New International Version NIV
Common English Bible CEB
1 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
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Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?
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Who is this darkening counsel with words lacking knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
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Prepare yourself like a man; I will interrogate you, and you will respond to me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
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Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations? Tell me if you know.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?
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Who set its measurements? Surely you know. Who stretched a measuring tape on it?
6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—
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On what were its footings sunk; who laid its cornerstone,
7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?
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while the morning stars sang in unison and all the divine beings shouted?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
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Who enclosed the Sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,
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when I made the clouds its garment, the dense clouds its wrap,
10 when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,
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when I imposed my limit for it, put on a bar and doors
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’?
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and said, "You may come this far, no farther; here your proud waves stop"?
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place,
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In your lifetime have you commanded the morning, informed the dawn of its place
13 that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?
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so it would take hold of earth by its edges and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment.
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Do you turn it over like clay for a seal, so it stands out like a colorful garment?
15 The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken.
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Light is withheld from the wicked, the uplifted arm broken.
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?
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Have you gone to the sea's sources, walked in the chamber of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
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Have death's gates been revealed to you; can you see the gates of deep darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.
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Have you surveyed earth's expanses? Tell me if you know everything about it.
19 “What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?
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Where's the road to the place where light dwells; darkness, where's it located?
20 Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
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Can you take it to its territory; do you know the paths to its house?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years!
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You know, for you were born then; you have lived such a long time!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail,
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Have you gone to snow's storehouses, seen the storehouses of hail
23 which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?
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that I have reserved for a time of distress, for a day of battle and war?
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
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What is the way to the place where light is divided up; the east wind scattered over earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,
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Who cut a channel for the downpours and a way for blasts of thunder
26 to water a land where no one lives, an uninhabited desert,
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to bring water to uninhabited land, a desert with no human
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?
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to saturate dry wasteland and make grass sprout?
28 Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew?
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Has the rain a father who brought forth drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
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From whose belly does ice come; who gave birth to heaven's frost?
30 when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen?
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Water hardens like stone; the surface of the deep thickens.
31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades? Can you loosen Orion’s belt?
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Can you bind Pleiades' chains or loosen the reins of Orion?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasonsor lead out the Bear with its cubs?
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Can you guide the stars at their proper times, lead the Bear with her cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?
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Do you know heaven's laws, or can you impose its rule on earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?
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Can you issue an order to the clouds so their abundant waters cover you?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
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Can you send lightning so that it goes and then says to you, "I'm here"?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdomor gives the rooster understanding?
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Who put wisdom in remote places, or who gave understanding to a rooster?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
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Who is wise enough to count the clouds, and who can tilt heaven's water containers
38 when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together?
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so that dust becomes mud and clods of dirt adhere?
39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions
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Can you hunt prey for the lion or fill the cravings of lion cubs?
40 when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket?
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They lie in their den, lie in ambush in their lair.
41 Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?
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Who provides food for the raven when its young cry to God, move about without food?
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible