| English Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: | 1Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind. He said: |
| 2“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? | 2Who is this who obscures My counsel with ignorant words? |
| 3Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. | 3Get ready to answer Me like a man; when I question you, you will inform Me. |
| 4“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. | 4Where were you when I established the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. |
| 5Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? | 5Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? |
| 6On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, | 6What supports its foundations? Or who laid its cornerstone |
| 7when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? | 7while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? |
| 8“Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, | 8Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst from the womb, |
| 9when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, | 9when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its blanket, |
| 10and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, | 10when I determined its boundaries and put its bars and doors in place, |
| 11and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’? | 11when I declared: "You may come this far, but no farther; your proud waves stop here"? |
| 12“Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, | 12Have you ever in your life commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place, |
| 13that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? | 13so it may seize the edges of the earth and shake the wicked out of it? |
| 14It is changed like clay under the seal, and its features stand out like a garment. | 14The earth is changed as clay is by a seal; its hills stand out like the folds of a garment. |
| 15From the wicked their light is withheld, and their uplifted arm is broken. | 15Light is withheld from the wicked, and the arm raised in violence is broken. |
| 16“Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? | 16Have you traveled to the sources of the sea or walked in the depths of the oceans? |
| 17Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? | 17Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of deep darkness? |
| 18Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this. | 18Have you comprehended the extent of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this. |
| 19“Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness, | 19Where is the road to the home of light? Do you know where darkness lives, |
| 20that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home? | 20so you can lead it back to its border? Are you familiar with the paths to its home? |
| 21You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great! | 21Don't you know? You were already born; you have lived so long! |
| 22“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, | 22Have you entered the place where the snow is stored? Or have you seen the storehouses of hail, |
| 23which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war? | 23which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of warfare and battle? |
| 24What is the way to the place where the light is distributed, or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth? | 24What road leads to the place where light is dispersed? Where is the source of the east wind that spreads across the earth? |
| 25“Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain and a way for the thunderbolt, | 25Who cuts a channel for the flooding rain or clears the way for lightning, |
| 26to bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no man, | 26to bring rain on an uninhabited land, on a desert with no human life, |
| 27to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground sprout with grass? | 27to satisfy the parched wasteland and cause the grass to sprout? |
| 28“Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew? | 28Does the rain have a father? Who fathered the drops of dew? |
| 29From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the frost of heaven? | 29Whose womb did the ice come from? Who gave birth to the frost of heaven |
| 30The waters become hard like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. | 30when water becomes as hard as stone, and the surface of the watery depths is frozen? |
| 31“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion? | 31Can you fasten the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion? |
| 32Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children? | 32Can you bring out the constellations in their season and lead the Bear and her cubs? |
| 33Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth? | 33Do you know the laws of heaven? Can you impose its authority on earth? |
| 34“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of waters may cover you? | 34Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you? |
| 35Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’? | 35Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go? Do they report to you: "Here we are"? |
| 36Who has put wisdom in the inward parts or given understanding to the mind? | 36Who put wisdom in the heart or gave the mind understanding? |
| 37Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens, | 37Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of heaven |
| 38when the dust runs into a mass and the clods stick fast together? | 38when the dust hardens like cast metal and the clods of dirt stick together? |
| 39“Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, | 39Can you hunt prey for a lioness or satisfy the appetite of young lions |
| 40when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in their thicket? | 40when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait within their lairs? |
| 41Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and wander about for lack of food? | 41Who provides the raven's food when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food? |
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