Job 40
1 And the Lord continued, and he said to Job:
Then Yahweh said to Job,
2 Will he who contends with God be so easily silenced? Certainly, he who argues with God must also respond to him.
“Do you still want to argue with me, the Almighty One? Since you criticize me, (you should be able to answer my questions!/why are you not able to answer my questions?) [RHQ]”
3 Then Job answered the Lord, saying:
Then Job replied to Yahweh,
4 What could I possibly answer, since I have been speaking thoughtlessly? I will place my hand over my mouth.
“[Now I realize that] I am completely worthless. So (how could I answer [those questions]?/I could not possibly answer [those questions]!) [RHQ] I will put my hand over my mouth [and not say anything].
5 One thing I have spoken, which I wish I had not said; and another, to which I will add no more.
I have already said more than I should have said, so now I will say nothing more.”
6 But the Lord, answering Job out of the whirlwind, said:
Then Yahweh [again] spoke to Job from inside the great windstorm. He said,
7 Gird your waist like a man. I will question you, and you must answer me.
“I want to ask you some [more] questions. So as men prepare themselves for a difficult task [MET], prepare yourself again to answer some [more] questions.
8 Will you make my judgment null and void; and will you condemn me so that you may be justified?
“Are you going to accuse me and say that I am unjust? Are you going to say that what I have done is wrong, in order that you can say that what you have done is right?
9 And do you have an arm like God, or a voice like thunder?
Are you as powerful [MTY] as I am? Can your voice sound [as loud] as thunder, as mine can?
10 Envelop yourself with splendor, and raise yourself up on high, and be glorious, and put on splendid garments.
[If you can do that], put on the robes that show that you are glorious and are greatly honored!
11 Scatter the arrogant with your wrath, and, when you see all the arrogant, humble them.
Show that you are very angry; show that you have the right/authority to humble people who are [very] proud!
12 Look down upon each of the arrogant and confound them, and crush the impious in their place.
Humble those proud people [just] by looking at them [angrily] Crush wicked people quickly!
13 Hide them in the dust together and plunge their faces into the pit.
Bury them in the ground! Send them to the place where dead people are, where they will not be able to get out!
14 Then I will confess that your right hand is able to save you.
After you do that, I will congratulate/praise you and say that [truly] you can save yourself by your own ability/power.
15 Behold, the behemoth, whom I created along with you, eats hay like an ox.
“Think [also] about the huge animals that live near the water. I made you, and I made them also. They eat grass, like oxen do.
16 His strength is in his lower back, and his power is in the center of his abdomen.
Their legs/thighs are [very] strong, and the muscles of their bellies are [very] powerful.
17 He draws up his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs have been drawn together.
Their tails are stiff (OR, bend down) like the branches of a cedar tree. The sinews/muscles of their thighs are close together.
18 His bones are like pipes of brass; his cartilage is like plates of iron.
Their [thigh] bones are [like] tubes [made] of bronze, and the bones of their legs are like bars [made] of iron.
19 He is the beginning of the ways of God, who made him; he will use him as his sword.
They are among the strongest of the animals that I made, and I, who created them, am the only one who can kill them.
20 The mountains bring forth grass for him; all the beasts of the field will play there.
On the hills grows food [PRS] for them to eat while many [HYP] other wild animals play nearby.
21 He sleeps in the shadows, under the cover of branches, and in moist places.
They lie down [in the water] under the lotus plants; they hide in [tall] reeds in the swamps.
22 The shadows cover his shadow; the willows of the brook will encircle him.
Those huge animals find shade under the lotus plants, and they are surrounded by poplar trees.
23 Behold, he will drink a river and not be amazed, and he has confidence that the Jordan could flow into his mouth.
They are not disturbed by raging/swiftly-flowing rivers; they are not even disturbed/frightened when [rivers like the] Jordan [River] rush over them.
24 He will seize him through his eyes, as if with a hook, and he will bore through his nostrils, as if with stakes.
No one can [RHQ] catch them by blinding their eyes or by piercing their noses with [the teeth of] a trap!”
