Chapter 38

  Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,  

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  Who is this that darkeneth counsel By words without knowledge?  

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  Gird up now thy loins like a man; For I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.  

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  Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.  

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  Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched the line upon it?  

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  Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,  

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  When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?  

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  Or [who] shut up the sea with doors, When it brake forth, [as if] it had issued out of the womb;  

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  When I made clouds the garment thereof, And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,  

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  And marked out for it my bound, And set bars and doors,  

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  And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?  

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  Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days [began], [And] caused the dayspring to know its place;  

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  That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?  

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  It is changed as clay under the seal; And [all things] stand forth as a garment:  

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  And from the wicked their light is withholden, And the high arm is broken.  

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  Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?  

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  Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?  

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  Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth? Declare, if thou knowest it all.  

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  Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,  

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  That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?  

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  [Doubtless], thou knowest, for thou wast then born, And the number of thy days is great!  

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  Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,  

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  Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, Against the day of battle and war?  

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  By what way is the light parted, Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?  

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  Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood, Or the way for the lightning of the thunder;  

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  To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;  

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  To satisfy the waste and desolate [ground], And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?  

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  Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?  

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  Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?  

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  The waters hide themselves [and become] like stone, And the face of the deep is frozen.  

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  Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the bands of Orion?  

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  Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? Or canst thou guide the Bear with her train?  

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  Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?  

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  Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover thee?  

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  Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go, And say unto thee, Here we are?  

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  Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who hath given understanding to the mind?  

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  Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,  

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  When the dust runneth into a mass, And the clods cleave fast together?  

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  Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,  

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  When they couch in their dens, [And] abide in the covert to lie in wait?  

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  Who provideth for the raven his prey, When his young ones cry unto God, [And] wander for lack of food?  

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