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1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind,* 2 “Who is this who questions my wisdom by talking so ignorantly? 3 Prepare yourself, be strong,† for I am going to question you, and you must answer me. 4 Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have such knowledge! 5 Who decided its dimensions? Don't you know? Who stretched out a measuring line? 6 What do its foundations rest upon? Who laid its cornerstone, 7 when the stars of the morning sang together and all the angels‡ shouted for joy.
8 Who laid down the boundaries of the sea when it was born?§ 9 Who clothed it with clouds, and wrapped it in a blanket of deep darkness? 10 I set its limits, marking its borders.* 11 I said, ‘You may come here, but no farther. Here is where your proud waves stop.’
12 During your lifetime, have you ever ordered the morning to begin? 13 Have you ever told the dawn where to appear that it might take hold of the corners of the earth and shake the wicked out?† 14 The earth is changed like clay under a seal;‡ its features stand out like a crumpled garment. 15 The ‘light’§ of the wicked is taken away from them; their acts of violence are stopped.
16 Have you entered the sources of the sea? Have you explored their hidden depths? 17 Have you been shown where the gates of death are? Have you seen the gates of utter darkness? 18 Do you know how far the earth extends? Tell me if you know all this! 19 In which direction does light live? Where does darkness dwell? 20 Can you take them home? Do you know the way to where they live? 21 Of course you know, because you were already born then! You've lived so long!
22 Have you been to where the snow is kept? Have you seen where the hail is held? 23 I have stored them up for the time of trouble, for the day of war and battle.* 24 Do you know the way to where light comes from, or to where the east wind blows over the earth? 25 Who cuts a channel for the rain to flow? Who creates a path for the thunderbolt?
26 Who brings rain to an uninhabited land, to a desert where nobody lives, 27 to water a parched wasteland to make the green grass grow? 28 Does the rain have a father? Who was the father of the dewdrops? 29 Who was the mother of ice? Does the frost of the air have a mother? 30 Water turns into rock-hard ice; its surface freezes solid. 31 Can you tie together the stars of the Pleiades? Can you loosen the belt of the Orion constellation?† 32 Can you guide the stars of Mazzaroth‡ at the right time? Can you direct the Great Bear constellation and its other stars? 33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?§ Can you apply them to the earth?
34 Can you shout to the clouds and command them to pour rain down on you? 35 Can you send out bolts of lightning and direct them, so that they can answer you saying, ‘Here we are’? 36 Who has placed wisdom inside people? Who has given understanding to the mind?* 37 Who is clever enough to count the clouds? Who can turn heaven's water jars on their sides 38 when the dust has baked into a solid mass?†
39 Can you hunt prey for the lion? Can you feed the lion cubs 40 as they crouch down in their dens and lie in wait in the bushes? 41 Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God, weak from starvation?”
* 38:1 “Whirlwind,” or “storm.” † 38:3 Literally, “like a man.” ‡ 38:7 Literally, “sons of God” as in 1:6. The parallel there of “the stars of the morning” would similarly apply to heavenly beings. § 38:8 Literally, “who shut in the sea with doors when it burst forth from the womb.” * 38:10 Literally, “I set bars and doors.” † 38:13 This poetic image is meant to convey the idea that when daylight comes the wicked cease their evil. ‡ 38:14 Like a seal impressing an image on a smooth piece of clay. § 38:15 Of course the wicked's “light” is the reverse—darkness. * 38:23 Hail is often associated with God's involvement in battle: Joshua 10:11; Exodus 9:22; Isaiah 28:17; Ezekiel 13:13. † 38:31 God is speaking figuratively regarding the stars in these constellations, previously mentioned in 9:9. ‡ 38:32 A star grouping whose name is not known. It may refer to the 12 constellations of the Zodiac. § 38:33 In the context, God is referring particularly to the laws governing heavenly bodies. * 38:36 The interpretation of this verse is unclear and many possible translations have been suggested. † 38:38 In other words, who can cause the rain to fall when the earth is parched?