Job 40-42 (English Standard Version)

Job 40

 ¹And the LORD^(A) said to Job:
 ²"Shall a faultfinder^(B) contend with the Almighty?
   He who argues with God, let him answer it."

Job Promises Silence

 ³Then Job answered the LORD and said:
 ⁴"Behold, I am^(C) of small account; what shall I answer you?
   ^(D) I lay my hand on my mouth.
⁵I have spoken^(E) once, and I will not answer;
   twice, but I will proceed no further."

The LORD Challenges Job

 ⁶Then the LORD^(F) answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
 ^7(G) "Dress for action^[a] like a man;
   ^(H) I will question you, and you make it known to me.
⁸Will you even put me in the wrong?
   Will you condemn me that^(I) you may be in the right?
⁹Have you^(J) an arm like God,
   and can you thunder with^(K) a voice like his?

 ¹⁰"Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;
   ^(L) clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
¹¹Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
   and look on everyone who is^(M) proud and abase him.
¹²Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
   and^(N) tread down the wicked^(O) where they stand.
^13(P) Hide them all in^(Q) the dust together;
   bind their faces in the world below.^[b]
14Then will I also acknowledge to you
   that your own^(R) right hand can save you.

 ¹⁵"Behold, Behemoth,^[c]
   which I made as I made you;
   he eats^(S) grass like an ox.
¹⁶Behold, his strength in his loins,
   and his power in the muscles of his belly.
¹⁷He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
   the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
¹⁸His bones are tubes of bronze,
   his limbs like bars of iron.

 ¹⁹"He is^(T) the first of^(U) the works^[d] of God;
   let him who made him bring near his sword!
²⁰For the mountains yield food for him
   where all the wild beasts play.
²¹Under the lotus plants he lies,
   in the shelter of^(V) the reeds and in the marsh.
²²For his shade the lotus trees cover him;
   the willows of the brook surround him.
²³Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;
   he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
²⁴Can one take him by his eyes,^[e]
   or pierce his nose with a snare?

Job 41

 ^1[f] "Can you draw out^(W) Leviathan^[g] with a fishhook
   or press down his tongue with a cord?
²Can you put^(X) a rope in his nose
   or pierce his jaw with a hook?
³Will he make many pleas to you?
   Will he speak to you soft words?
⁴Will he make a covenant with you
   to take him for^(Y) your servant forever?
⁵Will you play with him as with a bird,
   or will you put him on a leash for your girls?
⁶Will traders bargain over him?
   Will they divide him up among the merchants?
⁷Can you fill his skin with harpoons
   or his head with fishing spears?
⁸Lay your hands on him;
   remember the battle—you will not do it again!
^9[h] Behold, the hope of a man is false;
   he is laid low even at the sight of him.
¹⁰No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up.
   Who then is he who can stand before me?
^11(Z) Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?
   ^(AA) Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.

 ¹²"I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
   or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.
¹³Who can strip off his outer garment?
   Who would come near him with a bridle?
¹⁴Who can open the doors of his face?
   Around his teeth is terror.
¹⁵His back is made of^[i] rows of shields,
   shut up closely as with a seal.
¹⁶One is so near to another
   that no air can come between them.
¹⁷They are^(AB) joined one to another;
   they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
¹⁸His sneezings flash forth light,
   and his eyes are like^(AC) the eyelids of the dawn.
¹⁹Out of his mouth go flaming torches;
   sparks of fire leap forth.
²⁰Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke,
   as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
²¹His breath^(AD) kindles coals,
   and a flame comes forth from his mouth.
²²In his neck abides strength,
   and terror dances before him.
²³The folds of his flesh^(AE) stick together,
   firmly cast on him and immovable.
²⁴His heart is hard as a stone,
   hard as the lower millstone.
²⁵When he raises himself up the mighty^[j] are afraid;
   at the crashing they are beside themselves.
²⁶Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail,
   nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
²⁷He counts iron as straw,
   and bronze as rotten wood.
²⁸The arrow cannot make him flee;
   for him sling stones are turned to stubble.
²⁹Clubs are counted as stubble;
   he laughs at the rattle of javelins.
³⁰His underparts are like sharp^(AF) potsherds;
   he spreads himself like^(AG) a threshing sledge on the mire.
³¹He makes the deep boil like a pot;
   he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
³²Behind him he leaves a shining wake;
   one would think the deep to be white-haired.
^33(AH) On earth there is not his like,
   a creature without fear.
³⁴He sees everything that is high;
   he is king over all the^(AI) sons of pride."

Job 42

Job’s Confession and Repentance

 ¹Then Job answered the LORD and said:
 ²"I know that you can^(AJ) do all things,
   and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
^3(AK) 'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?'Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
   things^(AL) too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
⁴'Hear, and I will speak;
   ^(AM) I will question you, and you make it known to me.'
⁵I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
   but now my eye sees you;
⁶therefore I despise myself,
   and repent^[k] in^(AN) dust and ashes."

The LORD Rebukes Job’s Friends

 ⁷After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz^(AO) the Temanite: "My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. ⁸Now therefore take^(AP) seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and^(AQ) offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall^(AR) pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." ^9(AS) So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the LORD had told them, and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer.

The LORD Restores Job’s Fortunes

 ¹⁰And the LORD^(AT) restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job^(AU) twice as much as he had before. ¹¹Then came to him all his^(AV) brothers and sisters and all who had^(AW) known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they^(AX) showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil^[l] that the LORD had brought upon him. And each of them gave him^(AY) a piece of money^[m] and a ring of gold.

 ¹²And the LORD blessed^(AZ) the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had^(BA) 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. ¹³He had also^(BB) seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. ¹⁵And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance^(BC) among their brothers. ¹⁶And after this Job lived 140 years, and^(BD) saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, four generations. ¹⁷And Job died, an old man, and^(BE) full of days.