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38:1  Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
38:2  “Who is this that darkens counsel [questioning my authority and wisdom] By words without knowledge?
38:3  “Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!
38:4  “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you know and have understanding.
38:5  “Who determined the measurements [of the earth], if you know? Or who stretched the [measuring] line on it?
38:6  “On what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,
38:7  When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God (angels) shouted for joy?
38:8  “Or who enclosed the sea with doors When it burst forth and went out of the womb;
38:9  When I made the clouds its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band,
38:10  And marked for it My [appointed] boundary And set bars and doors [defining the shorelines],
38:11  And said, ‘This far you shall come, but no farther; And here your proud waves shall stop’?
38:12  “Since your days began, have you ever commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place,
38:13  So that light may take hold of the corners of the earth And shake the wickedness out of it?
38:14  “The earth is changed like clay into which a seal is pressed; And the things [of the earth] stand out like a [multi-colored] garment.
38:15  “Their light is withheld from the wicked, And the uplifted arm is broken.
38:16  “Have you entered and explored the springs of the sea Or [have you] walked in the recesses of the deep?
38:17  “Have the gates of death been revealed to you, Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
38:18  “Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.
38:19  “Where is the way where light dwells? And as for darkness, where is its place,
38:20  That you may take it to its territory And that you may know the paths to its house?
38:21  “You [must] know, since you were born then, And because you are so extremely old!
38:22  “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
38:23  Which I have reserved for the time of trouble, For the day of battle and war?
38:24  “Where is the way that the light is distributed, Or the east wind scattered over the earth?
38:25  “Who has prepared a channel for the torrents of rain and for the flood, Or a path for the thunderbolt,
38:26  To bring rain on the uninhabited land, And on the desert where no man lives,
38:27  To satisfy the barren and desolate ground And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?
38:28  “Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
38:29  “Out of whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?
38:30  “Water becomes like stone [and hides itself], And the surface of the deep is frozen and imprisoned.
38:31  “Can you bind the chains of [the cluster of stars called] Pleiades, Or loose the cords of [the constellation] Orion?
38:32  “Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, And guide [the stars of] the Bear with her sons?
38:33  “Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or [can you] establish their rule over the earth?
38:34  “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you?
38:35  “Can you send forth lightnings that they may go And say to you, ‘Here we are’?
38:36  “Who has put wisdom in the innermost being [of man, or in the layers of clouds] Or given understanding to the mind [of man, or to the heavenly display]?
38:37  “Who can count the clouds by [earthly] wisdom, Or pour out the water jars of the heavens,
38:38  When the dust hardens into a mass And the clods stick together [because of the heat]?
38:39  “Can you [Job] hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions
38:40  When they crouch in their dens And lie in wait in their lair?
38:41  “Who provides prey for the raven When its young cry to God And wander about without food?