1Da talte Herren til Job inde fra stormvejret:2„Hvorfra kender du mine tanker, når du knap nok ved, hvem jeg er?3Lad mig nu stille dig nogle spørgsmål, så får vi se, om du kan svare på dem.4Hvor var du henne, da jeg skabte jorden? Svar mig på det, hvis du er så klog!5Var du med til at bestemme dens størrelse og beslutte, hvor den skulle anbringes?6Var det dig, der skabte et fundament, som jorden kunne hvile på,7mens englene råbte af glæde, og morgenstjernerne sang deres hyldest?8Hvem satte grænser for havet, da vandet fossede frem af jordens skød?9Hvem hyllede det i skyer som i et svøb, dækkede det med tåge som et tæppe?10Hvem sørgede for at holde havet i skak, så det blev på sin plads mellem bredderne?11Hvem sagde: ‚Hertil og ikke længere! Her standser dine stolte bølger!’?12Har du nogen sinde kaldt daggryet frem eller bedt solen udbrede sine arme13for at tage nattens tæppe af jordens seng og ryste mørkets misgerninger ud af det?14Med lyset kommer jordens konturer frem, den fyldes med strålende farver.15Lyset standser voldsmændenes hærgen, for de arbejder under dække af mørket.16Har du undersøgt havets kilder eller gået på oceanets bund?17Fandt du ud af, hvor dødsrigets porte var? Så du indgangen til afgrundens verden?18Har du fattet, hvor stor jorden er? Sig mig, om du allerede ved alt det her.19Ved du, hvor lyset kommer fra? Ved du, hvor mørket går hen?20Kan du vise dem vej til deres hjem? Kender du stierne, der fører til deres hus?21Du ved alt på grund af din store erfaring, for du var jo født, da lyset blev skabt.22Har du set, hvor jeg opbevarer sneen, de rum, hvor jeg skjuler haglvejret,23som jeg gemmer til uvejrets dage, når krige og kampe bryder ud?24Ved du, hvor lynene vil ramme, eller hvornår østenvinden begynder at blæse?25Hvem bestemmer, hvor regnen skal falde, og hvem baner vej for tordenvejret?26Hvem sender regn på øde steder, hvor der ingen mennesker bor?27Hvem mætter vildmarken med vand, så græsset kan spire og gro?28Har regnen mon en far? Hvem har avlet duggens dråber?29Fra hvis moderskød kommer isen? Hvem føder rimfrosten fra himlen?30Vandet bliver hårdt som sten, havets overflade hærdes til is.31Kan du binde Syvstjernen sammen eller løse Orions bælte?32Har du styr på Dyrekredsen? Har du kontrol over Store Bjørn og Lille Bjørn?33Kender du universets love? Bestemmer du deres virkning på jorden?34Kan du ved at råbe til skyerne få regnen til at gennembløde dig?35Kan du kommandere med lynene, vil de adlyde din befaling?36Hvem gav mennesket visdom, udstyrede hjernen med evne til at tænke?37Hvem kender skyernes antal? Hvem vipper himlens vandkrukker,38så det tørre støv forvandles til mudder, og leret klumper sig sammen?39Kan du jage en gazelle som en løvinde, der sørger for mad til sine sultne unger,40mens de ligger i deres hule eller gemmer sig i steppens krat?41Hvem sørger for føde til ravnen, når dens sultne unger rejser sig og råber til himlen efter mad?
1Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: (Job 13,22; Job 40,6)2“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? (Job 35,16; Job 42,3)3Dress for action[1] like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. (1.Kong 18,46)4“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. (Salm 104,5; Ord 8,24; Ord 30,4; Es 40,12)5Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?6On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone,7when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 1,6; Salm 19,1; Luk 2,13)8“Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, (1.Mos 1,9; Salm 33,7; Salm 104,8; Jer 5,22)9when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, (Job 22,13)10and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, (Job 38,33)11and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’? (Salm 65,7; Salm 89,9; Salm 93,4)12“Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, (Salm 65,8; Salm 74,16)13that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? (Neh 5,13; Job 37,3)14It is changed like clay under the seal, and its features stand out like a garment.15From the wicked their light is withheld, and their uplifted arm is broken. (Job 18,5; Job 24,13; Salm 10,15; Salm 37,17; Ez 30,21; Matt 6,23)16“Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? (Salm 77,19)17Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? (Job 3,5; Salm 9,13; Salm 107,18; Es 38,10; Matt 16,18)18Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this.19“Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness,20that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home? (Job 24,13)21You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great! (Job 15,7)22“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, (Salm 135,7)23which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war? (Josva 10,11; Job 37,13; Es 28,17; Es 30,30; Ez 13,11; Ez 13,13; Ez 38,22; Åb 16,21)24What is the way to the place where the light is distributed, or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?25“Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain and a way for the thunderbolt, (Job 28,26)26to bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no man, (Job 37,13; Salm 107,35)27to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground sprout with grass? (1.Mos 1,11; 2.Sam 23,4)28“Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew? (Salm 147,8; Jer 14,22)29From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the frost of heaven? (Salm 147,16)30The waters become hard like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. (Job 37,10)31“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion? (Job 9,9; Amos 5,8)32Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth[2] in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children? (Job 38,31)33Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth? (Jer 31,35)34“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of waters may cover you? (Job 22,11)35Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’?36Who has put wisdom in the inward parts[3] or given understanding to the mind?[4] (Job 32,8; Salm 51,6)37Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,38when the dust runs into a mass and the clods stick fast together? (Job 21,33)39“Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, (Salm 104,21)40when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in their thicket? (Job 37,8; Salm 17,12)41Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and wander about for lack of food? (Salm 147,9; Matt 6,26; Luk 12,24)