1 ¶ Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

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

3 N ow gird up thy loins like a man; for I will enquire of thee, and answer thou me.

4 ¶ Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Cause me to know, if thou hast understanding.

5 W ho ordered its dimensions, if thou knowest? Or who has stretched the line upon it?

6 U pon what are its foundations founded? Or who laid its corner stone;

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, as if it had issued out of the womb?

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

10 a nd established my decree upon it, and set bars and doors,

11 a nd said, Thou shalt come unto here, but no further; and there shall the pride of thy waves be stayed.

12 ¶ Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days? Hast thou shown the dayspring its place,

13 t hat it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

14 I t is transformed as clay to the seal and then stands as a garment;

15 b ut the light of the wicked is taken from them, and the high arm is broken.

16 H ast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked searching out the deep?

17 H ave the gates of death been opened unto thee? Or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?

18 H ast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? Declare if thou knowest it all.

19 W here is the way to the habitation of the light, and where is the place of the darkness?

20 I f thou shalt take it in its borders, and if thou should understand the paths to its house?

21 I f thou didst know when thou wast to be born or if the number of thy days was to be great?

22 H ast thou entered into the treasures of the snow, and hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

23 w hich I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?

24 B y what way is the light divided; from where is the east wind scattered upon the earth?

25 ¶ Who has divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters or a way for the lightning of thunder,

26 t o cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, in which there is no man;

27 t o satisfy the desolate and waste ground and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?

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

29 O ut of whose womb came the ice, and the hoary frost of heaven, who has begotten it?

30 T he waters harden as stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

31 C anst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?

32 C anst thou bring forth the signs of the heavens in their season, or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

33 D ost thou know the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou use its power in the earth?

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

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

36 W ho put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who gave intelligence to understanding?

37 W ho declared the heavens in wisdom? Or who can stay the bottles of heaven

38 w hen the dust hardens and the clods cleave fast together?

39 W ilt thou hunt the prey for the lion or fill the appetite of the young lions,

40 w hen they crouch in their dens and abide in their lairs to lie in wait?

41 W ho provided food for the raven; when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of food?