38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: 38:2 "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge 38:3 Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. 38:4 "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth Tell me, if you have understanding. 38:5 Who determined its measurements--surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it 38:6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, 38:7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy 38:8 "Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, 38:9 when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, 38:10 and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, 38:11 and said, 'Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed' 38:12 "Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, 38:13 that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it 38:14 It is changed like clay under the seal, and its features stand out like a garment. 38:15 From the wicked their light is withheld, and their uplifted arm is broken. 38:16 "Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or 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 comprehended the expanse of the earth Declare, if you know all this. 38:19 "Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness, 38:20 that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home 38:21 You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great! 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 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed, or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth 38:25 "Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain and a way for the thunderbolt, 38:26 to bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no man, 38:27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground sprout with grass 38:28 "Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew 38:29 From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the frost of heaven 38:30 The waters become hard like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. 38:31 "Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion 38:32 Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children 38:33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens Can you establish their rule on the earth 38:34 "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of waters may 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 inward parts or given understanding to the mind 38:37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens, 38:38 when the dust runs into a mass and the clods stick fast together 38:39 "Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, 38:40 when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in their thicket 38:41 Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and wander about for lack of food