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Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
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“Who is this that questions my wisdom
with such ignorant words?
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Brace yourself like a man,
because I have some questions for you,
and you must answer them.
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“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell me, if you know so much.
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Who determined its dimensions
and stretched out the surveying line?
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What supports its foundations,
and who laid its cornerstone
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as the morning stars sang together
and all the angels 1 shouted for joy?
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“Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
as it burst from the womb,
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and as I clothed it with clouds
and wrapped it in thick darkness?
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For I locked it behind barred gates,
limiting its shores.
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I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
Here your proud waves must stop!’
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“Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
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Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?
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As the light approaches,
the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal;
it is robed in brilliant colors. 2
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The light disturbs the wicked
and stops the arm that is raised in violence.
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“Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?
Have you explored their depths?
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Do you know where the gates of death are located?
Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
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Do you realize the extent of the earth?
Tell me about it if you know!
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“Where does light come from,
and where does darkness go?
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Can you take each to its home?
Do you know how to get there?
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But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created,
and you are so very experienced!
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“Have you visited the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of hail?
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(I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war.)
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Where is the path to the source of light?
Where is the home of the east wind?
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“Who created a channel for the torrents of rain?
Who laid out the path for the lightning?
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Who makes the rain fall on barren land,
in a desert where no one lives?
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Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground
and make the tender grass spring up?
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“Does the rain have a father?
Who gives birth to the dew?
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Who is the mother of the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?
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For the water turns to ice as hard as rock,
and the surface of the water freezes.
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“Can you direct the movement of the stars -
binding the cluster of the Pleiades
or loosening the cords of Orion?
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Can you direct the sequence of the seasons
or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?
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Do you know the laws of the universe?
Can you use them to regulate the earth?
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“Can you shout to the clouds
and make it rain?
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Can you make lightning appear
and cause it to strike as you direct?
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Who gives intuition to the heart
and instinct to the mind?
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Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?
Who can tilt the water jars of heaven
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when the parched ground is dry
and the soil has hardened into clods?
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“Can you stalk prey for a lioness
and satisfy the young lions’ appetites
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as they lie in their dens
or crouch in the thicket?
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Who provides food for the ravens
when their young cry out to God
and wander about in hunger?
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“Do you know when the wild goats give birth?
Have you watched as deer are born in the wild?
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Do you know how many months they carry their young?
Are you aware of the time of their delivery?
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They crouch down to give birth to their young
and deliver their offspring.
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Their young grow up in the open fields,
then leave home and never return.
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“Who gives the wild donkey its freedom?
Who untied its ropes?
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I have placed it in the wilderness;
its home is the wasteland.
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It hates the noise of the city
and has no driver to shout at it.
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The mountains are its pastureland,
where it searches for every blade of grass.
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“Will the wild ox consent to being tamed?
Will it spend the night in your stall?
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Can you hitch a wild ox to a plow?
Will it plow a field for you?
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Given its strength, can you trust it?
Can you leave and trust the ox to do your work?
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Can you rely on it to bring home your grain
and deliver it to your threshing floor?
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“The ostrich flaps her wings grandly,
but they are no match for the feathers of the stork.
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She lays her eggs on top of the earth,
letting them be warmed in the dust.
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She doesn’t worry that a foot might crush them
or a wild animal might destroy them.
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She is harsh toward her young,
as if they were not her own.
She doesn’t care if they die.
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For God has deprived her of wisdom.
He has given her no understanding.
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But whenever she jumps up to run,
she passes the swiftest horse with its rider.
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“Have you given the horse its strength
or clothed its neck with a flowing mane?
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Did you give it the ability to leap like a locust?
Its majestic snorting is terrifying!
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It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength
when it charges out to battle.
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It laughs at fear and is unafraid.
It does not run from the sword.
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The arrows rattle against it,
and the spear and javelin flash.
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It paws the ground fiercely
and rushes forward into battle when the ram’s horn blows.
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It snorts at the sound of the horn.
It senses the battle in the distance.
It quivers at the captain’s commands and the noise of battle.
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“Is it your wisdom that makes the hawk soar
and spread its wings toward the south?
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Is it at your command that the eagle rises
to the heights to make its nest?
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It lives on the cliffs,
making its home on a distant, rocky crag.
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From there it hunts its prey,
keeping watch with piercing eyes.
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Its young gulp down blood.
Where there’s a carcass, there you’ll find it.”
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Then the Lord said to Job,
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“Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?
You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”