Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out; he is excellent in power:
And in judgment and plenteous justice he will not afflict.
Men do therefore fear him:
He regardeth not any that are wise of heart.

(_Elihu_ offers his solution to the question, Why does Job suffer? He
is young, conceited, and wordy, but sincere in his belief that he has
wisdom which his elders and betters have not found. It is difficult to
see what that wisdom is. Most of what he says has been better said
before. If he adds anything, it is the thought that God sometimes
sends suffering, not only to punish for past sin, but to keep man from
future sin.)

{222}

V

THE LORD.

(He speaks to Job out of the whirlwind.)

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, if thou hast understanding.
Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest?
Or who stretched the line upon it?
Whereupon were the foundations thereof 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,
When I made the cloud the garment thereof,
And thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
And prescribed for it my decree,
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; {223}
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 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 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 breadth of the earth?
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, tho