The Lord Reveals His Omnipotence to Job

38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

² “Who is this who darkens counselBy words without knowledge?³ Now prepare yourself like a man;I will question you, and you shall answer Me.

⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?Tell Me, if you have understanding.⁵ Who determined its measurements?Surely you know!Or who stretched the line upon it?⁶ To what were its foundations fastened?Or who laid its cornerstone,⁷ When the morning stars sang together,And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸ “Or who shut in the sea with doors,When it burst forth and issued from the womb;⁹ When I made the clouds its garment,And thick darkness its swaddling band;¹⁰ When I fixed My limit for it,And set bars and doors;¹¹ When I said,‘This far you may come, but no farther,And here your proud waves must stop!’

¹² “Have you commanded the morning since your days began,And caused the dawn to know its place,¹³ That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,And the wicked be shaken out of it?¹⁴ It takes on form like clay under a seal,And stands out like a garment.¹⁵ From the wicked their light is withheld,And the upraised arm is broken.

¹⁶ “Have you entered the springs of the sea?Or have you walked in search of the depths?¹⁷ Have the gates of death been revealed to you?Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?¹⁸ Have 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,²⁰ That you may take it to its territory,That you may know the paths to its home?²¹ Do you know it, because you were born then,Or because the number of your days is great?

²² “Have you entered the treasury of snow,Or have you seen the treasury of hail,²³ Which I have reserved for the time of trouble,For the day of battle and war?²⁴ By what way is light diffused,Or the east wind scattered over the earth?

²⁵ “Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water,Or a path for the thunderbolt,²⁶ To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one,A wilderness in which there is no man;²⁷ To satisfy the desolate waste,And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?²⁸ Has the rain a father?Or who has begotten the drops of dew?²⁹ From whose womb comes the ice?And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?³⁰ The waters harden like stone,And the surface of the deep is frozen.

³¹ “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades,Or loose the belt of Orion?³² Can you bring out Mazzaroth^[a] in its season?Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs?³³ Do you know the 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?³⁵ Can you send out lightnings, that they may go,And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?³⁶ Who has put wisdom in the mind?^[b]Or who has given understanding to the heart?³⁷ Who can number the clouds by wisdom?Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,³⁸ When the dust hardens in clumps,And the clods cling together?

³⁹ “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,⁴⁰ When they crouch in their dens,Or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait?⁴¹ Who provides food for the raven,When its young ones cry to God,And wander about for lack of food?