Capítulo 38

1 - Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 made clouds the garment thereof, And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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