The Book of Job

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Chapter 38

1: Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

2: Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?

3: Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.

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

5: Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

6: Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

7: When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8: Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?

9: When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband forit,

10: And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,

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

12: Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;

13: That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

14: It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.

15: And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.

16: Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?

17: Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?

18: Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.

19: Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

20: That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?

21: Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?

22: Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

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

24: By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?

25: Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;

26: To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

27: To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?

28: Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
29: Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

30: The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

31: Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?

32: Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

33: Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

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

35: Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go and say unto thee, Here we are?

36: Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?

37: Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,

38: When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?

39: Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,

40: When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?

41: Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.
Job 39

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