Job 38

“Who is this that darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?

Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?

“Now gird up your loins like a man,
And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!

Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you ^[a]have understanding,

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

Who set its measurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the line on it?

Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

“On what were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,

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?

When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

“Or who enclosed the sea with doors
When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;

Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?

When I made a cloud its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,

When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,

And I ^[b]placed boundaries on it
And set a bolt and doors,

And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,

And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther;
And here shall your proud waves stop’?

And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

“Have you ^[c]ever in your life commanded the morning,
And caused the dawn to know its place,

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,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?

That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

“It is changed like clay under the seal;
And they stand forth like a garment.

It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.

“From the wicked their light is withheld,
And the uplifted arm is broken.

And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.

“Have you entered into the springs of the sea
Or walked ^[d]in the recesses of the deep?

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 revealed to you,
Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?

“Have you understood the ^[e]expanse of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.

Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.

“Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,

Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

That you may take it to its territory
And that you may discern the paths to its ^[f]home?

That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?

“You know, for you were born then,
And the number of your days is great!

Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

Which I have reserved for the time of distress,
For the day of war and battle?

Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?

“Where is the way that the light is divided,
Or the east wind scattered on the earth?

By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?

“Who has cleft a channel for the flood,
Or a way for the thunderbolt,

Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;

To bring rain on a land without ^[g]people,
On a desert without a man in it,

To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

To satisfy the waste and desolate land
And to make the ^[h]seeds of grass to sprout?

To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?

“Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

“From whose womb has come the ice?
And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?

Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

“Water ^[i]becomes hard like stone,
And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.

The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades,
Or loose the cords of Orion?

Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?

“Can you lead forth a ^[j]constellation in its season,
And guide the Bear with her ^[k]satellites?

Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

“Do you know the ordinances of the heavens,
Or fix their rule over the earth?

Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
So that an abundance of water will cover you?

Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?

“Can you send forth lightnings that they may go
And say to you, ‘Here we are’?

Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go and say unto thee, Here we are?

“Who has put wisdom in the innermost being
Or given understanding to the ^[l]mind?

Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?

“Who can count the clouds by wisdom,
Or tip the water jars of the heavens,

Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,

When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together?

When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?

“Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,

When they crouch in their dens
And lie in wait in their lair?

When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?

“Who prepares for the raven its nourishment
When its young cry to God
And wander about without food?