| NET Bible | New International Version |
| 1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: | 1Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: |
| 2"Who is this who darkens counsel with words without knowledge? | 2"Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? |
| 3Get ready for a difficult task like a man; I will question you and you will inform me! | 3Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer 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 earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. |
| 5Who set its measurements--if you know--or who stretched a measuring line across it? | 5Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? |
| 6On what were its bases set, or who laid its cornerstone-- | 6On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone-- |
| 7when the morning stars sang in chorus, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? | 7while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? |
| 8"Who shut up the sea with doors when it burst forth, coming out of the womb, | 8"Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, |
| 9when I made the storm clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, | 9when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, |
| 10when I prescribed its limits, and set in place its bolts and doors, | 10when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, |
| 11when I said, 'To here you may come and no farther, here your proud waves will be confined'? | 11when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt'? |
| 12Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, or made the dawn know its place, | 12"Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, |
| 13that it might seize the corners of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it? | 13that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it? |
| 14The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features are dyed like a garment. | 14The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment. |
| 15Then from the wicked the light is withheld, and the arm raised in violence is broken. | 15The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised 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 journeyed to 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 shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness? |
| 18Have you considered the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know it all! | 18Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this. |
| 19"In what direction does light reside, and darkness, where is its place, | 19"What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside? |
| 20that you may take them to their borders and perceive the pathways to their homes? | 20Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings? |
| 21You know, for you were born before them; and the number of your days is great! | 21Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years! |
| 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 seen the storehouses of the hail, |
| 23which I reserve for the time of trouble, for the day of war and battle? | 23which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle? |
| 24In what direction is lightning dispersed, or the east winds scattered over the earth? | 24What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth? |
| 25Who carves out a channel for the heavy rains, and a path for the rumble of thunder, | 25Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm, |
| 26to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land, a desert where there are no human beings, | 26to water a land where no one lives, an uninhabited desert, |
| 27to satisfy a devastated and desolate land, and to cause it to sprout with vegetation? | 27to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass? |
| 28Does the rain have a father, or who has fathered the drops of the dew? | 28Does the rain have a father? Who fathers 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 comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens |
| 30when the waters become hard like stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen solid? | 30when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface 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? Can you loosen Orion's belt? |
| 32Can you lead out the constellations in their seasons, or guide the Bear with its cubs? | 32Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? |
| 33Do you know the laws of the heavens, or can you set up their rule over the earth? | 33Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God's dominion over the earth? |
| 34Can you raise your voice to the clouds so that a flood of water covers you? | 34"Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water? |
| 35Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go? Will they say to you, 'Here we are'? | 35Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, 'Here we are'? |
| 36Who has put wisdom in the heart, or has imparted understanding to the mind? | 36Who gives the ibis wisdom or gives the rooster understanding? |
| 37Who by wisdom can count the clouds, and who can tip over the water jars of heaven, | 37Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens |
| 38when the dust hardens into a mass, and the clumps of earth stick together? | 38when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together? |
| 39"Do you hunt prey for the lioness, and satisfy the appetite of the lions, | 39"Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the 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 a thicket? |
| 41Who prepares prey for the raven, when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food? | 41Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food? |
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