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 38,15 Hiob 38,15
They meet with darkness in the day-time,And grope at noonday as in the night.
Break thou the arm of the wicked;And as for the evil man, seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out,And the {Or, flame}spark of his fire shall not shine.
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken;But Jehovah upholdeth the righteous.
He shall be driven from light into darkness,And chased out of the world.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong arm, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.
And Jehovah said unto Moses, Stretch out thy hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.
And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days;
they saw not one another, neither rose any one from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto Jehovah, and said, Smite this {Hebrew: nation.}people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
The way of the wicked is as darkness:They know not at what they stumble.
And they shall pass through it, sore distressed and hungry; and it shall come to pass that, when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and {Or, curse their king and their God}curse by their king and by their God, and turn their faces upward:
and they shall look unto the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; {Or, and thick darkness shall be driven away. For there &c.}and {Or, in}into thick darkness they shall be driven away.
Give glory to Jehovah your God, before {Or, it grow dark}he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the {Hebrew: mountains of twilight.}dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into {Or, deep darkness}the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.
and said, O full of all guile and all villany, thou son of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun {Greek: until.}for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.