Job 40
1 Moreover the LORD answered Job,
God continued speaking to Job.
2 “Shall he who argues contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.”
“Are you still going to fight with the Almighty and try to set him straight? Anyone who argues with God must give some answers.”
3 Then Job answered the LORD,
Job answered the Lord,
4 “Behold, I am of small account. What will I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.
“Me—I am nothing at all. I have no answers. I put my hand in front of my mouth.
5 I have spoken once, and I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”
I have already said far too much and I won't say anything more.”
6 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind,
7 “Now brace yourself like a man. I will question you, and you will answer me.
“Prepare yourself, be strong, for I am going to question you, and you must answer me.
8 Will you even annul my judgment? Will you condemn me, that you may be justified?
Are you really going to say my decisions are wrong? Are you going to condemn me so you can be right?
9 Or do you have an arm like God? Can you thunder with a voice like him?
Are you as powerful as I am? Does your voice thunder like mine?
10 “Now deck yourself with excellency and dignity. Array yourself with honor and majesty.
Why don't you dress yourself with majesty and dignity, and clothe yourself with glory and splendor!
11 Pour out the fury of your anger. Look at everyone who is proud, and bring him low.
Let loose your fierce anger. Humble the proud with a glance.
12 Look at everyone who is proud, and humble him. Crush the wicked in their place.
Bring down the proud with your gaze; tread the wicked underfoot right where they are.
13 Hide them in the dust together. Bind their faces in the hidden place.
Bury them in the dust; lock them away in the grave.
14 Then I will also admit to you that your own right hand can save you.
Then I will also agree that your own strength can save you.
15 “See now behemoth, which I made as well as you. He eats grass as an ox.
Consider Behemoth, a creature I made just like I made you. It eats grass like cattle.
16 Look now, his strength is in his thighs. His force is in the muscles of his belly.
Look at its powerful loins, the muscles of its belly.
17 He moves his tail like a cedar. The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
It bends its tail like a cedar; its thigh sinews are strong.
18 His bones are like tubes of bronze. His limbs are like bars of iron.
Its bones are like bronze tubes; its limbs like iron rods.
19 He is the chief of the ways of God. He who made him gives him his sword.
It is the most important example of what God can do; only the one who made it can approach it with a sword.
20 Surely the mountains produce food for him, where all the animals of the field play.
The hills produce food for it, and all the wild animals play there.
21 He lies under the lotus trees, in the covert of the reed, and the marsh.
It lies under the lotus; it hides in the reeds of the marsh.
22 The lotuses cover him with their shade. The willows of the brook surround him.
The lotus covers it with shade; the willow trees of the valley surround it.
23 Behold, if a river overflows, he does not tremble. He is confident, though the Jordan swells even to his mouth.
Even if the river is in flood, it is not concerned; it remains calm when the Jordan river surges against it.
24 Shall any take him when he is on the watch, or pierce through his nose with a snare?
No one can catch it while it is watching, or pierce its nose with a noose.
