1 Then the LORD answered Job a out of the whirlwind, and said:
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"Who b is this who darkens counsel
By c words without knowledge?
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d Now 1 prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
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"Where e were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
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Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the 2 line upon it?
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To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
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When the morning stars sang together,
And all f the sons of God shouted for joy?
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"Or g who shut in the sea with doors,
When it burst forth and issued from the womb;
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When I made the clouds its garment,
And thick darkness its swaddling band;
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When h I fixed My limit for it,
And set bars and doors;
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When I said,
'This far you may come, but no farther,
And here your proud waves i must stop!'
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"Have you j commanded the morning since your days began,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
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That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And k the wicked be shaken out of it?
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It takes on form like clay under a seal,
And stands out like a garment.
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From the wicked their l light is withheld,
And m the 3 upraised arm is broken.
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"Have you n entered the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in search of the depths?
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Have o the gates of death been 4 revealed to you?
Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
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Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.
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"Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,
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That you may take it to its territory,
That you may know the paths to its home?
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Do you know it, because you were born then,
Or because the number of your days is great?
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"Have you entered p the treasury of snow,
Or have you seen the treasury of hail,
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q Which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
For the day of battle and war?
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By what way is light 5 diffused,
Or the east wind scattered over the earth?
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"Who r has divided a channel for the overflowing water,
Or a path for the thunderbolt,
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To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one,
A wilderness in which there is no man;
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s To satisfy the desolate waste,
And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?
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t Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
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From whose womb comes the ice?
And the u frost of heaven, who gives it birth?
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The waters harden like stone,
And the surface of the deep is v frozen. 6
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"Can you bind the cluster of the w Pleiades, 7
Or loose the belt of Orion?
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Can you bring out 8 Mazzaroth in its season?
Or can you guide 9 the Great Bear with its cubs?
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Do you know x the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you set their dominion over the earth?
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"Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
That an abundance of water may cover you?
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Can you send out lightnings, that they may go,
And say to you, 'Here we are!'?
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y Who has put wisdom in 10 the mind?
Or who has given understanding to the heart?
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Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,
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When the dust hardens in clumps,
And the clods cling together?
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"Can z you hunt the prey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
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When they crouch in their dens,
Or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait?
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a Who provides food for the raven,
When its young ones cry to God,
And wander about for lack of food?
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"Do you know the time when the wild a mountain goats bear young?
Or can you mark when b the deer gives birth?
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Can you number the months that they fulfill?
Or do you know the time when they bear young?
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They bow down,
They bring forth their young,
They deliver their 11 offspring.
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Their young ones are healthy,
They grow strong with grain;
They depart and do not return to them.
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"Who set the wild donkey free?
Who loosed the bonds of the 12 onager,
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c Whose home I have made the wilderness,
And the 13 barren land his dwelling?
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He scorns the tumult of the city;
He does not heed the shouts of the driver.
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The range of the mountains is his pasture,
And he searches after d every green thing.
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"Will the e wild ox be willing to serve you?
Will he bed by your manger?
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Can you bind the wild ox in the furrow with ropes?
Or will he plow the valleys behind you?
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Will you trust him because his strength is great?
Or will you leave your labor to him?
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Will you trust him to bring home your 14 grain,
And gather it to your threshing floor?
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"The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,
But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork's?
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For she leaves her eggs on the ground,
And warms them in the dust;
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She forgets that a foot may crush them,
Or that a wild beast may break them.
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She f treats her young harshly, as though they were not hers;
Her labor is in vain, without 15 concern,
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Because God deprived her of wisdom,
And did not g endow her with understanding.
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When she lifts herself on high,
She scorns the horse and its rider.
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"Have you given the horse strength?
Have you clothed his neck with 16 thunder?
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Can you 17 frighten him like a locust?
His majestic snorting strikes terror.
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He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
h He gallops into the clash of arms.
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He mocks at fear, and is not frightened;
Nor does he turn back from the sword.
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The quiver rattles against him,
The glittering spear and javelin.
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He devours the distance with fierceness and rage;
Nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded.
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At the blast of the trumpet he says, 'Aha!'
He smells the battle from afar,
The thunder of captains and shouting.
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"Does the hawk fly by your wisdom,
And spread its wings toward the south?
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Does the i eagle mount up at your command,
And j make its nest on high?
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On the rock it dwells and resides,
On the crag of the rock and the stronghold.
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From there it spies out the prey;
Its eyes observe from afar.
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Its young ones suck up blood;
And k where the slain are, there it is."
1 Moreover the LORD a answered Job, and said:
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"Shall b the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?
He who c rebukes God, let him answer it."