⁷ “Are you the first man ever born?^(A)
    Were you brought forth before the hills?^(B)

²² “The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,^[a][b]
    before his deeds of old;
²³ I was formed long ages ago,
    at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
²⁴ When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
    when there were no springs overflowing with water;^(A)
25 before the mountains were settled in place,^(B)
    before the hills, I was given birth,^(C)

⁴ “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?^(A)
    Tell me, if you understand.^(B)
5 Who marked off its dimensions?^(C) Surely you know!
    Who stretched a measuring line^(D) across it?
⁶ On what were its footings set,^(E)
    or who laid its cornerstone^(F)—
⁷ while the morning stars^(G) sang together^(H)
    and all the angels^[a](I) shouted for joy?^(J)

⁸ “Who shut up the sea behind doors^(K)
    when it burst forth from the womb,^(L)
9 when I made the clouds its garment
    and wrapped it in thick darkness,^(M)
10 when I fixed limits for it^(N)
    and set its doors and bars in place,^(O)
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;^(P)
    here is where your proud waves halt’?^(Q)

¹² “Have you ever given orders to the morning,^(R)
    or shown the dawn its place,^(S)
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
    and shake the wicked^(T) out of it?^(U)
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;^(V)
    its features stand out like those of a garment.
¹⁵ The wicked are denied their light,^(W)
    and their upraised arm is broken.^(X)

¹⁶ “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
    or walked in the recesses of the deep?^(Y)
17 Have the gates of death^(Z) been shown to you?
    Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?^(AA)
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?^(AB)
    Tell me, if you know all this.^(AC)

¹⁹ “What is the way to the abode of light?
    And where does darkness reside?^(AD)
20 Can you take them to their places?
    Do you know the paths^(AE) to their dwellings?
²¹ Surely you know, for you were already born!^(AF)
    You have lived so many years!

²² “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow^(AG)
    or seen the storehouses^(AH) of the hail,^(AI)
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,^(AJ)
    for days of war and battle?^(AK)
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,^(AL)
    or the place where the east winds^(AM) are scattered over the earth?^(AN)
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
    and a path for the thunderstorm,^(AO)
26 to water^(AP) a land where no one lives,
    an uninhabited desert,^(AQ)
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
    and make it sprout with grass?^(AR)
28 Does the rain have a father?^(AS)
    Who fathers the drops of dew?
²⁹ From whose womb comes the ice?
    Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens^(AT)
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
    when the surface of the deep is frozen?^(AU)

³¹ “Can you bind the chains^[b] of the Pleiades?
    Can you loosen Orion’s belt?^(AV)
32 Can you bring forth the constellations^(AW) in their seasons^[c]
    or lead out the Bear^[d] with its cubs?^(AX)
33 Do you know the laws^(AY) of the heavens?^(AZ)
    Can you set up God’s^[e] dominion over the earth?

³⁴ “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
    and cover yourself with a flood of water?^(BA)
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?^(BB)
    Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
³⁶ Who gives the ibis wisdom^[f](BC)
    or gives the rooster understanding?^[g](BD)
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
    Who can tip over the water jars^(BE) of the heavens^(BF)
38 when the dust becomes hard^(BG)
    and the clods of earth stick together?^(BH)

³⁹ “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
    and satisfy the hunger of the lions^(BI)
40 when they crouch in their dens^(BJ)
    or lie in wait in a thicket?^(BK)
41 Who provides food^(BL) for the raven^(BM)
    when its young cry out to God
    and wander about for lack of food?^(BN)

¹⁰ The gray-haired and the aged^(A) are on our side,
    men even older than your father.^(B)

¹² Is not wisdom found among the aged?^(A)
    Does not long life bring understanding?^(B)