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"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.
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Who determined the measures of it, if you know? Or who stretched the line on it?
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Whereupon were the foundations of it fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,
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When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
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"Or who shut up the sea with doors, When it broke forth from the womb,
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When I made clouds the garment of it, Thick darkness a swaddling-band for it,
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Marked out for it my bound, Set bars and doors,
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And said, `Here you may come, but no further; Here shall your proud waves be stayed?`
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"Have you commanded the morning in your days, And caused the dawn to know its place;
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That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And shake the wicked out of it?
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It is changed as clay under the seal, And stands forth as a garment.
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From the wicked, their light is withheld, The high arm is broken.
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"Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
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Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
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Have you comprehended the earth in its breadth? Declare, if you know it all.
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"What is the way to the dwelling of light? As for darkness, where is the place of it,
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That you should take it to the bound of it, That you should discern the paths to the house of it?
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Surely you know, for you were born then, And the number of your days is great!
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Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, Or have you seen the treasures of the hail,
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Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, Against the day of battle and war?
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By what way is the lightning distributed, Or the east wind scattered on the earth?
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Who has cut a channel for the flood water, Or the path for the thunderstorm;
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To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; On the wilderness, in which there is no man;
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To satisfy the waste and desolate ground, To cause the tender grass to spring forth?
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Does the rain have a father? Or who fathers the drops of dew?
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Out of whose womb came the ice? The gray frost of the sky, who has given birth to it?
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The waters become hard like stone, When the surface of the deep is frozen.
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"Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loosen the cords of Orion?
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Can you lead forth the constellations in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs?
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Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you establish the dominion of it over the earth?
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"Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover you?
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Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go? Do they report to you, `Here we are?`
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Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the mind?
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Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of the sky,
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When the dust runs into a mass, And the clods of earth stick together?
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"Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
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When they crouch in their dens, And lie in wait in the thicket?
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Who provides for the raven his prey, When his young ones cry to God, And wander for lack of food?