rsv Job:38-41 SEEK
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Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind :
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Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge ?
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Gird up your loins like a man ,
I will question you ,
and you shall declare to me .
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Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth ?
Tell me ,
if you have understanding .
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Who determined its measurements--surely you know !
Or who stretched the line upon it ?
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On what were its bases sunk ,
or who laid its cornerstone ,
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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 in the sea with doors ,
when it burst forth from the womb ;
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when I made clouds its garment ,
and thick darkness its swaddling band ,
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and prescribed bounds for it ,
and set bars and doors ,
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and said , `
d said , "
Thus far shall you come ,
and no farther ,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed '?
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Have you commanded the morning since your days began ,
and caused the dawn to know its place ,
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that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth ,
and the wicked be shaken out of it ?
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It is changed like clay under the seal ,
and it is dyed like a garment .
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From the wicked their light is withheld ,
and their uplifted arm is broken .
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Have you entered into the springs of the sea ,
or walked in the recesses of the deep ?
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Have the gates of death been revealed to you ,
or have you seen the gates of deep darkness ?
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Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth ?
Declare ,
if you know all this .
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Where is the way to the dwelling of light ,
and where is the place of darkness ,
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that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home ?
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You know ,
for you were born then ,
and the number of your days is great !
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Have you entered the storehouses of the snow ,
or have you seen the storehouses of the hail ,
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which I have reserved for the time of trouble ,
for the day of battle and war ?
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What is the way to the place where the light is distributed ,
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth ?
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Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain ,
and a way for the thunderbolt ,
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to bring rain on a land where no man is ,
on the desert in which there is no man ;
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to satisfy the waste and desolate land ,
and to make the ground put forth grass ?
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Has the rain a father ,
or who has begotten the drops of dew ?
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From whose womb did the ice come forth ,
and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven ?
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The waters become hard like stone ,
and the face of the deep is frozen .
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Can you bind the chains of the Plei '
ades ,
or loose the cords of Orion ?
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Can you lead forth the Maz '
zaroth in their season ,
or can you guide the Bear with its children ?
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Do you know the ordinances of the heavens ?
Can you establish their rule on the earth ?
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Can you lift up your voice to the clouds ,
that a flood of waters may cover you ?
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Can you send forth lightnings ,
that they may go and say to you , `
d say to you , "
Here we are '?
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Who has put wisdom in the clouds ,
or given understanding to the mists ?
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Who can number the clouds by wisdom ?
Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens ,
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when the dust runs into a mass and the clods cleave fast together ?
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Can you hunt the prey for the lion ,
or satisfy the appetite of the young lions ,
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when they crouch in their dens ,
or lie in wait in their covert ?
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Who provides for the raven its prey ,
when its young ones cry to God ,
and wander about for lack of food ?
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Do you know when the mountain goats bring forth ?
Do you observe the calving of the hinds ?
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Can you number the months that they fulfil ,
and do you know the time when they bring forth ,
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when they crouch ,
bring forth their offspring ,
and are delivered of their young ?
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Their young ones become strong ,
they grow up in the open ;
they go forth ,
and do not return to them .
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Who has let the wild ass go free ?
Who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass ,
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to whom I have given the steppe for his home ,
and the salt land for his dwelling place ?
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He scorns the tumult of the city ;
he hears not the shouts of the driver .
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He ranges the mountains as his pasture ,
and he searches after every green thing .
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Is the wild ox willing to serve you ?
Will he spend the night at your crib ?
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Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes ,
or will he harrow the valleys after you ?
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Will you depend on him because his strength is great ,
and will you leave to him your labor ?
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Do you have faith in him that he will return ,
and bring your grain to your 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 to the earth ,
and lets them be warmed on the ground ,
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forgetting that a foot may crush them ,
and that the wild beast may trample them .
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She deals cruelly with her young ,
as if they were not hers ;
though her labor be in vain ,
yet she has no fear ;
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because God has made her forget wisdom ,
and given her no share in understanding .
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When she rouses herself to flee ,
she laughs at the horse and his rider .
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Do you give the horse his might ?
Do you clothe his neck with strength ?
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Do you make him leap like the locust ?
His majestic snorting is terrible .
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He paws in the valley ,
and exults in his strength ;
he goes out to meet the weapons .
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He laughs at fear ,
and is not dismayed ;
he does not turn back from the sword .
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Upon him rattle the quiver ,
the flashing spear and the javelin .
