Job 40
1 Then Yahweh said to Job,
Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said:
2 “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]”
Shall he that reproveth contend with the Almighty? He that argueth with God, let him answer it.
3 Then Job replied to Yahweh,
Then Job answered the LORD, and said:
4 “[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].
Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer Thee? I lay my hand upon my mouth.
5 I have already said more than I should have said, so now I will say nothing more.”
Once have I spoken, but I will not answer again; yea, twice, but I will proceed no further.
6 Then Yahweh [again] spoke to Job from inside the great windstorm. He said,
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
7 “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.
Gird up thy loins now like a man; I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto Me.
8 “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?
Wilt thou even make void My judgment? Wilt thou condemn Me, that thou mayest be justified?
9 Are you as powerful [MTY] as I am? Can your voice sound [as loud] as thunder, as mine can?
Or hast thou an arm like God? And canst thou thunder with a voice like Him?
10 [If you can do that], put on the robes that show that you are glorious and are greatly honored!
Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency, and array thyself with glory and beauty.
11 Show that you are very angry; show that you have the right/authority to humble people who are [very] proud!
Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath; and look upon every one that is proud, and abase him.
12 Humble those proud people [just] by looking at them [angrily] Crush wicked people quickly!
Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.
13 Bury them in the ground! Send them to the place where dead people are, where they will not be able to get out!
Hide them in the dust together; bind their faces in the hidden place.
14 After you do that, I will congratulate/praise you and say that [truly] you can save yourself by your own ability/power.
Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.
15 “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.
Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
16 Their legs/thighs are [very] strong, and the muscles of their bellies are [very] powerful.
Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the stays of his body.
17 Their tails are stiff (OR, bend down) like the branches of a cedar tree. The sinews/muscles of their thighs are close together.
He straineth his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18 Their [thigh] bones are [like] tubes [made] of bronze, and the bones of their legs are like bars [made] of iron.
His bones are as pipes of brass; his gristles are like bars of iron.
19 They are among the strongest of the animals that I made, and I, who created them, am the only one who can kill them.
He is the beginning of the ways of God; He only that made him can make His sword to approach unto him.
20 On the hills grows food [PRS] for them to eat while many [HYP] other wild animals play nearby.
Surely the mountains bring him forth food, and all the beasts of the field play there.
21 They lie down [in the water] under the lotus plants; they hide in [tall] reeds in the swamps.
He lieth under the lotus-trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.
22 Those huge animals find shade under the lotus plants, and they are surrounded by poplar trees.
The lotus-trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about.
23 They are not disturbed by raging/swiftly-flowing rivers; they are not even disturbed/frightened when [rivers like the] Jordan [River] rush over them.
Behold, if a river overflow, he trembleth not; he is confident, though the Jordan rush forth to his mouth.
24 No one can [RHQ] catch them by blinding their eyes or by piercing their noses with [the teeth of] a trap!”
Shall any take him by his eyes, or pierce through his nose with a snare?
