² “Who is this ignorant person
    saying these foolish things?^[a]
3 Prepare yourself for an attack!
    Get ready to answer the questions I will ask you.

⁴ “Where were you when I made the earth?
    If you are so smart, answer me.
⁵ And who decided how big the earth should be?
    Who measured it with a measuring line?
⁶ What is the earth resting on?
    Who put the first stone in its place
⁷ when the morning stars sang together
    and the angels^[b] shouted with joy?

⁸ “Who closed the flood gates
    as the sea gushed from the womb?
⁹ Who covered it with clouds
    and wrapped it in darkness?
¹⁰ I set the limits for the sea
    and put it behind locked gates.
¹¹ I said to the sea, ‘You can come this far, but no farther.
    This is where your proud waves will stop.’

¹² “Did you ever in your life command the morning to begin
    or the day to dawn?
¹³ Did you ever tell the morning light to grab the earth
    and shake those who are evil out of their hiding places?
¹⁴ The morning light makes the hills
    and valleys easy to see.
When the daylight comes to the earth,
    the shapes of these places stand out like the folds of a coat.
They take shape like soft clay
    that is pressed with a stamp.
¹⁵ Evil people don’t like the daylight.
    When it shines bright, it keeps them from doing the bad things they do.

¹⁶ “Have you ever gone to the deepest parts of the sea?
    Have you ever walked on the ocean bottom?
¹⁷ Has anyone shown you the gates to the world of the dead?
    Have you ever seen those gates that lead to the dark place of death?
¹⁸ Do you really understand how big the earth is?
    Tell me, if you know all this.

¹⁹ “Where does light come from?
    Where does darkness come from?
²⁰ Can you take them back to where they belong?
    Do you know how to get there?
²¹ Surely you know these things, since you are so old and wise.
    You were alive when I made them, weren’t you?^[c]

²² “Have you ever gone into the storerooms
    where I keep the snow and the hail?
²³ I save them there for times of trouble,
    for the times of war and battle.
²⁴ Have you ever gone to the place where the sun comes up,
    where it makes the east wind blow all over the earth?^[d]
25 Who dug ditches in the sky for the heavy rain?
    Who made a path for the thunderstorm?
²⁶ Who makes it rain even in desert places
    where no one lives?
²⁷ The rain gives that dry empty land all the water it needs,
    and grass begins to grow.
²⁸ Does the rain have a father?
    Who produces the drops of dew?
²⁹ Does ice have a mother?
    Who gives birth to the frost?
³⁰ That’s when the water freezes as hard as a rock.
    Even the deep sea freezes over!

³¹ “Can you tie up the Pleiades^[e]?
    Can you unfasten the belt of Orion^[f]?
³² Can you bring out the other constellations^[g] at the right times?
    Can you lead out the Bear^[h] with its cubs?
³³ Do you know the laws that control the sky?
    Can you put each star in its place above the earth?^[i]

³⁴ “Can you shout at the clouds
    and command them to cover you with rain?
³⁵ Can you give a command to the lightning?
    Will it come to you and say, ‘Here we are; what do you want, sir?’
    Will it go wherever you want it to go?

³⁶ “Who makes people wise?
    Who puts wisdom deep inside them?
³⁷ Who is wise enough to count the clouds
    and tip them over to pour out their rain?
³⁸ The rain makes the dust become mud,
    and the clumps of dirt stick together.

³⁹ “Do you find food for the lions?
    Do you feed their hungry babies?
⁴⁰ No, they hide in their caves
    or wait in the grass, ready to attack their prey.
⁴¹ Who feeds the ravens when their babies cry out to God
    and wander around without food?