Job 40
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
40 And the Lord said to Job:
Job’s Response to God
3 Then Job answered the Lord:
4 “See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.(B)
5 I have spoken once, and I will not answer,
twice but will proceed no further.”(C)
God’s Challenge to Job
6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:(D)
7 “Gird up your loins like a man;
I will question you, and you declare to me.(E)
8 Will you even put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that you may be justified?(F)
9 Have you an arm like God,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?(G)
10 “Deck yourself with majesty and dignity;
clothe yourself with glory and splendor.(H)
11 Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
and look on all who are proud and humble them.(I)
12 Look on all who are proud and bring them low;
tread down the wicked where they stand.(J)
13 Hide them all in the dust together;
bind their faces in the world below.[b]
14 Then I will also acknowledge to you
that your own right hand can give you victory.(K)
15 “Look at Behemoth,
which I made just as I made you;
it eats grass like an ox.(L)
16 Its strength is in its loins
and its power in the muscles of its belly.
17 It makes its tail stiff like a cedar;
the sinews of its thighs are knit together.
18 Its bones are tubes of bronze,
its limbs like bars of iron.
19 “It is the first of the great acts of God;
only its Maker can approach it with the sword.(M)
20 For the mountains yield food for it
where all the wild animals play.(N)
21 Under the lotus plants it lies,
in the covert of the reeds and in the marsh.
22 The lotus trees cover it for shade;
the willows of the wadi surround it.(O)
23 Even if the river is turbulent, it is not frightened;
it is confident though Jordan rushes against its mouth.
24 Can one take it with hooks[c]
or pierce its nose with a snare?(P)
Job 40
International Standard Version
The Lord Challenges Job Again
40 The Lord continued his response to Job by saying:
2 “Should the one who is fighting the Almighty find fault with him?[a]
Let God’s accuser answer.”
Job Acknowledges His Limitations
3 Then Job replied to the Lord. He said:
4 “I must look insignificant to you!
How can I answer you?
I’m speechless.[b]
5 I spoke once,
but I can’t answer;
I tried[c] a second time,
but I won’t do so anymore.”
The Lord Continues to Interrogate Job
6 The Lord answered Job from the wind storm and told him:
7 “Stand up[d] like a man!
I’ll ask you some questions,
and you give me some answers!
8 Indeed would you annul my justice and condemn me,
just so you can claim that you’re righteous?
9 Do you have strength[e] like God?
Can you create thunder with a sound[f] like he can?”
Can You Save Yourself?
10 “When you have adorned yourself with exalted majesty,
clothed yourself with splendor and dignity,[g]
11 dispensed the fury of your anger,
made sure[h] that you have humbled every proud person,
12 stared down and subdued every proud person,
trampled the wicked right where they are,
13 buried[i] them in the dust together,
and sent them bound to that secret place,[j]
14 then I will applaud you myself!
I’ll admit that you can deliver yourself by your own efforts!”
On Behemoth
15 “Please observe[k] Behemoth,[l] which I made along with you.
He eats grass like an ox.
16 Now take a look at the strength that he has in his loins,
and in the muscles of his abdomen.
17 His tail protrudes stiffly, like cedar;[m]
the sinews of his thigh interlink for strength.
18 His bones are conduits[n] of bronze;[o]
his strong bones are like bars of iron.
19 He is the grandest[p] of God’s undertakings,[q]
yet his creator is approaching him with his sword.[r]
20 Mountains produce food for him,
where all the wild animals frolic.
21 He lies under the lotus trees,
hiding under reeds and marshes.[s]
22 The lotus trees cover him with their shade,
and willows that line the wadis[t] surround him.
23 What you see as a raging river doesn’t alarm him;
he is confident when the Jordan overflows.
24 Are your eyes looking to capture him,
or to pierce his snout with a bridle?”
Footnotes
- Job 40:2 The Heb. lacks him
- Job 40:4 Lit. I put my hand over my mouth
- Job 40:5 The Heb. lacks tried
- Job 40:7 Lit. Gird up your loins
- Job 40:9 Lit. have an arm
- Job 40:9 Lit. voice
- Job 40:10 Lit. splendor and majesty
- Job 40:11 Lit. see
- Job 40:13 MT reads hide
- Job 40:13 I.e. the afterlife
- Job 40:15 Lit. look
- Job 40:15 I.e. an ancient, gigantic herbivore, living in Job’s time but now apparently extinct
- Job 40:17 I.e. a genus of coniferous evergreen in the family Pinaceae
- Job 40:18 Or channels
- Job 40:18 Or copper
- Job 40:19 Or first
- Job 40:19 Lit. ways
- Job 40:19 I.e. God was about to make Behemoth extinct
- Job 40:21 Lit. reed and marsh
- Job 40:22 I.e. seasonal streams that channel water during rain seasons but are dry at other times
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