Job 38

NEW JERUSALEM	KING JAMES BIBLE
1 Then from the heart of the tempest Yahweh gave Job his answer. He said:	1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
2 Who is this, obscuring my intentions with his ignorant words?	2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a fighter; I am going to ask the questions, and you are to inform me!	3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
4 Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations? Tel me, since you are so wel -informed!	4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 Who decided its dimensions, do you know? Or who stretched the measuring line across it?	5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6 What supports its pil ars at their bases? Who laid its cornerstone	6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
7 to the joyful concert of the morning stars and unanimous acclaim of the sons of God?	7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 Who pent up the sea behind closed doors when it leapt tumultuous from the womb,	8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
9 when I wrapped it in a robe of mist and made black clouds its swaddling bands;	9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
10 when I cut out the place I had decreed for it and imposed gates and a bolt?	10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
11 'Come so far,' I said, 'and no further; here your proud waves must break!'	11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
12 Have you ever in your life given orders to the morning or sent the dawn to its post,	12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;
13 to grasp the earth by its edges and shake the wicked out of it?	13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
14 She turns it as red as a clay seal, she tints it as though it were a dress,	14 It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.
15 stealing the light from evil-doers and breaking the arm raised to strike.	15 And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.
16 Have you been right down to the sources of the sea and walked about at the bottom of the Abyss?	16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?
17 Have you been shown the gates of Death, have you seen the janitors of the Shadow dark as death?	17 Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?
18 Have you an inkling of the extent of the earth? Tell me al about it if you have!	18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.
19 Which is the way to the home of the Light, and where does darkness live? -	19 Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
20 You could then show them the way to their proper places, you could put them on the path homeagain!	20 That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?
21 If you do know, you must have been born when they were, you must be very old by now!	21 Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?
22 Have you visited the place where the snow is stored? Have you seen the stores of hail,	22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
23 which I keep for times of distress, for days of battle and war?	23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
24 From which direction does the lightning fork, where in the world does the east wind blow itself out?	24 By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?
25 Who bores a channel for the downpour or clears the way for the rol ing thunder	25 Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;
26 so that rain may fal on lands where no one lives, and the deserts void of human dwel ing,	26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
27 to meet the needs of the lonely wastes and make grass sprout on the thirsty ground?	27 To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?
28 Has the rain a father? Who begets the dewdrops?	28 Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
29 What womb brings forth the ice, who gives birth to the frost of heaven,	29 Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
30 when the waters grow hard as stone and the surface of the deep congeals?	30 The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
31 Can you fasten the harness of the Pleiades, or untie Orion's bands?	31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
32 Can you guide the Crown season by season and show the Bear and its cubs which way to go?	32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?
33 Have you grasped the celestial laws? Could you make their writ run on the earth?	33 Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?
34 Can your voice carry as far as the clouds and make the pent-up waters do your bidding?	34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?
35 Will lightning flashes come at your command and answer, 'Here we are'?	35 Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?
36 Who endowed the ibis with wisdom and gave the cock his intel igence?	36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?
37 Whose skil details every cloud and tilts the water-skins of heaven	37 Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,
38 until the dust solidifies and the cracks in the ground close up?	38 When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?
39 Do you go hunting prey for the lioness; do you satisfy the hunger of young lions	39 Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,
40 where they crouch in their den, waiting eagerly in the bushes?	40 When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?
41 Who makes provision for the raven when his little ones cry out to God craning their necks in search offood?	41 Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.