² Eternal One: Have you heard enough?
        Will the one who finds fault with the Highest One^[a] now make his case?
        Let God’s accuser answer Him!

⁴ Job: Oh, I am so small. How can I reply to You?
        I’ll cover my mouth with my hand, for I’ve already said too much.
⁵     One time I have spoken, and I have no answer to give—
        two times, and I have nothing more to add.

Eternal One: ⁷ Now, prepare yourself and gather your courage like a warrior.
        Prepare yourself for the task at hand.
    I’ll be asking the questions, now—
        you will supply the answers.
⁸     Let Me ask you a new question:
    Would you go so far as to call into question My judgment?
        Would you imagine Me guilty merely in order to justify yourself?
⁹     Do you have an arm just as powerful as God’s
        and does your voice thunder as His does?

¹⁰     Then dress yourself up in majesty and dignity.
        Deck yourself out in honor and splendor
¹¹     And indulge your anger.
        Unleash your wrath!
        Look down on each and every proud soul, and cut him low.
¹²     Look down on all who are proud, and humiliate them.
        Raise your mighty foot, and stomp the wicked where they stand.
¹³     Bury them all together in the dirt,
        and shroud their frozen faces in the secret recesses of the grave.
¹⁴     If you can execute all this,
        then I—yes, even I—will praise you,
        for your great and mighty right hand earned you the victory!

¹⁵     But before you undertake My challenge,
        turn your attention to Behemoth,
    The beast which I fashioned along with you.

Eternal One: It eats grass like an ox.
¹⁶     Look carefully: it has a sturdy, muscular base
        and draws its power from its brawny core.
¹⁷     Its bends like a cedar,
        the sinews of its powerful thighs are woven tightly.
¹⁸     Its bones, unbreakable, are like tubes of bronze;
        its whole skeletal structure is like a framework of iron.
¹⁹     It is one of My most marvelous creations;
        only I, its Maker, can threaten its existence.
²⁰     The hillsides offer it food as it grazes near
        where the wild animals bustle and play.
²¹     It lies beside the river under the shade of the lotus,
        hidden by the reeds of the marsh;
²²     The lotus trees cover it with their shadows;
        the willows of the stream surround it.
²³     It is not alarmed when the river rises and rages;
        it stands confident, firmly fixed,
    Even when the Jordan swells
        and rushes against it.
²⁴     Can anyone capture this beast while it is watching
        or trap it and pierce its nose to haul it off?