1901 American Standard Version (ASV)

Job 38

1 God challengeth Job to answer. 4 God, by his mighty works, convinceth Job of ignorance, 31 and of imbecility.

 38:1 ¶ Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

 38:2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel By words without knowledge?

 38:3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; For I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

 38:4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.

 38:5 Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who stretched the line upon it?

 38:6 Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,

 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

 38:8 Or [who] shut up the sea with doors, When it brake forth, [as if] it had issued out of the womb;

 38:9 When I made clouds the garment thereof, And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,

 38:10 And marked out for it my bound, And set bars and doors,

 38:11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

 38:12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days [began], [And] caused the dayspring to know its place;

 38:13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?

 38:14 It is changed as clay under the seal; And [all things] stand forth as a garment:

 38:15 And from the wicked their light is withholden, And the high arm is broken.

 38:16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?

 38:17 Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?

 38:18 Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth? Declare, if thou knowest it all.

 38:19 Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,

 38:20 That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?

 38:21 [Doubtless], thou knowest, for thou wast then born, And the number of thy days is great!

 38:22 Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

 38:23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, Against the day of battle and war?

 38:24 By what way is the light parted, Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?

 38:25 Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood, Or the way for the lightning of the thunder;

 38:26 To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

 38:27 To satisfy the waste and desolate [ground], And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?

 38:28 Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?

 38:29 Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?

 38:30 The waters hide themselves [and become] like stone, And the face of the deep is frozen.

 38:31 Canst thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the bands of Orion?

 38:32 Canst thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season? Or canst thou guide the Bear with her train?

 38:33 Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?

 38:34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover thee?

 38:35 Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go, And say unto thee, Here we are?

 38:36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who hath given understanding to the mind?

 38:37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,

 38:38 When the dust runneth into a mass, And the clods cleave fast together?

 38:39 Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

 38:40 When they couch in their dens, [And] abide in the covert to lie in wait?

 38:41 Who provideth for the raven his prey, When his young ones cry unto God, [And] wander for lack of food?