< Job 40 >
1 And YHWH answers Job and says:
God continued speaking to Job.
2 “Is the striver with the Mighty instructed? The reprover of 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 And Job answers YHWH and says:
Job answered the Lord,
4 “Behold, I have been vile, What do I return to You? I have placed 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 do not answer, And twice, and I do not add.”
I have already said far too much and I won't say anything more.”
6 And YHWH answers Job out of the whirlwind and says:
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind,
7 “Now gird your loins as a man, I ask you, and you cause Me to know.
“Prepare yourself, be strong, for I am going to question you, and you must answer me.
8 Do you also make My judgment void? Do you condemn Me, That you may be righteous?
Are you really going to say my decisions are wrong? Are you going to condemn me so you can be right?
9 And do you have an arm like God? And do you thunder with a voice like His?
Are you as powerful as I am? Does your voice thunder like mine?
10 Now put on excellence and loftiness, Indeed, put on splendor and beauty.
Why don't you dress yourself with majesty and dignity, and clothe yourself with glory and splendor!
11 Scatter abroad the wrath of your anger, And see every proud one, and make him low.
Let loose your fierce anger. Humble the proud with a glance.
12 See every proud one—humble him, And tread down 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 secret.
Bury them in the dust; lock them away in the grave.
14 And even I praise you, For your right hand gives salvation to you.
Then I will also agree that your own strength can save you.
15 Now behold, behemoth, That I made with you: He eats grass as an ox.
Consider Behemoth, a creature I made just like I made you. It eats grass like cattle.
16 Now behold, his power [is] in his loins, And his strength in the muscles of his belly.
Look at its powerful loins, the muscles of its belly.
17 He bends his tail as a cedar, The sinews of his thighs are wrapped together,
It bends its tail like a cedar; its thigh sinews are strong.
18 His bones [are] tubes of bronze, His bones [are] as a bar of iron.
Its bones are like bronze tubes; its limbs like iron rods.
19 He [is] a beginning of the ways of God, His Maker [alone] brings His sword near;
It is the most important example of what God can do; only the one who made it can approach it with a sword.
20 For mountains bear food for him, And all the beasts of the field play there.
The hills produce food for it, and all the wild animals play there.
21 He lies down under shades, In a secret place of reed and marsh.
It lies under the lotus; it hides in the reeds of the marsh.
22 Shades cover him, [with] their shadow, Willows of the brook cover him.
The lotus covers it with shade; the willow trees of the valley surround it.
23 Behold, a flood oppresses—he does not hurry, He is confident though Jordan Comes forth 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 Does [one] take him by his eyes? Does [one] pierce the nose with snares?”
No one can catch it while it is watching, or pierce its nose with a noose.