⁷ “Are you the first man who was born?
^(A)Or were you made before the hills?

²² “The^(A) Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old.
^23 (B)I have been established from everlasting,
From the beginning, before there was ever an earth.
²⁴ When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no fountains abounding with water.
^25 (C)Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills, I was brought forth;

⁴ “Where^(A) were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
⁵ Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the ^[a]line upon it?
⁶ To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
⁷ When the morning stars sang together,
And all ^(B)the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸ “Or^(C) who shut in the sea with doors,
When it burst forth and issued from the womb;
⁹ When I made the clouds its garment,
And thick darkness its swaddling band;
¹⁰ When ^(D)I fixed My limit for it,
And set bars and doors;
¹¹ When I said,
‘This far you may come, but no farther,
And here your proud waves ^(E)must stop!’

¹² “Have you ^(F)commanded the morning since your days began,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
¹³ That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And ^(G)the wicked be shaken out of it?
¹⁴ It takes on form like clay under a seal,
And stands out like a garment.
¹⁵ From the wicked their ^(H)light is withheld,
And ^(I)the ^[b]upraised arm is broken.

¹⁶ “Have you ^(J)entered the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in search of the depths?
¹⁷ Have ^(K)the gates of death been ^[c]revealed to you?
Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
¹⁸ Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.

¹⁹ “Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,
²⁰ That you may take it to its territory,
That you may know the paths to its home?
²¹ Do you know it, because you were born then,
Or because the number of your days is great?

²² “Have you entered ^(L)the treasury of snow,
Or have you seen the treasury of hail,
^23 (M)Which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
For the day of battle and war?
²⁴ By what way is light ^[d]diffused,
Or the east wind scattered over the earth?

²⁵ “Who ^(N)has divided a channel for the overflowing water,
Or a path for the thunderbolt,
²⁶ To cause it to rain on a land where there is no one,
A wilderness in which there is no man;
^27 (O)To satisfy the desolate waste,
And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass?
^28 (P)Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
²⁹ From whose womb comes the ice?
And the ^(Q)frost of heaven, who gives it birth?
³⁰ The waters harden like stone,
And the surface of the deep is ^(R)frozen.^[e]

³¹ “Can you bind the cluster of the ^(S)Pleiades,^[f]
Or loose the belt of Orion?
³² Can you bring out ^[g]Mazzaroth in its season?
Or can you guide ^[h]the Great Bear with its cubs?
³³ Do you know ^(T)the ordinances of the heavens?
Can you set their dominion over the earth?

³⁴ “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
That an abundance of water may cover you?
³⁵ Can you send out lightnings, that they may go,
And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?
^36 (U)Who has put wisdom in ^[i]the mind?
Or who has given understanding to the heart?
³⁷ Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,
³⁸ When the dust hardens in clumps,
And the clods cling together?

³⁹ “Can^(V) you hunt the prey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
⁴⁰ When they crouch in their dens,
Or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait?
^41 (W)Who provides food for the raven,
When its young ones cry to God,
And wander about for lack of food?