The Lord Speaks

38 Then the Lord spoke to Jobw out of the storm.x He said:

2 “Who is this that obscures my plansy

with words without knowledge?z

3 Brace yourself like a man;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.a

4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?b

Tell me, if you understand.c

5 Who marked off its dimensions?d Surely you know!

Who stretched a measuring linee across it?

6 On what were its footings set,f

or who laid its cornerstoneg—

7 while the morning starsh sang togetheri

and all the angelsa j shouted for joy?k

8 “Who shut up the sea behind doorsl

when it burst forth from the womb,m

9 when I made the clouds its garment

and wrapped it in thick darkness,n

10 when I fixed limits for ito

and set its doors and bars in place,p

11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;q

here is where your proud waves halt’?r

12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,s

or shown the dawn its place,t

13 that it might take the earth by the edges

and shake the wickedu out of it?v

14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;w

its features stand out like those of a garment.

15 The wicked are denied their light,x

and their upraised arm is broken.y

16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea

or walked in the recesses of the deep?z

17 Have the gates of deatha been shown to you?

Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?b

18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?c

Tell me, if you know all this.d

19 “What is the way to the abode of light?

And where does darkness reside?e

20 Can you take them to their places?

Do you know the pathsf to their dwellings?

21 Surely you know, for you were already born!g

You have lived so many years!