Chapter 38

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

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  Who [is] this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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  When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,  

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  And brake up for it my decreed [place], and set bars and doors,  

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

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

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

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  It is turned as clay [to] the seal; and they stand as a garment.  

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

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

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

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

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  Where [is] the way [where] light dwelleth? and [as for] darkness, where [is] the place thereof,  

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

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

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

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

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  By what way is the light parted, [which] scattereth the east wind upon the earth?  

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

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

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

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  Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?  

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  Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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  When they couch in [their] dens, [and] abide in the covert to lie in wait?  

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

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