The Lord Answers Job

38Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:
²‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
³Gird up your loins like a man,
   I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

⁴‘Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
   Tell me, if you have understanding.
⁵Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
   Or who stretched the line upon it?
⁶On what were its bases sunk,
   or who laid its cornerstone
⁷when the morning stars sang together
   and all the heavenly beings^* shouted for joy?

³⁴‘Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
   so that a flood of waters may cover you?
³⁵Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go
   and say to you, “Here we are”?
³⁶Who has put wisdom in the inward parts,^*
   or given understanding to the mind?^*
37Who has the wisdom to number the clouds?
   Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
³⁸when the dust runs into a mass
   and the clods cling together?

³⁹‘Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
   or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
⁴⁰when they crouch in their dens,
   or lie in wait in their covert?
⁴¹Who provides for the raven its prey,
   when its young ones cry to God,
   and wander about for lack of food?