² “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?
    You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”

⁴ “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers?
    I will cover my mouth with my hand.
⁵ I have said too much already.
    I have nothing more to say.”

⁷ “Brace yourself like a man,
    because I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.

⁸ “Will you discredit my justice
    and condemn me just to prove you are right?
⁹ Are you as strong as God?
    Can you thunder with a voice like his?
¹⁰ All right, put on your glory and splendor,
    your honor and majesty.
¹¹ Give vent to your anger.
    Let it overflow against the proud.
¹² Humiliate the proud with a glance;
    walk on the wicked where they stand.
¹³ Bury them in the dust.
    Imprison them in the world of the dead.
¹⁴ Then even I would praise you,
    for your own strength would save you.

¹⁵ “Take a look at Behemoth,^[a]
    which I made, just as I made you.
    It eats grass like an ox.
¹⁶ See its powerful loins
    and the muscles of its belly.
¹⁷ Its tail is as strong as a cedar.
    The sinews of its thighs are knit tightly together.
¹⁸ Its bones are tubes of bronze.
    Its limbs are bars of iron.
¹⁹ It is a prime example of God’s handiwork,
    and only its Creator can threaten it.
²⁰ The mountains offer it their best food,
    where all the wild animals play.
²¹ It lies under the lotus plants,^[b]
    hidden by the reeds in the marsh.
²² The lotus plants give it shade
    among the willows beside the stream.
²³ It is not disturbed by the raging river,
    not concerned when the swelling Jordan rushes around it.
²⁴ No one can catch it off guard
    or put a ring in its nose and lead it away.