Then the LORD
answered
Job
out of the whirlwind,
and said,
Who is this that darkeneth
counsel
by words
without knowledge?
Gird up
now thy loins
like a man;
for I will demand
of thee, and answer
thou me.
Where
wast thou when I laid the foundations
of the earth?
declare,
if thou hast
understanding.
Who hath laid
the measures
thereof, if thou knowest?
or who hath stretched
the line
upon it?
Whereupon are the foundations
thereof fastened?
or who laid
the corner
stone
thereof;
When the morning
stars
sang
together,
and all the sons
of God
shouted
for joy?
Or who shut up
the sea
with doors,
when it brake forth,
as if it had issued out
of the womb?
When I made
the cloud
the garment
thereof, and thick darkness
a swaddlingband
for it,
And brake up
for it my decreed
place, and set
bars
and doors,
And said,
Hitherto
shalt thou come,
but no further:
and here shall thy proud
waves
be stayed?
Hast thou commanded
the morning
since thy days;
and caused the dayspring
to know
his place;
That it might take hold
of the ends
of the earth,
that the wicked
might be shaken out
of it?
It is turned
as clay
to the seal;
and they stand
as a garment.
And from the wicked
their light
is withholden,
and the high
arm
shall be broken.
Hast thou entered
into the springs
of the sea?
or hast thou walked
in the search
of the depth?
Have the gates
of death
been opened
unto thee? or hast thou seen
the doors
of the shadow of death?
Hast thou perceived
the breadth
of the earth?
declare
if thou knowest
it all.
Where is the way
where light
dwelleth?
and as for darkness,
where is the place
thereof,
That thou shouldest take
it to the bound
thereof, and that thou shouldest know
the paths
to the house
thereof?
Knowest
thou it, because thou wast then born?
or because the number
of thy days
is great?
Hast thou entered
into the treasures
of the snow?
or hast thou seen
the treasures
of the hail,
Which I have reserved
against the time
of trouble,
against the day
of battle
and war?
By what
way
is the light
parted,
which scattereth
the east wind
upon the earth?
Who hath divided
a watercourse
for the overflowing of waters,
or a way
for the lightning
of thunder;
To cause it to rain
on the earth,
where no man
is; on the wilderness,
wherein there is no man;
To satisfy
the desolate
and waste
ground; and to cause the bud
of the tender herb
to spring forth?
Hath
the rain
a father?
or who hath begotten
the drops
of dew?
Out of whose womb
came
the ice?
and the hoary frost
of heaven,
who hath gendered
it?
The waters
are hid
as with a stone,
and the face
of the deep
is frozen.
Canst thou bind
the sweet influences
of Pleiades,
or loose
the bands
of Orion?
Canst thou bring forth
Mazzaroth
in his season?
or canst thou guide
Arcturus
with his sons?
Knowest
thou the ordinances
of heaven?
canst thou set
the dominion
thereof in the earth?
Canst thou lift up
thy voice
to the clouds,
that abundance
of waters
may cover
thee?
Canst thou send
lightnings,
that they may go,
and say
unto thee, Here we are?
Who hath put
wisdom
in the inward parts?
or who hath given
understanding
to the heart?
Who can number
the clouds
in wisdom?
or who can stay
the bottles
of heaven,
When the dust
groweth
into hardness,
and the clods
cleave fast together?
Wilt thou hunt
the prey
for the lion?
or fill
the appetite
of the young lions,
When they couch
in their dens,
and abide
in the covert
to
lie in wait?
Who provideth
for the raven
his food?
when his young ones
cry
unto God,
they wander
for lack
of meat.
