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God Speaks Now to Job

¹ Then the LORD ^(C1)answered Job from the whirlwind and said,

² "Who is this who ^(C1)darkens the divine plan
By words without knowledge?

³ "Now ^(F1)(C1)tighten the belt on your waist like a man,
And ^(C2)I shall ask you, and you inform Me!

⁴ "Where were you ^(C1)when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you ^(F1)have understanding,

⁵ Who set its ^(C1)measurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the measuring line over it?

⁶ "On what ^(C1)were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,

⁷ When the morning stars sang together
And all the ^(C1)sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸ "Or who ^(C1)enclosed the sea with doors
When it went out from the womb, bursting forth;

⁹ When I made a cloud its garment,
And thick darkness its swaddling bands,

¹⁰ And I ^(F1)(C1)placed boundaries on it
And set a bolt and doors,

¹¹ And 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 ^(F1)ever in your life commanded the morning,
And made the dawn know its place,

¹³ So that it would take hold of ^(C1)the ends of the earth,
And ^(C2)the wicked would be shaken off from it?

¹⁴ "It is changed like clay under the seal;
And they stand out like a garment.

¹⁵ "^(C1)Their light is withheld from the wicked,
And the ^(C2)uplifted arm is broken.

¹⁶ "Have you entered ^(C1)the springs of the sea,
And walked ^(F1)in the depth of the ocean?

¹⁷ "Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
And have you seen the gates of ^(C1)deep darkness?

¹⁸ "Have you understood the ^(F1)expanse of ^(C1)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,

²⁰ That you would take it to ^(C1)its territory,
And discern the paths to its ^(F1)home?

²¹ "You know, for ^(C1)you were born then,
And the number of your days is great!

²² "Have you entered the storehouses ^(C1)of the snow,
And have you seen the storehouses of the ^(C2)hail,

²³ Which I have reserved for a time of distress,
For a day of war and battle?

²⁴ "Where is the way that ^(C1)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,

²⁶ To bring ^(C1)rain on a land without ^(F1)people,
On a desert without a person in it,

²⁷ To ^(C1)satisfy the waste and desolate land,
And to make the ^(F1)seeds of grass to sprout?

²⁸ "Does ^(C1)the rain have a father?
Or who has fathered the drops of dew?

²⁹ "From whose womb has come the ^(C1)ice?
And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?

³⁰ "Water ^(F1)becomes hard like stone,
And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.

³¹ "Can you tie up the chains of the ^(C1)Pleiades,
Or untie the cords of Orion?

³² "Can you bring out a ^(F1)constellation in its season,
And guide the Bear with her ^(F2)satellites?

³³ "Do you know the ^(C1)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 ^(C1)abundance of water will cover you?

³⁵ "Can you ^(C1)send flashes of lightning, so that they may go
And say to you, 'Here we are'?

³⁶ "Who has ^(C1)put wisdom in the innermost being,
Or given ^(C2)understanding to the ^(F1)mind?

³⁷ "Who can count the clouds by wisdom,
And ^(C1)pour out the water jars of the heavens,

³⁸ When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together?

³⁹ "Can you hunt the ^(C1)prey for the lioness,
Or satisfy the appetite of young lions,

⁴⁰ When they ^(C1)crouch in their hiding places,
And lie in wait in their lair?

⁴¹ "Who prepares ^(F1)feed for ^(C1)the raven
When its young cry to God,
And wander about without food?