22 “Have you entered into the treasures of the snow? Or have you seen the treasures of the hail
23 “which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of war and battle?
24 “By what way is the light parted which scatters the East wind upon the Earth?
25 “Who has divided the spouts for the rain, or the way for the lightning of the thunders,
26 “to cause it to rain on the Earth where no man is, and in the wilderness where there is no man,
27 “to satisfy the wild and waste place, and to cause the bud of the herb to spring forth?
28 “Who is the father of the rain? Or who has begotten the drops of the dew?
29 “Out of whose womb came the ice? Who has borne the frost of the heaven?
30 “The waters are hidden as a stone, and the face of the depth is frozen.
31 “Can you restrain the sweet influences of the Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
32 “Can you bring forth Mazzaroth in their time? Can you also guide Arcturus with his sons?
33 “Do you know the course of heaven, or can you set its rule on the Earth?
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that the abundance of water may cover you?
35 “Can you send the lightning so that it may walk, and say to you, ‘Lo, here we are’?
36 “Who has put wisdom in the core? Or who has given the heart understanding?
37 “Who can number clouds by wisdom? Or who can cause the bottles of heaven to cease
38 “when the Earth grows into hardness, and the clots hold together?”
39 “Will you hunt the prey for the lion? Or fill the appetite of the lion’s whelps
2 “when they crouch in their places, and remain in the lair to lie in wait?
3 “Who provides game for the raven when its offspring cry to God, and wander for lack of food?
4 “Do you know the time when the wild goats bring forth young? Do you mark when the hinds calve?
5 “Can you number the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they bring forth?
6 “They bow themselves. They bruise their young and cast out their sorrows.
7 “Their young grow fat and grow up with grain. They go forth and do not return to them.
8 “Who has set the wild donkey at liberty? Or who has loosed the bonds of the wild donkey,
9 “who has made the wilderness his house, and the salt places his dwellings?
10 He derides the multitude of the city. He does not hear the cry of the driver.
11 “He seeks out the mountain for his pasture, and searches after every green thing.
12 “Will the wild ox serve you? Or will he wait by your crib?
13 “Can you bind the wild ox with his band in the furrow? Or will he plow the valleys after you?
14 “Will you trust in him, because his strength is great, and cast off your labor to him?
15 “Will you believe in him, that he will bring home your seed and gather it into your barn?
16 “Did you give the pleasant wings to the peacocks, or wings and feathers to the ostrich,
17 “which leaves its eggs in the earth, and makes them warm in the dust,
18 “and forgets that the foot might scatter them, or that the wild beast might break them?
19 “She shows herself cruel to her young ones, as if they were not hers. Yet, she is without concern, though she travailed in vain.
20 “For God has deprived her of wisdom and has given her no part of understanding.
21 “When time, she mounts on high. She mocks the horse and its rider.
22 “Have you given the horse strength, covered its neck with a mane?
23 “Have you made him afraid, as the grasshopper? His strong snorting is fearful.
24 “He digs in the valley and rejoices in strength. He goes forth to meet the armoured.
25 “He mocks at fear, and is not afraid, and does not turn back from the sword.
26 “The quiver rattles against him and the glittering spear and the shield.
27 “He swallows the ground from fierceness and rage, and he does not believe that it is the noise of the trumpet.
28 “He says among the trumpets, ‘Ha, ha!’ He smells the battle far off, and the noise of the captains, and the shouting.
29 “Shall the hawk fly by your wisdom, his wings toward the South?
30 “Does the eagle mount up at your commandment, or make his nest on high?
31 “She abides and remains in the rock, upon the top of the rock, and the tower.
32 “From there she spies for food. Her eyes look far away.
33 “Her young ones also suck up blood. And where the slain are, there she is.”
34 Moreover the LORD spoke to Job, and said,
35 “Shall he who strives with the Almighty instruct? He who reproves God, let him answer for it.”
36 Then Job answered the LORD, saying,
37 “Behold, I am vile. What shall I answer You? I will lay my hand upon my mouth.
38 “I have spoken once, but I will answer no more. Indeed, twice, but I will proceed no further.”
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