For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee,.... Inquire into and consult the annals of former times, of ages past: since the day that God created man upon the earth; trace them quite up to the creation of the world, and men in it: and ask from the one side of heaven to the other; traverse the whole globe, and examine the records of every nation in it in both hemispheres: whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? whether they can give any account of anything seen, heard, or done like what follows; suggesting that they cannot furnish out an instance to be mentioned with it.