² “Who^(C) is this who darkens counsel
By ^(D)words without knowledge?
^3 (E)Now ^[a]prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me.

⁴ “Where^(F) were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
⁵ Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the ^[b]line upon it?
⁶ To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
⁷ When the morning stars sang together,
And all ^(G)the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸ “Or^(H) who shut in the sea with doors,
When it burst forth and issued from the womb;
⁹ When I made the clouds its garment,
And thick darkness its swaddling band;
¹⁰ When ^(I)I fixed My limit for it,
And set bars and doors;
¹¹ When I said,
‘This far you may come, but no farther,
And here your proud waves ^(J)must stop!’

¹² “Have you ^(K)commanded the morning since your days began,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
¹³ That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And ^(L)the wicked be shaken out of it?
¹⁴ It takes on form like clay under a seal,
And stands out like a garment.
¹⁵ From the wicked their ^(M)light is withheld,
And ^(N)the ^[c]upraised arm is broken.

¹⁶ “Have you ^(O)entered the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in search of the depths?
¹⁷ Have ^(P)the gates of death been ^[d]revealed to you?
Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
¹⁸ Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.

¹⁹ “Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,
²⁰ That you may take it to its territory,
That you may know the paths to its home?
²¹ Do you know it, because you were born then,
Or because the number of your days is great?

²² “Have you entered ^(Q)the treasury of snow,
Or have you seen the treasury of hail,
^23 (R)Which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
For the day of battle and war?
²⁴ By what way is light ^[e]diffused,
Or the east wind scattered over the earth?

²⁵ “Who ^(S)has divided a channel for the overflowing water,
Or a path for the thunderbolt,
²⁶ To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one,
A wilderness in which there is no man;
^27 (T)To satisfy the desolate waste,
And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?
^28 (U)Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
²⁹ From whose womb comes the ice?
And the ^(V)frost of heaven, who gives it birth?
³⁰ The waters harden like stone,
And the surface of the deep is ^(W)frozen.^[f]

³¹ “Can you bind the cluster of the ^(X)Pleiades,^[g]
Or loose the belt of Orion?
³² Can you bring out ^[h]Mazzaroth in its season?
Or can you guide ^[i]the Great Bear with its cubs?
³³ Do you know ^(Y)the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you set their dominion over the earth?

³⁴ “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
That an abundance of water may cover you?
³⁵ Can you send out lightnings, that they may go,
And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?
^36 (Z)Who has put wisdom in ^[j]the mind?
Or who has given understanding to the heart?
³⁷ Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,
³⁸ When the dust hardens in clumps,
And the clods cling together?