Below I quote from the King James, and illustrate with William Blake. In bold are the lines that Bateson quotes directly. [Credits provided at the end.]
Chapter 38
1: Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
2: Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
3: Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
4: Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5: Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6: Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
7: When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8: Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
9: When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
10: And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
11: And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
12: Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;
13: That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
14: It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.
15: And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.
16: Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?
17: Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?
18: Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.
19: Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
20: That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?
21: Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great?
22: Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
23: Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
24: By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?
25: Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;
26: To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
27: To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?
28: Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
29: Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
30: The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
31: Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
32: Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?
33: Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?
34: Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?
35: Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?
36: Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?
37: Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven,
38: When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?
39: Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions,
40: When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?
41: Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.
Chapter 39
1: Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?
2: Canst thou number the months that they fulfill? or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?
3: They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows.
4: Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn; they go forth, and return not unto them.
5: Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?
6: Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings.
7: He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver.
8: The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.
9: Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?
10: Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
11: Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?
12: Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?
13: Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?
14: Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust,
15: And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them.
16: She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear;
17: Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding.
18: What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.
19: Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?
20: Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible.
21: He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men.
22: He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword.
23: The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.
24: He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet.
25: He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26: Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?
27: Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?
28: She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place.
29: From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off.
30: Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she.
Text from:
Blake's poem and illustrations available online at:
Other images from:
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