318 questions on this theme across 7 books
“What doest thou here, Elijah?”
“Whence comest thou?”
“Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?”
“Doth Job fear God for nought?”
“From whence comest thou?”
“Dost thou still retain thine integrity?”
“Why died I not from the womb?”
“Why did the knees prevent me?”
“Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul?”
“Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?”
“If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved?”
“Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent?”
“Shall mortal man be more just than God?”
“What is my strength, that I should hope?”
“Is my strength the strength of stones?”
“But what doth your arguing reprove?”
“What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him?”
“What shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men?”
“Why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity?”
“Doth God pervert judgment?”
“Can the rush grow up without mire?”
“But how should man be just with God?”
“How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him?”
“If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain?”
“Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?”
“Hast thou eyes of flesh?”
“Then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb?”
“Should not the multitude of words be answered?”
“Canst thou by searching find out God?”
“Yea, who knoweth not such things as these?”
“Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?”
“Will ye speak wickedly for God?”
“Do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand?”
“How many are mine iniquities and sins?”
“Hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?”
“Dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee?”
“Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?”
“Yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?”
“Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?”
“Art thou the first man that was born?”
“What is man, that he should be clean?”
“Shall vain words have an end?”
“How long will it be ere ye make an end of words?”
“Shall the earth be forsaken for thee?”
“How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?”
“Do you not know this from of old, since man was placed on earth?”
“As for me, is my complaint to man?”
“Do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?”
“How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity comes upon them? That God distributes pains in his anger?”
“Have ye not asked them that go by the way?”
“Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous?”
“Thou sayest, How doth God know?”
“Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?”
“How hast thou helped him that is without power?”
“To whom hast thou uttered words?”
“Where shall wisdom be found?”
“Whence then cometh wisdom?”
“Why then should I think upon a maid?”
“Why dost thou strive against him?”
“Shall even he that hateth right govern?”
“When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?”
“Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God's?”
“If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him?”
“Will he esteem thy riches?”
“Who teacheth like him?”
“Dost thou know when God disposed them, and caused the light of his cloud to shine?”
“Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking glass?”
“Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?”
“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?”
“Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest?”
“Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened?”
“Who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?”
“When I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness?”
“And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?”
“Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place?”
“That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?”
“Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?”
“Have the gates of death been opened unto thee?”
“Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth?”
“Where is the way where light dwelleth?”
“Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?”
“Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?”
“Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain, and a way for the thunderbolt?”
“To water a land where no one lives, an uninhabited desert?”
“And to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?”
“Hath the rain a father?”
“Out of whose womb came the ice?”
“Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?”
“Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season?”
“Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven?”
“Here we are?”
“Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts?”
“Who can number the clouds in wisdom?”
“Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion?”
“When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait?”
“Who provideth for the raven his food?”
“Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth?”
“Who hath sent out the wild ass free?”
“To whom I gave the wasteland as his home, the salt flats as his habitat?”
“Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?”
“Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks?”
“She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand?”
“Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider?”
“Hast thou given the horse strength?”
“At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, ‘Aha!’ He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry?”
“Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?”
“Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high?”
“Its young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there it is?”
“Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him?”
“Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?”
“Wilt thou also disannul my judgment?”
“Hast thou an arm like God?”
“Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at all who are proud and bring them low?”
“Look at all who are proud and humble them, crush the wicked where they stand?”
“Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox?”
“It ranks first among the works of God, yet its Maker can approach it with his sword?”
“The hills bring it their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby?”
“Can anyone capture it by the eyes, or trap it and pierce its nose?”
“Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook?”
“Canst thou put an hook into his nose?”
“Shall the companions make a banquet of him?”
“Who then is able to stand before me?”
“Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him?”
“Who can discover the face of his garment?”
“Who can open the doors of his face?”
“Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge?”
“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?”
“LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!?”
“O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame?”
“But thou, O LORD, how long?”
“In the grave who shall give thee thanks?”
“And the son of man, that thou visitest him?”
“Why standest thou afar off, O LORD?”
“Doth the wicked contemn God?”
“Flee as a bird to your mountain?”
“If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
“Who is lord over us?”
“How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD?”
“How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?”
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’?”
“Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge?”
“LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle?”
