n°18 / Job 38 :

1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
2Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge ?
3Gird up now thy loins like a man ; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
4Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth ? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest ? or who hath stretched the line upon it ?
6Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened ? or who laid the corner stone thereof ;
7When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy ?
8Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb ?
9When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
10And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
11And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further : and here shall thy proud waves be stayed ?
12Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days ; and caused the dayspring to know his place ;
13That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it ?
14It is turned as clay to the seal ; and they stand as a garment.
15And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.
16Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea ? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth ?
17Have the gates of death been opened unto thee ? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death ?
18Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth ? declare if thou knowest it all.
19Where is the way where light dwelleth ? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
20That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof ?
21Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born ? or because the number of thy days is great ?
22Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow ? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
23Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war ?
24By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth ?
25Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder ;
26To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is ; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man ;
27To satisfy the desolate and waste ground ; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth ?
28Hath the rain a father ? or who hath begotten the drops of dew ?
29Out of whose womb came the ice ? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it ?
30The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
31Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion ?
32Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season ? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons ?
33Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven ? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth ?
34Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee ?
35Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go and say unto thee, Here we are ?
36Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts ? or who hath given understanding to the heart ?
37Who can number the clouds in wisdom ? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,
38When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together ?
39Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion ? or fill the appetite of the young lions,
40When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait ?
41Who provideth for the raven his food ? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.