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With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground ;
he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet .
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When the trumpet sounds ,
he says `
trumpet sounds ,
he says "
Aha !'
He smells the battle from afar ,
the thunder of the captains ,
and the shouting .
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Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars ,
and spreads his wings toward the south ?
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Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high ?
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On the rock he dwells and makes his home in the fastness of the rocky crag .
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Thence he spies out the prey ;
his eyes behold it afar off .
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His young ones suck up blood ;
and where the slain are ,
there is he ."
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And the LORD said to Job :
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Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty ?
He who argues with God ,
let him answer it ."
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Then Job answered the LORD :
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Behold ,
I am of small account ;
what shall I answer thee ?
I lay my hand on my mouth .
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I have spoken once ,
and I will not answer ;
twice ,
but I will proceed no further ."
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Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind :
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Gird up your loins like a man ;
I will question you ,
and you declare to me .
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Will you even put me in the wrong ?
Will you condemn me that you may be justified ?
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Have you an arm like God ,
and can you thunder with a voice like his ?
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Deck yourself with majesty and dignity ;
clothe yourself with glory and splendor .
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Pour forth the overflowings of your anger ,
and look on every one that is proud ,
and abase him .
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Look on every one that is proud ,
and bring him low ;
and tread down the wicked where they stand .
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Hide them all in the dust together ;
bind their faces in the world below .
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Then will I also acknowledge to you ,
that your own right hand can give you victory .
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Behold ,
Be '
hemoth ,
which I made as I made you ;
he eats grass like an ox .
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Behold ,
his strength in his loins ,
and his power in the muscles of his belly .
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He makes his tail stiff like a cedar ;
the sinews of his thighs are knit together .
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His bones are tubes of bronze ,
his limbs like bars of iron .
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He is the first of the works of God ;
let him who made him bring near his sword !
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For the mountains yield food for him where all the wild beasts play .
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Under the lotus plants he lies ,
in the covert of the reeds and in the marsh .
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For his shade the lotus trees cover him ;
the willows of the brook surround him .
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Behold ,
if the river is turbulent he is not frightened ;
he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth .
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Can one take him with hooks ,
or pierce his nose with a snare ?
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Can you draw out Levi '
athan with a fishhook ,
or press down his tongue with a cord ?
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Can you put a rope in his nose ,
or pierce his jaw with a hook ?
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Will he make many supplications to you ?
Will he speak to you soft words ?
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Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant for ever ?
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Will you play with him as with a bird ,
or will you put him on leash for your maidens ?
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Will traders bargain over him ?
Will they divide him up among the merchants ?
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Can you fill his skin with harpoons ,
or his head with fishing spears ?
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Lay hands on him ;
think of the battle ;
you will not do it again !
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Behold ,
the hope of a man is disappointed ;
he is laid low even at the sight of him .
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No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up .
Who then is he that can stand before me ?
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Who has given to me ,
that I should repay him ?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine .
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I will not keep silence concerning his limbs ,
or his mighty strength ,
or his goodly frame .
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Who can strip off his outer garment ?
Who can penetrate his double coat of mail ?
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Who can open the doors of his face ?
Round about his teeth is terror .
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His back is made of rows of shields ,
shut up closely as with a 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 clasp each other and cannot be separated .
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His sneezings flash forth light ,
and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn .
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Out of his mouth go flaming torches ;
sparks of fire leap forth .
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Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke ,
as from a boiling pot and burning rushes .
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His breath kindles coals ,
and a flame comes forth from his mouth .
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In his neck abides strength ,
and terror dances before him .
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The folds of his flesh cleave together ,
firmly cast upon him and immovable .
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His heart is hard as a stone ,
hard as the nether millstone .
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When he raises himself up the mighty are afraid ;
at the crashing they are beside themselves .
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Though the sword reaches him ,
it does not avail ;
nor the spear ,
the dart ,
or the javelin .
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He counts iron as straw ,
and bronze as rotten wood .
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The arrow cannot make him flee ;
for him slingstones are turned to stubble .
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Clubs are counted as stubble ;
he laughs at the rattle of javelins .
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His underparts are like sharp potsherds ;
he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire .
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He makes the deep boil like a pot ;
he makes the sea like a pot of ointment .
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Behind him he leaves a shining wake ;
one would think the deep to be hoary .
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Upon earth there is not his like ,
a creature 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 the LORD :