Job 40:1-42:6

Common English Bible

² Will the one who disputes with the Almighty correct him?
    God’s instructor must answer him.
³ Job responded to the Lord:
⁴ Look, I’m of little worth. What can I answer you?
    I’ll put my hand over my mouth.
⁵ I have spoken once, I won’t answer;
    twice, I won’t do it again.

⁶ The Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
⁷ Prepare yourself like a man;
    I will interrogate you, and you will respond to me.
⁸ Would you question my justice,
    deem me guilty so you can be innocent?
⁹ Or do you have an arm like God;
    can you thunder with a voice like him?
¹⁰ Adorn yourself with splendor and majesty;
    clothe yourself with honor and esteem.
¹¹ Unleash your raging anger;
    look on all the proud and humble them.
¹² Look on all the proud and debase them;
    trample the wicked in their place.
¹³ Hide them together in the dust;
    bind their faces in a hidden place.
¹⁴ Then I, even I, will praise you,
    for your strong hand has delivered you.

¹⁵ Look at Behemoth, whom I made along with you;
    he eats grass like cattle.
¹⁶ Look, his strength is in his thighs,
    his power in stomach muscles.
¹⁷ He stiffens his tail like a cedar;
    the tendons in his thighs are tightly woven.
¹⁸ His bones are like bronze tubes,
    his limbs like iron bars.
¹⁹ He is the first of God’s acts;
    only his maker can come near him with a sword.
²⁰ Indeed, the hills bring him tribute,
    places where all the wild animals play.
²¹ He lies under the lotuses,
    under the cover of reed and marsh.
²² The lotuses screen him with shade;
    poplars of the stream surround him.
²³ If the river surges, he doesn’t hurry;
    he is confident even though the Jordan gushes into his mouth.
²⁴ Can he be seized by his eyes?
    Can anyone pierce his nose by hooks?

41 ^[a] Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook,
    restrain his tongue with a rope?
² Can you put a cord through his nose,
    pierce his jaw with a barb?
³ Will he beg you at length
    or speak gentle words to you?
⁴ Will he make a pact with you
    so that you will take him as a permanent slave?
⁵ Can you play with him like a bird,
    put a leash on him for your girls?
⁶ Will merchants sell him;
    will they divide him among traders?
⁷ Can you fill his hide with darts,
    his head with a fishing spear?
⁸ Should you lay your hand on him,
    you would never remember the battle.
⁹ Such hopes^[b] would be delusional;
    surely the sight of him makes one stumble.
¹⁰ Nobody is fierce enough to rouse him;
    who then can stand before me?
¹¹ Who opposes me that I must repay?
    Everything under heaven is mine.
¹² I’m not awed by his limbs,
    his strength, and impressive form.
¹³ Who can remove his outer garment;
    who can come with a bridle for him?
¹⁴ Who can open the doors of his mouth,
    surrounded by frightening teeth?
¹⁵ His matching scales are his pride,
    closely locked and sealed.
¹⁶         One touches another;
        even air can’t come between them.
¹⁷ Each clings to its pair;
    joined, they can’t be separated.
¹⁸ His sneezes emit flashes of light;
    his eyes are like dawn’s rays.
¹⁹ Shafts of fire shoot from his mouth;
    like fiery sparks they fly out.
²⁰ Smoke pours from his nostrils
    like a boiling pot over reeds.
²¹ His breath lights coals;
    a flame shoots from his mouth.
²² Power resides in his neck;
    violence dances before him.
²³ The folds of his flesh stick together;
    on him they are tough and unyielding.
²⁴ His heart is solid like a rock,
    hard like a lower millstone.
²⁵ The divine beings dread his rising;
    they withdraw before his thrashing.
²⁶ The sword that touches him won’t prevail;
    neither will the dart, spear, nor javelin.
²⁷ He treats iron as straw,
    bronze as rotten wood.
²⁸ Arrows can’t make him flee;
    slingstones he turns to straw.
²⁹ He treats a club like straw;
    he laughs at the lance’s rattle.
³⁰ His abdomen is like jagged pottery shards;
    its sharp edges leave a trail in the mud.
³¹ He causes the depths to churn like a boiling pot,
    stirs up the sea like a pot of scented oils,
³²         leaves a bright wake behind him;
        the frothy deep seems white-haired.
³³ None on earth can compare to him;
    he is made to be without fear.
³⁴ He looks on all the proud;
    he is king over all proud beasts.

² I know you can do anything;
    no plan of yours can be opposed successfully.
³ You said,^[c] “Who is this darkening counsel without knowledge?”
    I have indeed spoken about things I didn’t understand,
    wonders beyond my comprehension.
⁴ You said,^[d] “Listen and I will speak;
    I will question you and you will inform me.”
⁵ My ears had heard about you,
    but now my eyes have seen you.
⁶ Therefore, I relent^[e] and find comfort
    on dust and ashes.