1 T hen the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

2 W ho is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

3 G ird up now your loins like a man, and I will demand of you, and you declare to Me.

4 W here were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Declare to Me, if you have and know understanding.

5 W ho determined the measures of the earth, if you know? Or who stretched the measuring line upon it?

6 U pon what were the foundations of it fastened, or who laid its cornerstone,

7 W hen the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 O r who shut up the sea with doors when it broke forth and issued out of the womb?—

9 W hen I made the clouds the garment of it, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it,

10 A nd marked for it My appointed boundary and set bars and doors,

11 A nd said, Thus far shall you come and no farther; and here shall your proud waves be stayed?

12 H ave you commanded the morning since your days began and caused the dawn to know its place,

13 S o that may get hold of the corners of the earth and shake the wickedness out of it?

14 I t is changed like clay into which a seal is pressed; and things stand out like a many-colored garment.

15 F rom the wicked their light is withheld, and their uplifted arm is broken.

16 H ave you explored the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?

17 H ave the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of deep darkness?

18 H ave you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know it all.

19 W here is the way where light dwells? And as for darkness, where is its abode,

20 T hat you may conduct it to its home, and may know the paths to its house?

21 Y ou must know, since you were born then! Or because you are so extremely old!

22 H ave you entered the treasuries of the snow, or have you seen the treasuries of the hail,

23 W hich I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?

24 B y what way is the light distributed, or the east wind spread over the earth?

25 W ho has prepared a channel for the torrents of rain, or a path for the thunderbolt,

26 T o cause it to rain on the uninhabited land on the desert where no man lives,

27 T o satisfy the waste and desolate ground and to cause the tender grass to spring forth?

28 H as the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

29 O ut of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who has given it birth?

30 T he waters are congealed like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

31 C an you bind the chains of Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion?

32 C an you lead forth the signs of the zodiac in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with her young?

33 D o you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule upon the earth?

34 C an you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that an abundance of waters may cover you?

35 C an you send lightnings, that they may go and say to you, Here we are?

36 W ho has put wisdom in the inward parts ? Or who has given understanding to the mind ?

37 W ho can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of the heavens

38 W hen the dust to run into a mass and the clods to cleave fast together?

39 C an you hunt the prey for the lion? Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions

40 W hen they couch in their dens or lie in wait in their hiding place?

41 W ho provides for the raven its prey when its young ones cry to God and wander about for lack of food?