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40 Then[a] Yahweh answered Job and said,

“Shall a faultfinder contend with Shaddai?
Anyone who argues with God must answer it.”

Job Responds to Yahweh

So Job answered Yahweh and said,
“Look, I am insignificant.
What shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
Once I have spoken, and I will not answer;
even[b] twice, but[c] I will not proceed.”

Yahweh Challenges Job Again

Then[d] Yahweh answered Job from the storm, and he said,
Prepare yourself for a difficult task like a man,[e]
and I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

Yahweh Interrogates Job Again

“Indeed, would you annul my justice?
Would you condemn me, so that you might be righteous?
Or do you have an arm like God,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?
10 Adorn[f] yourself with pride and dignity,
and clothe yourself with splendor.
11 Pour out the overflowing of your anger,
and look at all the proud, and humble them.
12 Look at all the proud, humble them,
and tread down the wicked where they stand.[g]
13 Hide them in the dust together;
bind their faces in the grave.
14 And I will also praise you,
that your own right hand can save you.
15 “Look, Behemoth,[h] which I have made just as I made you;
it eats grass like the ox.
16 Look, its strength is in its loins
and its power in the muscles of its stomach.
17 It keeps its tail straight like a cedar;
the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound.
18 Its bones are tubes of copper,
its limbs like rods of iron.
19 “It is the first of God’s actions;
the one who made him furnishes it with his sword.[i]
20 Yes, the mountains yield produce for it,
and all wild animals[j] play there.
21 Under the lotus tree it lies,
in the hiding place of the reeds and in the marsh.
22 The lotus trees cover it with their shade;
the wadi’s[k] poplar trees surround it.
23 Look, if the river is turbulent, it is not frightened;
it is confident even though the Jordan rushes against its mouth.
24 Can anyone take it by its eyes?
Can he pierce its nose with a snare?

Footnotes

  1. Job 40:1 Hebrew “And”
  2. Job 40:5 Hebrew “And”
  3. Job 40:5 Or “and”
  4. Job 40:6 Or “And”
  5. Job 40:7 Literally “Gird up like a man your loins”
  6. Job 40:10 The particle sometimes translated “please” is present, but an almighty God or sovereign king does not say “please” when commanding his subjects
  7. Job 40:12 Literally “in place of them”
  8. Job 40:15 Some interpret as a hippopotamus
  9. Job 40:19 See NET; nearly all other English translations: “Only his Maker can draw the sword against him” (NJPS; compare NLT), or “only its Maker can approach it with the sword” (NRSV, NIV, ESV, HCSB, NASU)
  10. Job 40:20 Literally “all the animals of the field”
  11. Job 40:22 A seasonal stream that is often dry

约伯向耶和华自卑

40 耶和华又对约伯说: “强辩的岂可与全能者争论吗?与神辩驳的可以回答这些吧!”

于是约伯回答耶和华说: “我是卑贱的,我用什么回答你呢?只好用手捂口。 我说了一次,再不回答;说了两次,就不再说。”

耶和华以所问所行诘约伯

于是耶和华从旋风中回答约伯说: “你要如勇士束腰,我问你,你可以指示我。 你岂可废弃我所拟定的?岂可定我有罪,好显自己为义吗? 你有神那样的膀臂吗?你能像他发雷声吗?

10 “你要以荣耀庄严为装饰,以尊荣威严为衣服。 11 要发出你满溢的怒气,见一切骄傲的人,使他降卑, 12 见一切骄傲的人,将他制伏,把恶人践踏在本处。 13 将他们一同隐藏在尘土中,把他们的脸蒙蔽在隐密处。 14 我就认你右手能以救自己。

15 “你且观看河马,我造你也造它,它吃草与牛一样。 16 它的气力在腰间,能力在肚腹的筋上。 17 它摇动尾巴如香柏树,它大腿的筋互相联络。 18 它的骨头好像铜管,它的肢体仿佛铁棍。 19 它在神所造的物中为首,创造它的给它刀剑。 20 诸山给它出食物,也是百兽游玩之处。 21 它伏在莲叶之下,卧在芦苇隐密处和水洼子里。 22 莲叶的阴凉遮蔽它,溪旁的柳树环绕它。 23 河水泛滥,它不发战,就是约旦河的水涨到它口边,也是安然。 24 在它防备的时候,谁能捉拿它?谁能牢笼它,穿它的鼻子呢?