38:1 Then the Lord answered Job from the storm. He said:
38:2 “Who is this that makes my purpose unclear by saying things that are not true?
38:3 Be strong like a man! I will ask you questions, and you must answer me.
38:4 Where were you when I made the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
38:5 Who marked off how big it should be? Surely you know! Who stretched a ruler across it?
38:6 What were the earth’s foundations set on, or who put its cornerstone in place
38:7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted with joy?
38:8 “Who shut the doors to keep the sea in when it broke through and was born,
38:9 when I made the clouds like a coat for the sea and wrapped it in dark clouds,
38:10 when I put limits on the sea and put its doors and bars in place,
38:11 when I said to the sea, ‘You may come this far, but no farther; this is where your proud waves must stop’?
38:12 “Have you ever ordered the morning to begin, or shown the dawn where its place was
38:13 in order to take hold of the earth by its edges and shake evil people out of it?
38:14 At dawn the earth changes like clay being pressed by a seal; the hills and valleys stand out like folds in a coat.
38:15 Light is not given to evil people; their arm is raised to do harm, but it is broken.
38:16 “Have you ever gone to where the sea begins or walked in the valleys under the sea?
38:17 Have the gates of death been opened to you? Have you seen the gates of the deep darkness?
38:18 Do you understand how wide the earth is? Tell me, if you know all these things.
38:19 “What is the path to light’s home, and where does darkness live?
38:20 Can you take them to their places? Do you know the way to their homes?
38:21 Surely you know, if you were already born when all this happened! Have you lived that many years?
38:22 “Have you ever gone into the storehouse of the snow or seen the storehouses for hail,
38:23 which I save for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?
38:24 Where is the place from which light comes? Where is the place from which the east winds blow over the earth?
38:25 Who cuts a waterway for the heavy rains and sets a path for the thunderstorm?
38:26 Who waters the land where no one lives, the desert that has no one in it?
38:27 Who sends rain to satisfy the empty land so the grass begins to grow?
38:28 Does the rain have a father? Who is father to the drops of dew?
38:29 Who is the mother of the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the sky
38:30 when the water becomes hard as stone, and even the surface of the ocean is frozen?
38:31 “Can you tie up the stars of the Pleiades or loosen the ropes of the stars in Orion?
38:32 Can you bring out the stars on time or lead out the stars of the Bear with its cubs?
38:33 Do you know the laws of the sky and understand their rule over the earth?
38:34 “Can you shout an order to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?
38:35 Can you send lightning bolts on their way? Do they come to you and say, ‘Here we are’?
38:36 Who put wisdom inside the mind or understanding in the heart?
38:37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can pour water from the jars of the sky
38:38 when the dust becomes hard and the clumps of dirt stick together?
38:39 “Do you hunt food for the female lion to satisfy the hunger of the young lions
38:40 while they lie in their dens or hide in the bushes waiting to attack?
38:41 Who gives food to the birds when their young cry out to God and wander about without food?
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