Job 40-42 (Contemporary English Version)

Job 40

The LORD Continues

I Am the LORD All-Powerful

 ¹I am the LORD All-Powerful,

    ²but you have argued

   that I am wrong.

   Now you must answer me.

    ³Job said to the LORD:

    ⁴Who am I to answer you?

    ⁵I did speak once or twice,

   but never again.

    ⁶Then out of the storm

   the LORD said to Job:

    ⁷Face me and answer

   the questions I ask!

    ⁸Are you trying to prove

   that you are innocent

   by accusing me of injustice?

    ⁹Do you have a powerful arm

   and a thundering voice

   that compare with mine?

    ¹⁰If so, then surround yourself

   with glory and majesty.

    ¹¹Show your furious anger!

   Throw down and crush

    ¹²all who are proud and evil.

    ¹³Wrap them in grave clothes

   and bury them together

   in the dusty soil.

    ¹⁴Do this, and I will agree

   that you have won

   this argument.

   

I Created You

 ¹⁵I created both you

   and the hippopotamus. ^[a] It eats only grass like an ox,

    ¹⁶but look at the mighty muscles

   in its body ¹⁷and legs.

   Its tail is like a cedar tree,

   and its thighs are thick.

    ¹⁸The bones in its legs

   are like bronze or iron.

    ¹⁹I made it more powerful

   than any other creature,

   yet I am stronger still.

    ²⁰Undisturbed, it eats grass

   while the other animals

   play nearby. ^{[b] 21}It rests in the shade of trees

   along the riverbank

    ²²or hides among reeds

   in the swamp.

    ²³It remains calm and unafraid

   with the Jordan River rushing

   and splashing in its face.

    ²⁴There is no way to capture

   a hippopotamus--

   not even by hooking its nose

   or blinding its eyes.

   

Job 41

The LORD Continues

Can You Catch a Sea Monster?

 ¹Can you catch a sea monster ^[c] by using a fishhook?

   Can you tie its mouth shut

   with a rope?

    ²Can it be led around

   by a ring in its nose

   or a hook in its jaw?

    ³Will it beg for mercy?

    ⁴Will it surrender

   as a slave for life?

    ⁵Can it be tied by the leg

   like a pet bird

   for little girls?

    ⁶Is it ever chopped up

   and its pieces bargained for

   in the fish-market?

    ⁷Can it be killed

   with harpoons or spears?

    ⁸Wrestle it just once--

   that will be the end.

    ⁹Merely a glimpse of this monster

   makes all courage melt.

    ¹⁰And if it is too fierce

   for anyone to attack,

   who would dare oppose me?

    ¹¹I am in command of the world

   and in debt to no one.

    ¹²What powerful legs,

   what a stout body

   this monster possesses!

    ¹³Who could strip off its armor

   or bring it under control

   with a harness?

    ¹⁴Who would try to open its jaws,

   full of fearsome teeth?

    ¹⁵Its back ^[d] is covered with shield after shield,

    ¹⁶firmly bound and closer together

    ¹⁷than breath to breath.

   

When This Monster Sneezes

 ¹⁸When this monster sneezes,

   lightning flashes,

   and its eyes

   glow like the dawn.

    ¹⁹Sparks and fiery flames

   explode from its mouth.

    ²⁰And smoke spews from its nose

   like steam

   from a boiling pot,

    ²¹while its blazing breath

   scorches everything in sight.

    ²²Its neck is so tremendous

   that everyone trembles,

    ²³the weakest parts of its body

   are harder than iron,

    ²⁴and its heart is stone.

    ²⁵When this noisy monster appears,

   even the most powerful ^[e] turn and run in fear.

    ²⁶No sword or spear can harm it,

    ²⁷and weapons of bronze or iron

   are as useless

   as straw

   or rotten wood.

    ²⁸Rocks thrown from a sling

   cause it no more harm

   than husks of grain.

   This monster fears no arrows,

    ²⁹it simply smiles at spears,

   and striking it with a stick

   is like slapping it with straw.

    ³⁰As it crawls through the mud,

   its sharp and spiny hide

   tears the ground apart.

    ³¹And when it swims down deep,

   the sea starts churning

   like boiling oil,

    ³²and it leaves behind a trail

   of shining white foam.

    ³³No other creature on earth

   is so fearless.

    ³⁴It is king of all proud creatures,

   and it looks upon the others

   as nothing.

   

Job 42

Job's Reply to the LORD

No One Can Oppose You

 ¹Job said:

    ²No one can oppose you,

   because you have the power

   to do what you want.

    ³You asked why I talk so much

   when I know so little.

   I have talked about things

   that are far beyond

   my understanding.

    ⁴You told me to listen

   and answer your questions. ^{[f] 5}I heard about you from others;

   now I have seen you

   with my own eyes.

    ⁶That's why I hate myself

   and sit here in dust and ashes

   to show my sorrow.

   

The LORD Corrects Job's Friends

 ⁷The LORD said to Eliphaz:

   What my servant Job has said about me is true, but I am angry at you and your two friends for not telling the truth. ⁸So I want you to go over to Job and offer seven bulls and seven goats on an altar as a sacrifice to please me. ^[g] After this, Job will pray, and I will agree not to punish you for your foolishness. ⁹Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar obeyed the LORD, and he answered Job's prayer.

   

A Happy Ending

 ¹⁰After Job had prayed for his three friends, the LORD made Job twice as rich as he had been before. ¹¹Then Job gave a feast for his brothers and sisters and for his old friends. They expressed their sorrow for the suffering the LORD had brought on him, and they each gave Job some silver and a gold ring.

    ¹²The LORD now blessed Job more than ever; he gave him fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand pair of oxen, and a thousand donkeys.

    ¹³In addition to seven sons, Job had three daughters, ¹⁴whose names were Jemimah, Keziah, and Keren Happuch. ¹⁵They were the most beautiful women in that part of the world, and Job gave them shares of his property, along with their brothers.

    ¹⁶Job lived for another one hundred forty years--long enough to see his great-grandchildren have children of their own-- ¹⁷and when he finally died, he was very old.