Job:38-41
Seeker Overlay ON
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Then LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind ,
and said ,
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Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge ?
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Gird up now thy loins like a man ,
for I will demand of thee ,
and declare thou to me .
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Where were thou when I laid the foundations of the earth ?
Declare ,
if thou have understanding .
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Who determined the measures of it ,
if thou know ?
Or who stretched the line upon it ?
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Upon what were the foundations of it fastened ?
Or who laid the corner-stone of it
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when the morning stars sang together ,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy ?
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Or [
who ]
shut up the sea with doors when it broke forth , [
like ]
it had issued out of the womb ,
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when I made clouds the garment of it ,
and thick darkness a swaddling-band for it ,
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and marked out for it my bound ,
and set bars and doors ,
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and said ,
This far thou shall come ,
but no further ,
and here thy proud waves shall be stayed ?
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Have thou commanded the morning since thy days [
began ], [
and ]
caused the dayspring to know its place
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that it might take hold of the ends of the earth ,
and the wicked be shaken out of it ?
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It is changed as clay under the seal ,
and [
all things ]
stand forth as a garment .
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And from the wicked their light is withheld ,
and the high arm is broken .
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Have thou entered into the springs of the sea ?
Or have thou walked in the recesses of the deep ?
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Have the gates of death been revealed to thee ?
Or have thou seen the gates of the shadow of death ?
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Have thou comprehended the earth in its breadth ?
Declare ,
if thou know it all .
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Where is the way to the dwelling of light ?
And as for darkness ,
where is the place of it
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that thou should take it to the bound of it ,
and that thou should discern the paths to the house of it ?
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Thou know ,
for thou were born then ,
and the number of thy days is great !
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Have thou entered the treasuries of the snow ,
or have thou seen the treasures of the hail ,
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which I have reserved against the time of trouble ,
against the day of battle and war ?
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By what way is the light divided ,
or the east wind scattered upon the earth ?
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Who has cleft a channel for the water flood ,
or the way for the lightning of the thunder ,
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to cause it to rain on a land where no man is ,
on the wilderness ,
in which there is no man ,
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to satisfy the waste and desolate [
ground ],
and to cause the tender grass to spring forth ?
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Has the rain a father ?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew ?
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Out of whose womb came the ice ?
And the hoary frost of heaven ,
who has engendered it ?
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The waters hide themselves [
and become ]
like stone ,
and the face of the deep is frozen .
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Can thou bind the cluster of the Pleiades ,
or loose the bands of Orion ?
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Can thou lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season ?
Or can thou guide the Bear with her train ?
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Do thou know the ordinances of the heavens ?
Can thou establish the dominion of it on the earth ?
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Can thou lift up thy voice to the clouds ,
that abundance of waters may cover thee ?
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Can thou send forth lightnings ,
that they may go ,
and say to thee ,
Here we are ?
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Who has put wisdom in the inward parts ?
Or who has given understanding to the mind ?
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Who can number the clouds by wisdom ?
Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven
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when the dust runs into a mass ,
and the clods cleave fast together ?
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Can thou hunt the prey for the lioness ,
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions
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when they couch in their dens , [
and ]
abide in the covert to lie in wait ?
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Who provides for the raven his prey when his young ones cry to God , [
and ]
wander for lack of food ?
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Do thou know the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth ? [
Or ]
can thou mark when the hinds do calve ?
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Can thou number the months that they fulfill ?
Or do thou know the time when they bring forth ?
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They bow themselves .
They bring forth their young .
They cast out their pains .
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Their young ones become strong .
They grow up in the open field .
They go forth ,
and return not again .
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Who has sent out the wild donkey free ?
Or who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey
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whose home I have made the wilderness ,
and the salt land his dwelling-place ?
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He scorns the tumult of the city ,
neither does he hear the shoutings of the driver .
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The range of the mountains is his pasture ,
and he searches after every green thing .
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Will the wild-ox be content to serve thee ?
Or will he abide by thy crib ?
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Can thou bind the wild-ox with his band in the furrow ?
Or will he harrow the valleys after thee ?
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Will thou trust him because his strength is great ?
Or will thou leave to him thy labor ?
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Will thou confide in him that he will bring home thy seed ,
and gather [
the grain ]
of thy threshing-floor ?
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The wings of the ostrich wave proudly , [
but ]
are they the pinions and plumage of love ?
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For she leaves her eggs on the ground ,
and warms them in the dust .
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And she forgets that the foot may crush them ,
or that the wild beast may trample them .
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She deals hardly with her young ones ,
as if they were not hers .
Though her labor be in vain , [
she is ]
without fear ,
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because God has deprived her of wisdom ,
nor has he imparted understanding to her .
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The time she lifts up herself on high she scorns the horse and his rider .
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Have thou given the horse [
his ]
might ?
Have thou clothed his neck with the quivering mane ?
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Have thou made him to leap as a locust ?
The glory of his snorting is awesome .
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He paws in the valley ,
and rejoices in his strength .
He goes out to meet the armed men .
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He mocks at fear ,
and is not dismayed .
Neither does he turn back from the sword .
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The quiver rattles against him ,
the flashing spear and the javelin .
