2“Who is this who darkens the divine plan By words without knowledge?
3Now [415]tighten the belt on your waist like a man, And I shall ask you, and you inform Me!
4Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you [416]have understanding,
5Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the measuring line over it?
6On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone,
7When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8“Or who enclosed the sea with doors When it went out from the womb, bursting forth;
9When I made a cloud its garment, And thick darkness its swaddling bands,
10And I [417]placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors,
11And I said, ‘As far as this point you shall come, but no farther; And here your proud waves shall stop’?
God’s Mighty Power
12“Have you [418]ever in your life commanded the morning, And made the dawn know its place,
13So that it would take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked would be shaken off from it?
14It is changed like clay under the seal; And they stand out like a garment.
15Their light is withheld from the wicked, And the uplifted arm is broken.
16“Have you entered the springs of the sea, And walked [419]in the depth of the ocean?
17Have the gates of death been revealed to you, And have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
18Have you understood the [420]expanse of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.
19“Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place,
20That you would take it to its territory, And discern the paths to its [421]home?
21You know, for you were born then, And the number of your days is great!
22Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, And have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23Which I have reserved for a time of distress, For a day of war and battle?
24Where is the way that the light is divided, And the east wind scattered on the earth?
25“Who has split open a channel for the flood, And a way for the thunderbolt,
26To bring rain on a land without [422]people, On a desert without a person in it,
27To satisfy the waste and desolate land, And to make the [423]seeds of grass to sprout?
28Does the rain have a father? Or who has fathered the drops of dew?
29From whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?
30Water [424]becomes hard like stone, And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.
31“Can you tie up the chains of the Pleiades, Or untie the cords of Orion?
32Can you bring out a [425]constellation in its season, And guide the Bear with her [426]satellites?
33Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or do you establish their rule over the earth?
34“Can you raise your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you?
35Can you send flashes of lightning, so that they may go And say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36Who has put wisdom in the innermost being, Or given understanding to the [427]mind?
37Who can count the clouds by wisdom, And pour out the water jars of the heavens,
38When the dust hardens into a mass And the clods stick together?
39“Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of young lions,
40When they crouch in their hiding places, And lie in wait in their lair?
41Who prepares [428]feed for the raven When its young cry to God, And wander about without food?