^{1 Ref} Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

^{2 Ref} Who is this that darkeneth counsel By words without knowledge?

^{3 Ref} Gird up now thy loins like a man; For I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

^{4 Ref} Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.

^{5 Ref} Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched the line upon it?

^{6 Ref} Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,

^{7 Ref} When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

^{8 Ref} Or `who' shut up the sea with doors, When it brake forth, `as if' it had issued out of the womb;

^{9 Ref} When I made clouds the garment thereof, And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,

^{10 Ref} And marked out for it my bound, And set bars and doors,

^{11 Ref} And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

^{12 Ref} Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days `began', `And' caused the dayspring to know its place;

^{13 Ref} That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?

^{14 Ref} It is changed as clay under the seal; And `all things' stand forth as a garment:

^{15 Ref} And from the wicked their light is withholden, And the high arm is broken.

^{16 Ref} Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?

^{17 Ref} Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?

^{18 Ref} Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth? Declare, if thou knowest it all.

^{19 Ref} Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

^{20 Ref} That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?

^{21 Ref} `Doubtless', thou knowest, for thou wast then born, And the number of thy days is great!

^{22 Ref} Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

^{23 Ref} Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, Against the day of battle and war?

^{24 Ref} By what way is the light parted, Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?

^{25 Ref} Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood, Or the way for the lightning of the thunder;

^{26 Ref} To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

^{27 Ref} To satisfy the waste and desolate `ground', And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?

^{28 Ref} Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

^{29 Ref} Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

^{30 Ref} The waters hide themselves `and become' like stone, And the face of the deep is frozen.

^{31 Ref} Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the bands of Orion?

^{32 Ref} Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? Or canst thou guide the Bear with her train?

^{33 Ref} Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?

^{34 Ref} Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover thee?

^{35 Ref} Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go, And say unto thee, Here we are?

^{36 Ref} Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who hath given understanding to the mind?

^{37 Ref} Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,

³⁸ When the dust runneth into a mass, And the clods cleave fast together?

^{39 Ref} Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

^{40 Ref} When they couch in their dens, `And' abide in the covert to lie in wait?

^{41 Ref} Who provideth for the raven his prey, When his young ones cry unto God, `And' wander for lack of food?

^{1 Ref} And the Lord made answer to Job out of the storm-wind, and said,

^{2 Ref} Who is this who makes the purpose of God dark by words without knowledge?

^{3 Ref} Get your strength together like a man of war; I will put questions to you, and you will give me the answers.

^{4 Ref} Where were you when I put the earth on its base? Say, if you have knowledge.

^{5 Ref} By whom were its measures fixed? Say, if you have wisdom; or by whom was the line stretched out over it?

^{6 Ref} On what were its pillars based, or who put down its angle-stone,

^{7 Ref} When the morning stars made songs together, and all the sons of the gods gave cries of joy?

^{8 Ref} Or where were you when the sea came to birth, pushing out from its secret place;

^{9 Ref} When I made the cloud its robe, and put thick clouds as bands round it,

^{10 Ref} Ordering a fixed limit for it, with locks and doors;

^{11 Ref} And said, So far you may come, and no farther; and here the pride of your waves will be stopped?

^{12 Ref} Have you, from your earliest days, given orders to the morning, or made the dawn conscious of its place;

^{13 Ref} So that it might take a grip of the skirts of the earth, shaking all the evil-doers out of it?

^{14 Ref} It is changed like wet earth under a stamp, and is coloured like a robe;

^{15 Ref} And from the evil-doers their light is kept back, and the arm of pride is broken.

^{16 Ref} Have you come into the springs of the sea, walking in the secret places of the deep?

^{17 Ref} Have the doors of death been open to you, or have the door-keepers of the dark ever seen you?

^{18 Ref} Have you taken note of the wide limits of the earth? Say, if you have knowledge of it all.

^{19 Ref} Which is the way to the resting-place of the light, and where is the store-house of the dark;

^{20 Ref} So that you might take it to its limit, guiding it to its house?

^{21 Ref} No doubt you have knowledge of it, for then you had come to birth, and the number of your days is great.

^{22 Ref} Have you come into the secret place of snow, or have you seen the store-houses of the ice-drops,

^{23 Ref} Which I have kept for the time of trouble, for the day of war and fighting?

^{24 Ref} Which is the way to the place where the wind is measured out, and the east wind sent out over the earth?

^{25 Ref} By whom has the way been cut for the flowing of the rain, and the flaming of the thunder;

^{26 Ref} Causing rain to come on a land where no man is living, on the waste land which has no people;

^{27 Ref} To give water to the land where there is waste and destruction, and to make the dry land green with young grass?

^{28 Ref} Has the rain a father? or who gave birth to the drops of night mist?

^{29 Ref} Out of whose body came the ice? and who gave birth to the cold mist of heaven?

^{30 Ref} The waters are joined together, hard as a stone, and the face of the deep is covered.

^{31 Ref} Are the bands of the Pleiades fixed by you, or are the cords of Orion made loose?

^{32 Ref} Do you make Mazzaroth come out in its right time, or are the Bear and its children guided by you?

^{33 Ref} Have you knowledge of the laws of the heavens? did you give them rule over the earth?

^{34 Ref} Is your voice sent up to the cloud, so that you may be covered by the weight of waters?

^{35 Ref} Do you send out the thunder-flames, so that they may go, and say to you, Here we are?

^{36 Ref} Who has put wisdom in the high clouds, or given knowledge to the lights of the north?

^{37 Ref} By whose wisdom are the clouds numbered, or the water-skins of the heavens turned to the earth,

³⁸ When the earth becomes hard as metal, and is joined together in masses?