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He swallows the ground with fierceness and rage ,
nor does he believe that it is the voice of the trumpet .
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As often as the trumpet [
sounds ]
he says ,
Aha !
And he smells the battle afar off ,
the thunder of the captains ,
and the shouting .
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Is it by thy wisdom that the hawk soars , (
and )
stretches her wings toward the south ?
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Is it at thy command that the eagle mounts up ,
and makes her nest on high ?
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She dwells on the cliff ,
and makes her home upon the point of the cliff and the stronghold .
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From there she spies out the prey .
Her eyes behold it afar off .
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Her young ones also suck up blood .
And where the slain are ,
there is she .
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Moreover LORD answered Job ,
and said ,
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Shall he who quibbles contend with the Almighty ?
He who argues with God ,
let him answer it .
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Then Job answered LORD ,
and said ,
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Behold ,
I am of small account .
What shall I answer thee ?
I lay my hand upon my mouth .
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I have spoken once ,
and I will not answer ,
yes ,
twice ,
but I will proceed no further .
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Then LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind ,
and said ,
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Gird up thy loins now like a man .
I will demand of thee ,
and declare thou to me .
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Will thou even annul my judgment ?
Will thou condemn me ,
that thou may be justified ?
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Or have thou an arm like God ?
And can thou thunder with a voice like him ?
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Deck thyself now with excellency and dignity ,
and array thyself with honor and majesty .
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Pour forth the overflowings of thine anger ,
and look upon everyone who is proud ,
and abase him .
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Look on everyone who is proud , [
and ]
bring him low ,
and tread down the wicked where they stand .
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Hide them in the dust together .
Bind their faces in the hidden [
place ].
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Then I will also confess of thee that thine own right hand can save thee .
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Behold now behemoth ,
which I made as well as thee .
He eats grass as an ox .
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Lo now ,
his strength is in his loins ,
and his force is in the muscles of his belly .
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He moves his tail like a cedar .
The sinews of his thighs are knit together .
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His bones are [
as ]
tubes of brass .
His limbs are like bars of iron .
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He is a beginning of the ways of God .
He who made him gives him his sword .
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Surely the mountains bring him forth food ,
where all the beasts of the field play .
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He lays under the lotus trees ,
in the covert of the reed ,
and the fen .
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The lotus trees cover him with their shade .
The willows of the brook encompass him about .
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Behold ,
if a river overflows ,
he does not tremble .
He is confident though a Jordan swell even to his mouth .
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Shall any take him when he is on the watch ,
or pierce through his nose with a snare ?
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Can thou draw out leviathan with a fishhook ,
or press down his tongue with a cord ?
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Can thou put a rope into his nose ,
or pierce his jaw through with a hook ?
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Will he make many supplications to thee ?
Or will he speak soft words to thee ?
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Will he make a covenant with thee ,
that thou should take him for a servant forever ?
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Will thou play with him as with a bird ?
Or will thou bind him for thy maidens ?
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Will the bands make traffic of him ?
Will they part him among the merchants ?
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Can thou fill his skin with barbed irons ,
or his head with fish-spears ?
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Lay thy hand upon him .
Remember the battle ,
and do so no more .
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Behold ,
the hope of him is in vain .
Will not [
a man ]
be cast down even at the sight of him ?
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None is so fierce that he dare stir him up .
Who then is he who can stand before me ?
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Who has first given to me ,
that I should repay him ?
Under the whole heaven is mine .
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I will not keep silence concerning his limbs ,
nor his mighty strength ,
nor his goodly frame .
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Who can strip off his outer garment ?
Who shall come within his jaws ?
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Who can open the doors of his face ?
Round about his teeth is terror .
* [
His ]
strong scales are [
his ]
pride ,
shut up together [
like ]
a close seal .
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One is so near to another that no air can come between them .
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They are joined one to another .
They stick together ,
so that they cannot be parted .
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His sneezings flash forth light ,
and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning .
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Out of his mouth go burning torches ,
and sparks of fire leap forth .
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Out of his nostrils a smoke goes ,
as of a boiling pot and [
burning ]
rushes .
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His breath kindles coals ,
and a flame goes forth from his mouth .
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In his neck abides strength ,
and terror dances before him .
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The flakes of his flesh are joined together .
They are firm upon him .
They cannot be moved .
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His heart is as firm as a stone ,
Yea ,
firm as the nether millstone .
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When he raises himself up the mighty are afraid .
Because of consternation they are beside themselves .
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If a man lays at him with the sword it cannot avail ,
nor the spear ,
the dart ,
nor the pointed shaft .
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He counts iron as straw , [
and ]
brass as rotten wood .
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The arrow cannot make him flee .
Sling-stones are turned into stubble with him .
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Clubs are counted as stubble .
He laughs at the rushing of the javelin .
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His underparts are [
like ]
sharp potsherds .
He spreads out [
as ]
a threshing-wagon upon the mire .
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He makes the deep to boil like a pot .
He makes the sea like a pot of ointment .
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He makes a path to shine after him . [
A man ]
would think the deep to be hoary .
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Upon earth there is not his like who is made without fear .
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He beholds everything that is high .
He is king over all the sons of pride .
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Then Job answered LORD ,
and said ,