Job 40
World English Bible
40 Moreover Yahweh answered Job,
2 “Shall he who argues contend with the Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer it.”
3 Then Job answered Yahweh,
4 “Behold, I am of small account. What will I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
5 I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”
6 Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind:
7 “Now brace yourself like a man.
I will question you, and you will answer me.
8 Will you even annul my judgment?
Will you condemn me, that you may be justified?
9 Or do you have an arm like God?
Can you thunder with a voice like him?
10 “Now deck yourself with excellency and dignity.
Array yourself with honor and majesty.
11 Pour out the fury of your anger.
Look at everyone who is proud, and bring him low.
12 Look at everyone who is proud, and humble him.
Crush the wicked in their place.
13 Hide them in the dust together.
Bind their faces in the hidden place.
14 Then I will also admit to you
that your own right hand can save you.
15 “See now behemoth, which I made as well as you.
He eats grass as an ox.
16 Look now, his strength is in his thighs.
His force is in the muscles of his belly.
17 He moves his tail like a cedar.
The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18 His bones are like tubes of bronze.
His limbs are like bars of iron.
19 He is the chief of the ways of God.
He who made him gives him his sword.
20 Surely the mountains produce food for him,
where all the animals of the field play.
21 He lies under the lotus trees,
in the covert of the reed, and the marsh.
22 The lotuses cover him with their shade.
The willows of the brook surround him.
23 Behold, if a river overflows, he doesn’t tremble.
He is confident, though the Jordan swells even to his mouth.
24 Shall any take him when he is on the watch,
or pierce through his nose with a snare?
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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