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

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

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

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

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

6 W hereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

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 brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?

9 W hen I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,

10 A nd brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,

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

12 H ast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his 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 turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.

15 A nd from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.

16 H ast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?

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

20 T hat thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?

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

22 H ast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or 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 parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?

25 W ho hath 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, wherein 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 ath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

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

30 T he waters are hid as with a 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 Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

33 K nowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof 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 hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?

37 W ho can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,

38 W hen the dust groweth into hardness, 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 couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?

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