1Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind , and said , 2Who is this that darkeneth counsel By words without knowledge ? 3Gird up now thy loins like a man ; For I will demand of thee , and declare thou unto me . 4Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare , if thou hast understanding. 5Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest ? Or who stretched the line upon it ? 6Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened ? Or who laid the corner-stone thereof, 7When the morning stars sang together , And all the sons of God shouted for joy ? 8Or who shut up the sea with doors , When it brake forth , as if it had issued out of the womb ; 9When I made clouds the garment thereof, And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it , 10And marked out for it my bound, And set bars and doors , 11And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further ; And here shall thy proud waves be stayed ?
The Limits of Human Knowledge
12Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began , And caused the dayspring to know its place ; 13That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it? 14It is changed as clay under the seal ; And all things stand forth as a garment : 15And from the wicked their light is withholden , And the high arm is broken . 16Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea ? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep ? 17Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee ? Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death ? 18Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth ? Declare , if thou knowest it all . 19Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And as for darkness , where is the place thereof, 20That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof? 21Doubtless , thou knowest , for thou wast then born , And the number of thy days is great ! 22Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow , Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail , 23Which I have reserved against the time of trouble , Against the day of battle and war ? 24By what way is the light parted , Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?
God's Control Over Nature
25Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood, Or the way for the lightning of the thunder ; 26To cause it to rain on a land where no man is ; On the wilderness , wherein there is no man; 27To satisfy the waste and desolate ground , And to cause the tender grass to spring forth ? 28Hath the rain a father ? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew ? 29Out of whose womb came the ice ? And the hoary frost of heaven , who hath gendered it ? 30The waters hide themselves and become like stone, And the face of the deep is frozen . 31Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades , Or loose the bands of Orion ? 32Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season ? Or canst thou guide the Bear with her train? 33Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens ? Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth ? 34Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds , That abundance of waters may cover thee? 35Canst thou send forth lightnings , that they may go , And say unto thee , Here we are? 36Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts ? Or who hath given understanding to the mind ? 37Who can number the clouds by wisdom ? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven , 38When the dust runneth into a mass , And the clods cleave fast together ?
The Mystery of Divine Wisdom
39Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness , Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions , 40When they couch in their dens , And abide in the covert to lie in wait ? 41Who provideth for the raven his prey , When his young ones cry unto God , And wander for lack of food ?