Job 38 - American Standard Version 2015

¹ Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

² Who is this that darkeneth counsel\par\tab By words without knowledge?

³ Gird up now thy loins like a man;\par\tab For I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

⁴ Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?\par\tab Declare, if thou hast understanding.

⁵ Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest?\par\tab Or who stretched the line upon it?

⁶ Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened?\par\tab Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,

⁷ When the morning stars sang together,\par\tab And all the sons of God shouted for joy?\par

⁸ Or {\i who} shut up the sea with doors,\par\tab When it brake forth, {\i as if} it had issued out of the womb;

⁹ When I made clouds the garment thereof,\par\tab And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,

¹⁰ And marked out for it my bound,\par\tab And set bars and doors,

¹¹ And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further;\par\tab And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?\par

¹² Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days {\i began},\par\tab {\i And} caused the dayspring to know its place;

¹³ That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,\par\tab And the wicked be shaken out of it?

¹⁴ It is changed as clay under the seal;\par\tab And {\i all things} stand forth as a garment:

¹⁵ And from the wicked their light is withholden,\par\tab And the high arm is broken.\par

¹⁶ Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?\par\tab Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?

¹⁷ Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee?\par\tab Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?

¹⁸ Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth?\par\tab Declare, if thou knowest it all.\par

¹⁹ Where is the way to the dwelling of light?\par\tab And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

²⁰ That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof,\par\tab And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?

²¹ {\i Doubtless}, thou knowest, for thou wast then born,\par\tab And the number of thy days is great!

²² Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow,\par\tab Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

²³ Which I have reserved against the time of trouble,\par\tab Against the day of battle and war?

²⁴ By what way is the light parted,\par\tab Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?\par

²⁵ Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood,\par\tab Or the way for the lightning of the thunder;

²⁶ To cause it to rain on a land where no man is;\par\tab On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

²⁷ To satisfy the waste and desolate {\i ground},\par\tab And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?

²⁸ Hath the rain a father?\par\tab Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

²⁹ Out of whose womb came the ice?\par\tab And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

³⁰ The waters hide themselves {\i and become} like stone,\par\tab And the face of the deep is frozen.\par

³¹ Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades,\par\tab Or loose the bands of Orion?

³² Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season?\par\tab Or canst thou guide the Bear with her train?

³³ Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens?\par\tab Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?\par

³⁴ Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds,\par\tab That abundance of waters may cover thee?

³⁵ Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go,\par\tab And say unto thee, Here we are?

³⁶ Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts?\par\tab Or who hath given understanding to the mind?

³⁷ Who can number the clouds by wisdom?\par\tab Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,

³⁸ When the dust runneth into a mass,\par\tab And the clods cleave fast together?\par

³⁹ Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness,\par\tab Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

⁴⁰ When they couch in their dens,\par\tab {\i And} abide in the covert to lie in wait?

⁴¹ Who provideth for the raven his prey,\par\tab When his young ones cry unto God,\par\tab {\i And} wander for lack of food?\par