Then Jehovah answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Who is this that darkeneth counsel
By words without knowledge?
Gird up now thy loins like a man;
For I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Declare, {Hebrew: if thou knowest understanding.}if thou hast understanding.
Who determined the measures thereof, {Or, seeing}if thou knowest?
Or who stretched the line upon it?
Whereupon were the {Hebrew: sockets.}foundations thereof {Hebrew: made to sink.}fastened?
Or who laid the corner-stone thereof,
When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Or who shut up the sea with doors,
When it brake forth, {Or, and issued}as if it had issued out of the womb;
When I made clouds the garment thereof,
And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,
And {Hebrew: brake.}marked out for it my bound,
And set bars and doors,
And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further;
And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began,
And caused the dayspring to know its place;
That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?
It is changed as clay under the seal;
And all things stand forth {Or, as in a garment}as a garment:
And from the wicked their light is withholden,
And the high arm is broken.
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?
Or hast thou walked in the {Or, search}recesses of the deep?
Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee?
Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death?
Hast thou comprehended the earth in its breadth?
Declare, if thou knowest it all.
Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof,
And that thou shouldest discern the paths to the house thereof?
Doubtless, thou knowest, for thou wast then born,
And the number of thy days is great!
Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow,
Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
Which I have reserved against the time of trouble,
Against the day of battle and war?
{Or, Which is the way to the place where the light is &c.}By what way is the light parted,
Or the east wind scattered upon the earth?
Who hath cleft a channel for the waterflood,
Or the way for the lightning of the thunder;
To cause it to rain on a land where no man is;
On the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
To satisfy the waste and desolate ground,
And to cause the {Or, greensward}tender grass to spring forth?
Hath the rain a father?
Or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
Out of whose womb came the ice?
And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath {Or, given it birth}gendered it?
The waters {Or, are congealed like stone}hide themselves and become like stone,
And the face of the deep {Hebrew: cohereth.}is frozen.
Canst thou bind the {Or, chain Or, sweet influences}cluster of the Pleiades,
Or loose the bands of Orion?
Canst thou lead forth {Or, the signs of the Zodiac}the Mazzaroth in their season?
Or canst thou guide the Bear with her {Hebrew: sons.}train?
Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens?
Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds,
That abundance of waters may cover thee?
Canst thou send forth lightnings, that they may go,
And say unto thee, Here we are?
Who hath put wisdom in the {Or, dark clouds}inward parts?
Or who hath given understanding to the {Or, meteor}mind?
Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can {Hebrew: cause to lie down.}pour out the bottles of heaven,
When the dust runneth into a mass,
And the clods cleave fast together?
Canst thou hunt the prey for the lioness,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
When they couch in their dens,
And abide in the covert to lie in wait?
Who provideth for the raven his prey,
When his young ones cry unto God, And wander for lack of food?
Querverweise zu Hiob 38,13 Hiob 38,13
Their line is gone out through all the earth,And their words to the end of the world.In them hath he set a {Hebrew: tent.}tabernacle for the sun,
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,And rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course.
His going forth is from the end of the heavens,And his circuit unto the ends of it;And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
He sendeth it forth under the whole heaven,And his {Hebrew: light.}lightning unto the {Hebrew: skirts.}ends of the earth.
These are of them that rebel against the light;They know not the ways thereof,Nor abide in the paths thereof.
The murderer riseth with the light;He killeth the poor and needy;And in the night he is as a thief.
The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight,Saying, No eye shall see me:And he {Or, putteth a covering on his face}disguiseth his face.
In the dark they dig through houses: {Or, Which they had marked for themselves}They shut themselves up in the day-time;They know not the light.
For {Or, thick darkness is to all of them as the morning; For they &c.}the morning is to all of them as thick darkness;For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.
If I take the wings of the morning,And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even there shall thy hand lead me,And thy right hand shall hold me.
If I say, Surely the darkness shall {Or, cover}overwhelm me, {Or, Then the night shall be light about me}And the light about me shall be night;
Even the darkness hideth not from thee,But the night shineth as the day:The darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its {Or, wonted flow}strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and Jehovah {Hebrew: shook off.}overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
The young lions roar after their prey,And seek their food from God.
The sun ariseth, they get them away,And lay them down in their dens.
Let sinners be consumed out of the earth.And let the wicked be no more.Bless Jehovah, O my soul. {Hebrew: Hallelujah.}Praise ye Jehovah.