“O LORD, by your hand save me from such people, from those of this world whose reward is in this life?”
“Who is God save the LORD?”
“Who can understand his errors?”
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
“Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?”
“Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD?”
“Who is this King of glory?”
“What man is he that feareth the LORD?”
“Whom shall I fear?”
“What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit?”
“In my alarm I said, ‘I am cut off from your sight!’?”
“What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?”
“LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?”
“Lord, how long wilt thou look on?”
“Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is?”
“Now, Lord, what wait I for?”
“Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish?”
“When shall I come and appear before God?”
“Where is thy God?”
“Why art thou cast down, O my soul?”
“Why hast thou forgotten me?”
“Why dost thou cast me off?”
“Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord?”
“Hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?”
“Should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?”
“Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?”
“What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?”
“Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man?”
“Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge?”
“Are they not in thy book?”
“In God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?”
“I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts?”
“Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation?”
“For who, say they, doth hear?”
“Who will bring me into the strong city?”
“Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off?”
“How long will ye imagine mischief against a man?”
“Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.’?”
“Why leap ye, ye high hills?”
“What I did not steal must I now restore?”
“O God, who is like you?”
“How doth God know?”
“Whom have I in heaven but thee?”
“O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever?”
“O God, how long shall the adversary reproach?”
“Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand?”
“And who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?”
“Will the Lord cast off for ever?”
“Is his mercy clean gone for ever?”
“Hath God forgotten to be gracious?”
“Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?”
“Can he give bread also?”
“How long, LORD?”
“Where is their God?”
“O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?”
“Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?”
“How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked?”
“Wilt thou be angry with us for ever?”
“That thy people may rejoice in thee?”
“Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead?”
“Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave?”
“Shall thy wonders be known in the dark?”
“LORD, why castest thou off my soul?”
“Who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD?”
“O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee?”
“What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death?”
“Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?”
“Who knoweth the power of thine anger?”
“Return, O LORD, how long?”
“LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?”
“And ye fools, when will ye be wise?”
“He that planted the ear, shall he not hear?”
“He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct?”
“Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?”
“Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?”
“O when wilt thou come unto me?”
“Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD?”
“Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off?”
“Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high?”
“What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest?”
“Where is now their God?”
“What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?”
“What can man do unto me?”
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?”
“When wilt thou comfort me?”
“How many are the days of thy servant?”
“What shall be given unto thee?”
“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?”
“If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?”
“How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land?”
“Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?”
“How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!?”
“Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee?”
“O Lord, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him?”
“Who can stand before his cold?”
“How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity?”
“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you?”
“Why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?”
“How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?”
“Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?”
“Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?”
“People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving?”
“Doth not wisdom cry?”
“Is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?”
“But a wounded spirit who can bear?”
“But a faithful man who can find?”
“I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?”
“How can a man then understand his own way?”
“If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?”
“Seest thou a man diligent in his business?”
“Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?”
“Who hath woe?”
“Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?”
“When shall I awake?”
“Doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it?”
“Do not hastily bring into court, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame?”
“Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit?”
“But who is able to stand before envy?”
“Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words?”
“Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended?”
“Who is the LORD?”
“What, my son?”
“Who can find a virtuous woman?”
“What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?”
“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun?”
“See, this is new?”
“And of mirth, What doeth it?”
“For what can the man do that cometh after the king?”
“And why was I then more wise?”
“Who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool?”
“What hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?”
“Who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?”
“What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?”
“Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?”
“And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive?”
“Whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good?”
“But how can one be warm alone?”
“Wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?”
“And what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?”
“And what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?”
“Do not all go to one place?”
“What hath the wise more than the fool?”
“Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?”
“Who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow?”
“Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these?”
“For who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?”
“Why shouldest thou destroy thyself?”
“Why shouldest thou die before thy time?”
“That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?”
“Who is as the wise man?”
“What doest thou?”
“For who can tell him when it shall be?”
“Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion?”
“And what shall be after him, who can tell him?”
“As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things?”
“For why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?”
“Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom?”
“Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?”
“Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?”
“How shall I put it on?”
“What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women?”
“Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women?”
“Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?”
“What will ye see in the Shulamite?”
“Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires?”
“Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?”
“What shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?”
“But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us.”