38:19 “In what direction 1 does light reside,
and darkness, where is its place,
38:20 that you may take them to their borders
and perceive the pathways to their homes? 2
38:21 You know, for you were born before them; 3
and the number of your days is great!
38:22 Have you entered the storehouse 4 of the snow,
or seen the armory 5 of the hail,
38:23 which I reserve for the time of trouble,
for the day of war and battle? 6
38:24 In what direction is lightning 7 dispersed,
or the east winds scattered over the earth?
38:25 Who carves out a channel for the heavy rains,
and a path for the rumble of thunder,
38:26 to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land, 8
a desert where there are no human beings, 9
38:27 to satisfy a devastated and desolate land,
and to cause it to sprout with vegetation? 10
38:28 Does the rain have a father,
or who has fathered the drops of the dew?
38:29 From whose womb does the ice emerge,
and the frost from the sky, 11 who gives birth to it,
38:30 when the waters become hard 12 like stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen solid?
38:31 Can you tie the bands 13 of the Pleiades,
or release the cords of Orion?
38:32 Can you lead out
the constellations 14 in their seasons,
or guide the Bear with its cubs? 15
38:33 Do you know the laws of the heavens,
or can you set up their rule over the earth?
38:34 Can you raise your voice to the clouds
so that a flood of water covers you? 16
38:35 Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go?
Will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?
38:36 Who has put wisdom in the heart, 17
or has imparted understanding to the mind?
38:37 Who by wisdom can count the clouds,
and who can tip over 18 the water jars of heaven,
38:38 when the dust hardens 19 into a mass,
and the clumps of earth stick together?
38:39 “Do you hunt prey for the lioness,
and satisfy the appetite 20 of the lions,
38:40 when they crouch in their dens,
when they wait in ambush in the thicket?
38:41 Who prepares prey for the raven,
when its young cry out to God
and wander about 21 for lack of food?