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- Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:
- "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?
- Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
- "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
- Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?
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- Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
- "Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge?
- "Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!
- "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding,
- Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it?
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- On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone-
- while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?
- "Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
- when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,
- when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,
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- "On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone,
- When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
- "Or who enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;
- When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band,
- And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors,
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- when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt'?
- "Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place,
- that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?
- The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment.
- The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken.
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- And I said, 'Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop'?
- "Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place,
- That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?
- "It is changed like clay under the seal; And they stand forth like a garment.
- "From the wicked their light is withheld, And the uplifted arm is broken.
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- "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?
- Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death ?
- Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.
- "What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?
- Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
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- "Have you entered into the springs of the sea Or walked in the recesses of the deep?
- "Have the gates of death been revealed to you, Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
- "Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.
- "Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place,
- That you may take it to its territory And that you may discern the paths to its home?
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- Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years!
- "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail,
- which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?
- What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
- Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,
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- "You know, for you were born then, And the number of your days is great!
- "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
- Which I have reserved for the time of distress, For the day of war and battle?
- "Where is the way that the light is divided, Or the east wind scattered on the earth?
- "Who has cleft a channel for the flood, Or a way for the thunderbolt,
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- to water a land where no man lives, a desert with no one in it,
- to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?
- Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew?
- From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
- when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen?
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- To bring rain on a land without people, On a desert without a man in it,
- To satisfy the waste and desolate land And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?
- "Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
- "From whose womb has come the ice? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?
- "Water becomes hard like stone, And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.
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- "Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion?
- Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs?
- Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God's dominion over the earth?
- "Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?
- Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, 'Here we are'?
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- "Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, Or loose the cords of Orion?
- "Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, And guide the Bear with her satellites?
- "Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or fix their rule over the earth?
- "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you?
- "Can you send forth lightnings that they may go And say to you, 'Here we are'?
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- Who endowed the heart with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind ?
- Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
- when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together?
- "Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions
- when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket?
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- "Who has put wisdom in the innermost being Or given understanding to the mind?
- "Who can count the clouds by wisdom, Or tip the water jars of the heavens,
- When the dust hardens into a mass And the clods stick together?
- "Can you hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
- When they crouch in their dens And lie in wait in their lair?
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- Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?
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- "Who prepares for the raven its nourishment When its young cry to God And wander about without food?
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