Job 38 (kjv)

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,²Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?³Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.

⁴Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.⁵Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?⁶Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;⁷When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?⁸Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?⁹When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,¹⁰And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,¹¹And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?¹²Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;¹³That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?¹⁴It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.¹⁵And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.¹⁶Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?¹⁷Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?¹⁸Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.¹⁹Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,²⁰That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?²¹Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?²²Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,²³Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?²⁴By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?²⁵Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;²⁶To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;²⁷To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?²⁸Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?²⁹Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?³⁰The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

³¹Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?³²Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?³³Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?³⁴Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?³⁵Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?³⁶Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?³⁷Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,³⁸When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?³⁹Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,⁴⁰When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?⁴¹Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.