Job 40
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 40
1 The Lord then answered Job and said:
2 Will one who argues with the Almighty be corrected?
Let him who would instruct God give answer!(A)
3 Then Job answered the Lord and said:
4 [a]Look, I am of little account; what can I answer you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
5 I have spoken once, I will not reply;
twice, but I will do so no more.
6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm and said:
7 Gird up your loins now, like a man.
I will question you, and you tell me the answers!
8 [b]Would you refuse to acknowledge my right?
Would you condemn me that you may be justified?
9 Have you an arm like that of God,
or can you thunder with a voice like his?
10 Adorn yourself with grandeur and majesty,
and clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
11 Let loose the fury of your wrath;
look at everyone who is proud and bring them down.
12 Look at everyone who is proud, and humble them.
Tear down the wicked in their place,
13 bury them in the dust together;
in the hidden world imprison them.
14 Then will I too praise you,
for your own right hand can save you.
15 Look at Behemoth,[c] whom I made along with you,
who feeds on grass like an ox.
16 See the strength in his loins,
the power in the sinews of his belly.
17 He carries his tail like a cedar;
the sinews of his thighs are like cables.
18 His bones are like tubes of bronze;
his limbs are like iron rods.
19 He is the first of God’s ways,
only his maker can approach him with a sword.
20 For the mountains bring him produce,
and all wild animals make sport there.
21 Under lotus trees he lies,
in coverts of the reedy swamp.
22 The lotus trees cover him with their shade;
all about him are the poplars in the wadi.
23 If the river grows violent, he is not disturbed;
he is tranquil though the Jordan surges about his mouth.
24 Who can capture him by his eyes,
or pierce his nose[d] with a trap?
25 Can you lead Leviathan[e] about with a hook,
or tie down his tongue with a rope?
26 Can you put a ring into his nose,
or pierce through his cheek with a gaff?
27 Will he then plead with you, time after time,
or address you with tender words?
28 Will he make a covenant with you
that you may have him as a slave forever?
29 Can you play with him, as with a bird?
Can you tie him up for your little girls?
30 Will the traders bargain for him?
Will the merchants[f] divide him up?
31 Can you fill his hide with barbs,
or his head with fish spears?
32 Once you but lay a hand upon him,
no need to recall any other conflict!
Footnotes
- 40:4–5 Job’s first reaction is humble, but also seemingly cautious.
- 40:8–14 The issue is joined in these verses, and the Lord seems to challenge Job to play God and to bring down the proud and wicked.
- 40:15 Behemoth: a primeval monster of chaos; identified by some scholars as the hippopotamus, on which the description of Behemoth is partially based. The point of the Behemoth-Leviathan passages is that only the Lord, not Job, can control the cosmic evil which these forces symbolize.
- 40:24 Eyes…nose: the only exposed parts of the submerged beast.
- 40:25 Leviathan: although identified by some scholars as the crocodile, it is more likely another chaos monster; see note on 3:8.
- 40:30 Merchants: lit., “Canaanites,” whose reputation for trading was so widespread that their name came to be used for merchants; cf. Prv 31:24.
Job 40
Lexham English Bible
40 Then[a] Yahweh answered Job and said,
2 “Shall a faultfinder contend with Shaddai?
Anyone who argues with God must answer it.”
Job Responds to Yahweh
3 So Job answered Yahweh and said,
4 “Look, I am insignificant.
What shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
5 Once I have spoken, and I will not answer;
even[b] twice, but[c] I will not proceed.”
Yahweh Challenges Job Again
6 Then[d] Yahweh answered Job from the storm, and he said,
7 “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
8 “Indeed, would you annul my justice?
Would you condemn me, so that you might be righteous?
9 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
- Job 40:1 Hebrew “And”
- Job 40:5 Hebrew “And”
- Job 40:5 Or “and”
- Job 40:6 Or “And”
- Job 40:7 Literally “Gird up like a man your loins”
- 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
- Job 40:12 Literally “in place of them”
- Job 40:15 Some interpret as a hippopotamus
- 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)
- Job 40:20 Literally “all the animals of the field”
- Job 40:22 A seasonal stream that is often dry
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