God Speaks Now to Job
1 Then the Lordanswered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
2 “Who is this that darkens counsel [questioning my authority and wisdom]
By words without knowledge?
3 “Nowgird up your loins like a man,
And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
TellMe,if you knowandhave understanding.
5 “Who determined the measurements [of the earth], if you know?
Or who stretched the [measuring] line on it?
6 “On what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the morning stars sang together
And all the sons of God (angels) shouted for joy?
8 “Or who enclosed the sea with doors
When it burst forth and went out of the womb;
9 When I made the clouds its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 And marked for it My [appointed] boundary
And set bars and doors [defining the shorelines],
11 And said, ‘This far you shall come, but no farther;
And here your proud waves shall stop’?
God’s Mighty Power
12 “Sinceyour days began, have youevercommanded the morning,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
13 So that light may take hold of the corners of the earth
And shake the wickedness out of it?
14 “The earth is changed like clayinto whicha seal is pressed;
And the things [of the earth] stand out like a [multi-colored] garment.
15 “Their light is withheld from the wicked,
And the uplifted arm is broken.
16 “Have you enteredandexplored the springs of the sea
Or [have you] walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 “Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
18 “Have you understood the expanse of the earth?
TellMe,if you know all this.
19 “Where is thewaywherelight dwells?
And as for darkness, where is its place,
20 That you may take it to its territory
And that you may know the paths to its house?
21 “You [must] know, since you were born then,
Andbecause you are so extremely old!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 Which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
For the day of battle and war?
24 “Where is the way that the light is distributed,
Or the east wind scattered over the earth?
25 “Who has prepared a channel for the torrents of rainandfor the flood,
Or a path for the thunderbolt,
26 To bring rain on the uninhabited land,
And on the desert where no man lives,
27 To satisfy the barren and desolate ground
And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?
28 “Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 “Out of whose womb has come the ice?
And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?
30 “Water becomes like stone [and hides itself],
And the surface of the deep is frozenandimprisoned.
31 “Can you bind the chains of [the cluster of stars called] Pleiades,
Or loose the cords of [the constellation] Orion?
32 “Can you lead forth aconstellation in its season,
And guide [the stars of] the Bear with hersons?
33 “Do you know the ordinances of the heavens,
Or [can you] establish their rule over the earth?
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
So that an abundance of water will cover you?
35 “Can you send forth lightnings that they may go
And say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 “Who has put wisdom in the innermost being [of man, or in the layers of clouds]
Or given understanding to the mind [of man, or to the heavenly display]?
37 “Who can count the clouds by [earthly] wisdom,
Or pour out the water jars of the heavens,
38 When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together [because of the heat]?
39 “Can you [Job] hunt the prey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions
40 When they crouch in their dens
And lie in wait in their lair?
41 “Who provides prey for the raven
When its young cry to God
And wander about without food?