| The Book of Job. The Harvard Classics. 1909–14. |
| XXXVIII |
| [1] | THEN Jehovah 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 declare thou unto me. |
| [4] | Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if 1 thou hast understanding. |
| [5] | Who determined the measures thereof, if 2 thou knowest? Or who stretched the line upon it? |
| [6] | Whereupon were the foundations 3 thereof fastened? 4 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 5 if it had issued out of the womb; |
| [9] | When I made clouds the garment thereof, And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it, |
| [10] | And marked 6 out for it my bound, 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 began, And caused the dayspring to know its place; |
| [13] | That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it? |
| [14] | It is changed as clay under the seal; And all things stand forth as 7 a garment: |
| [15] | And from the wicked their light is withholden, And the high arm is broken. |
| [16] | Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses 8 of the deep? |
| [17] | Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death? |
| [18] | Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth? Declare, if thou knowest it all. |
| [19] | Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof, |
| [20] | That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof? |
| [21] | Doubtless, thou knowest, for thou wast then born, And the number of thy days is great! |
| [22] | Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, Or hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail, |
| [23] | Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, Against the day of the battle and war? |
| [24] | By 9 what way is the light parted, Or the east wind scattered upon the earth? |
| [25] | Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood, Or a way for the lightning of the thunder; |
| [26] | To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; On the wilderness, wherein there is no man; |
| [27] | To satisfy the waste and desolate ground, And to cause the tender 10 grass 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 11 it? |
| [30] | The waters hide 12 themselves and become like stone, And the face of the deep is 13 frozen. |
| [31] | Canst thou bind the cluster 14 of the Pleiades, Or loose the bands of Orion? |
| [32] | Canst thou lead forth the 15 Mazzaroth in their season? Or canst thou guide the Bear with her train? 16 |
| [33] | Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish 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 forth lightnings, that they may go, And say unto thee, Here we are? |
| [36] | Who hath put wisdom in the inward 17 parts? Or who hath given understanding to the mind? 18 |
| [37] | Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour 19 out the bottles of heaven, |
| [38] | When the dust runneth into a mass, And the clods cleave fast together? |
| [39] | Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy 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 prey, When his young ones cry unto God, And wander for lack of food? |
| Note 1. Heb. if thou knowest understanding. [back] |
| Note 2. Or, seeing. [back] |
| Note 3. Heb. sockets. [back] |
| Note 4. Heb. made to sink. [back] |
| Note 5. Or, and issued. [back] |
| Note 6. Heb. brake. [back] |
| Note 7. Or, as in a garment. [back] |
| Note 8. Or, search. [back] |
| Note 9. Or, Which is the way to the place where the light is &c. [back] |
| Note 10. Or, greensward. [back] |
| Note 11. Or, given it birth. [back] |
| Note 12. Or, are congealed like stone. [back] |
| Note 13. Heb. cohereth. [back] |
| Note 14. Or, chain.Or, sweet influences. [back] |
| Note 15. Or, the signs of the Zodiac. [back] |
| Note 16. Heb. sons. [back] |
| Note 17. Or, dark clouds. [back] |
| Note 18. Or, meteor. [back] |
| Note 19. Heb. cause to lie down. [back] |
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