Job 40
English Standard Version
40 And 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
3 Then 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.
5 I have spoken (E)once, and I will not answer;
(F)twice, but I will proceed no further.”
The Lord Challenges Job
6 Then the Lord (G)answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
7 (H)“Dress for action[a] like a man;
(I)I will question you, and you make it known to me.
8 Will you even put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that (J)you may be in the right?
9 Have you (K)an arm like God,
and can you thunder with (L)a voice like his?
10 “Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;
(M)clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
11 Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
and look on everyone who is (N)proud and abase him.
12 Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
and (O)tread down the wicked (P)where they stand.
13 (Q)Hide them all in (R)the dust together;
bind their faces in the world below.[b]
14 Then will I also acknowledge to you
that your own (S)right hand can save you.
15 “Behold, Behemoth,[c]
which I made as I made you;
he eats (T)grass like an ox.
16 Behold, his strength in his loins,
and his power in the muscles of his belly.
17 He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
18 His bones are tubes of bronze,
his limbs like bars of iron.
19 “He is (U)the first of (V)the works[d] of God;
let him who made him bring near his sword!
20 For the mountains yield food for him
where all the wild beasts play.
21 Under the lotus plants he lies,
in the shelter of (W)the reeds and in the marsh.
22 For his shade the lotus trees cover him;
the willows of the brook surround him.
23 Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;
he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
24 Can one take him by his eyes,[e]
or pierce his nose with a snare?
Job 40
1599 Geneva Bible
40 2 How weak man’s power is, being compared to the work of God: 10 Whose power appeareth in the creation, and governing of the great beasts.
1 Again the Lord answered Job out of (A)the whirlwind, and said,
2 Gird up now thy loins like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
3 Wilt thou disannul [a]my judgment? or wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be justified?
4 Or hast thou an arm like God? or dost thou thunder with a voice like him?
5 Deck thyself now with [b]majesty and excellency, and array thyself with beauty and glory.
6 Cast abroad the indignation of thy wrath, and behold everyone that is proud, and abase him.
7 Look on everyone that is arrogant, and bring him low: and destroy the wicked in their place.
8 Hide them in the dust together, and bind [c]their faces in a secret place.
9 Then will I confess unto thee also, that thy right hand can [d]save thee.
10 ¶ Behold now [e]Behemoth (whom I made [f]with thee) which eateth [g]grass as an ox.
11 Behold now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.
12 When he taketh pleasure, his tail is like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.
13 His bones are like staves of brass, and his small bones like staves of iron.
14 [h]He is the chief of the ways of God: [i]he that made him, will make his sword to approach unto him.
15 Surely the mountains bring him forth grass, where all the beasts of the field play.
16 Lieth he under the trees in the covert of the reed and fens?
17 Can the trees cover him with their shadow? or can the willows of the river compass him about?
18 Behold, he spoileth the river, [j]and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.
19 He taketh it with his eyes, and thrusteth his nose through whatsoever meeteth him.
20 ¶ Canst thou draw out [k]Leviathan with an hook, and with a line which thou shalt cast down unto his tongue?
21 Canst thou cast an hook into his nose? canst thou [l]pierce his jaws with an angle?
22 Will he make many prayers unto thee? and speak thee fair?
23 Will he make a covenant with thee? and wilt thou take [m]him as a servant forever?
24 Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maids?
25 Shall the companions banquet with him? shall they divide him among the merchants?
26 Canst thou fill the basket with his skin? or the fishpanier with his head?
27 Lay thine hand upon him: remember [n]the battle, and do no more so.
28 Behold, [o]his hope is in vain: for shall not one perish even at the sight of him?
Footnotes
- Job 40:3 Signifying that they that justify themselves, condemn God as unjust.
- Job 40:5 Meaning, that these were proper unto God, and belonged to no man.
- Job 40:8 Cause them to die if thou canst.
- Job 40:9 Proving hereby that whosoever attributeth to himself power and ability to save himself, maketh himself God.
- Job 40:10 This beast is thought to be the elephant, or some other, which is unknown.
- Job 40:10 Whom I made as well as thee.
- Job 40:10 This commendeth the providence of God toward man: for if he were given to devour as a lion, nothing were able to resist him, or content him.
- Job 40:14 He is one of the chiefest works of God among the beasts.
- Job 40:14 Though man dare not come near him, yet God can kill him.
- Job 40:18 He drinketh at leisure, and feareth nobody.
- Job 40:20 Meaning, the whale.
- Job 40:21 Because he feareth lest thou shouldest take him.
- Job 40:23 To do thy business, and be at thy commandment?
- Job 40:27 If thou once consider the danger, thou wilt not meddle with him.
- Job 40:28 To wit, that trusteth to take him.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
