Job 38:4–38

⁴“Where ^ewere you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

Tell Me, if you have understanding.

⁵Who determined its measurements?

Surely you know!

Or who stretched the ²line upon it?

⁶To what were its foundations fastened?

Or who laid its cornerstone,

⁷When the morning stars sang together,

And all ^fthe sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸“Or ^gwho shut in the sea with doors,

When it burst forth and issued from the womb;

⁹When I made the clouds its garment,

And thick darkness its swaddling band;

¹⁰When ^hI fixed My limit for it,

And set bars and doors;

¹¹When I said,

‘This far you may come, but no farther,

And here your proud waves ⁱmust stop!’

¹²“Have you ^jcommanded the morning since your days began,

And caused the dawn to know its place,

¹³That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,

And ^kthe wicked be shaken out of it?

¹⁴It takes on form like clay under a seal,

And stands out like a garment.

¹⁵From the wicked their ^llight is withheld,

And ^mthe ³upraised arm is broken.

¹⁶“Have you ⁿentered the springs of the sea?

Or have you walked in search of the depths?

¹⁷Have ^othe gates of death been ⁴revealed to you?

Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?

¹⁸Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?

Tell Me, if you know all this.

¹⁹“Where is the way to the dwelling of light?

And darkness, where is its place,

²⁰That you may take it to its territory,

That you may know the paths to its home?

²¹Do you know it, because you were born then,

Or because the number of your days is great?

²²“Have you entered ^pthe treasury of snow,

Or have you seen the treasury of hail,

^23qWhich I have reserved for the time of trouble,

For the day of battle and war?

²⁴By what way is light ⁵diffused,

Or the east wind scattered over the earth?

²⁵“Who ^rhas divided a channel for the overflowing water,

Or a path for the thunderbolt,

²⁶To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one,

A wilderness in which there is no man;

^27sTo satisfy the desolate waste,

And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?

^28tHas the rain a father?

Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

²⁹From whose womb comes the ice?

And the ^ufrost of heaven, who gives it birth?

³⁰The waters harden like stone,

And the surface of the deep is ^vfrozen. ⁶

³¹“Can you bind the cluster of the ^wPleiades, ⁷

Or loose the belt of Orion?

³²Can you bring out ⁸Mazzaroth in its season?

Or can you guide ⁹the Great Bear with its cubs?

³³Do you know ^xthe ordinances of the heavens?

Can you set their dominion over the earth?

³⁴“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,

That an abundance of water may cover you?

³⁵Can you send out lightnings, that they may go,

And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?

^36yWho has put wisdom in ¹the mind?

Or who has given understanding to the heart?

³⁷Who can number the clouds by wisdom?

Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,

³⁸When the dust hardens in clumps,

And the clods cling together?