| NET Bible | English Standard Version |
| 1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: | 1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: |
| 2"Who is this who darkens counsel with words without knowledge? | 2“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? |
| 3Get ready for a difficult task like a man; I will question you and you will inform me! | 3Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. |
| 4"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you possess understanding! | 4“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. |
| 5Who set its measurements--if you know--or who stretched a measuring line across it? | 5Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? |
| 6On what were its bases set, or who laid its cornerstone-- | 6On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, |
| 7when the morning stars sang in chorus, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? | 7when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? |
| 8"Who shut up the sea with doors when it burst forth, coming out of the womb, | 8“Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, |
| 9when I made the storm clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, | 9when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, |
| 10when I prescribed its limits, and set in place its bolts and doors, | 10and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, |
| 11when I said, 'To here you may come and no farther, here your proud waves will be confined'? | 11and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’? |
| 12Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, or made the dawn know its place, | 12“Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, |
| 13that it might seize the corners of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it? | 13that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? |
| 14The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features are dyed like a garment. | 14It is changed like clay under the seal, and its features stand out like a garment. |
| 15Then from the wicked the light is withheld, and the arm raised in violence is broken. | 15From the wicked their light is withheld, and their uplifted arm is broken. |
| 16Have you gone to the springs that fill the sea, or walked about in the recesses of the deep? | 16“Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? |
| 17Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of deepest darkness? | 17Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? |
| 18Have you considered the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know it all! | 18Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this. |
| 19"In what direction does light reside, and darkness, where is its place, | 19“Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness, |
| 20that you may take them to their borders and perceive the pathways to their homes? | 20that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home? |
| 21You know, for you were born before them; and the number of your days is great! | 21You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great! |
| 22Have you entered the storehouse of the snow, or seen the armory of the hail, | 22“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, |
| 23which I reserve for the time of trouble, for the day of war and battle? | 23which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war? |
| 24In what direction is lightning dispersed, or the east winds scattered over the earth? | 24What is the way to the place where the light is distributed, or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth? |
| 25Who carves out a channel for the heavy rains, and a path for the rumble of thunder, | 25“Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain and a way for the thunderbolt, |
| 26to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land, a desert where there are no human beings, | 26to bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no man, |
| 27to satisfy a devastated and desolate land, and to cause it to sprout with vegetation? | 27to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground sprout with grass? |
| 28Does the rain have a father, or who has fathered the drops of the dew? | 28“Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew? |
| 29From whose womb does the ice emerge, and the frost from the sky, who gives birth to it, | 29From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the frost of heaven? |
| 30when the waters become hard like stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen solid? | 30The waters become hard like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. |
| 31Can you tie the bands of the Pleiades, or release the cords of Orion? | 31“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion? |
| 32Can you lead out the constellations in their seasons, or guide the Bear with its cubs? | 32Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children? |
| 33Do you know the laws of the heavens, or can you set up their rule over the earth? | 33Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth? |
| 34Can you raise your voice to the clouds so that a flood of water covers you? | 34“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of waters may cover you? |
| 35Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go? Will they say to you, 'Here we are'? | 35Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’? |
| 36Who has put wisdom in the heart, or has imparted understanding to the mind? | 36Who has put wisdom in the inward parts or given understanding to the mind? |
| 37Who by wisdom can count the clouds, and who can tip over the water jars of heaven, | 37Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens, |
| 38when the dust hardens into a mass, and the clumps of earth stick together? | 38when the dust runs into a mass and the clods stick fast together? |
| 39"Do you hunt prey for the lioness, and satisfy the appetite of the lions, | 39“Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, |
| 40when they crouch in their dens, when they wait in ambush in the thicket? | 40when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in their thicket? |
| 41Who prepares prey for the raven, when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food? | 41Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and wander about for lack of food? |
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